Incorporated into the “14th Five-Year Plan” industrial science and technology innovation-related development plan. This has triggered widespread market concern for the development of the third-generation semiconductor industry such as carbon-based materials.
In recent years, with the rapid development of 5G, new energy vehicles, photovoltaics and other industries, the development of my country's semiconductor industry has ushered in an important node. Industry insiders predict that "new infrastructure" will bring new opportunities to third-generation semiconductor materials. The four key areas of 5G infrastructure, new energy vehicle charging piles, UHV and rail transportation will bring more opportunities to third-generation semiconductors. large market space. But at the same time, the problems faced by third-generation semiconductors such as high costs and lack of technical talents will also bring certain risks.
The third-generation semiconductor is suitable for high-voltage and high-frequency scenarios with outstanding features
"In two years, we have grown from a small company with five people to an enterprise with four domestic and foreign holding subsidiaries." Xu Fei, head of Hanxin Technology explain. On the occasion of the second anniversary of the inauguration of
in the Lingang New Area of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, Shanghai Hanxin Technology Co., Ltd., an integrated circuit company that grew up in the Lingang New Area, announced that it will build a new Hanxin Technology silicon carbide industrial base to carry out carbonization Development of silicon devices and modules, as well as testing and production of silicon carbide series products. A reporter from
found that in the "Oriental Chip Port" of Lingang New Area, the third-generation semiconductor industry ecology is gradually taking shape. "Here we can find material suppliers and downstream companies, which not only allows us to use our professional expertise, but also save resources and improve efficiency," Xu Fei said.
The third generation of semiconductor materials refers to wide bandgap semiconductor materials represented by silicon carbide and gallium nitride. Compared with the previous two generations of semiconductor materials, the third generation of semiconductor materials has a large bandgap, high breakdown electric field, thermal With the advantages of high conductivity, high electron saturation rate, and strong radiation resistance, semiconductor devices made of third-generation semiconductor materials can be used in high-voltage and high-frequency scenarios. In addition, they can achieve higher performance with less power consumption. operational capabilities.
The first generation of semiconductor materials is represented by elemental semiconductors such as silicon and germanium. Its typical application is integrated circuit , which is mainly used in low-voltage, low-frequency, low-power transistors and detectors. The second generation semiconductor material is represented by gallium arsenide. Since the band gap of second-generation semiconductor materials is not large enough and the breakdown electric field is low, their application in high-temperature, high-frequency and high-power devices is limited.
At present, judging from the competition of third-generation semiconductor materials, the market pattern is increasingly obvious. In the global market, Cree and II-VI companies in the United States are the main players. In the domestic market, Shandong Tianyue, Tianke Heda, Hebei Tongguang and other companies are mainly laying out this track.
Take Shandong Tianyue as an example. This company was established in 2010 and is mainly engaged in the research and development, production and sales of silicon carbide substrates. At present, the company's main products cover semi-insulating (mainly 4-inch) and conductive (mainly 6-inch) silicon carbide substrates, which have been supplied to downstream core customers in the domestic silicon carbide semiconductor industry and have been used by some of the top foreign semiconductor companies. Company use.
Yu Kunshan, Secretary-General of the Third-Generation Semiconductor Industry Technology Innovation Strategic Alliance, said, "After years of cultivation and development, in recent years, my country's third-generation semiconductor industry has begun to transition from the 'introduction period' to the 'growth period'." He It is believed that with the continuous enhancement of the independent controllability of the third-generation semiconductor industry, the continuous improvement of the overall competitive strength and the increasingly perfect product system, the third-generation semiconductor industry has ushered in the trend of high-quality development.
html On August 18, the groundbreaking ceremony for the third quarter construction projects of the Lingang New Area in 2021 was held. 24 projects have been started intensively, including Tianyue Semiconductor Industrial Base. In the future, Tianyue Semiconductor will become the upstream supplier of Hanxin Technology.5G, energy Internet and other "new infrastructure" fields have become the "main battlefield" for applications
At a press conference held not long ago by the State Council Information Office, the relevant person in charge of the National Development and Reform Commission stated that in terms of new infrastructure, this year will introduce the "14th Five-Year Plan" "New infrastructure construction plan, vigorously develop digital economy , expand 5G applications, accelerate the construction of industrial Internet, data centers, etc. In scenarios such as the energy Internet, 5G base stations, new energy vehicles and charging piles, and big data centers, third-generation semiconductors will have broad application space.
"With the large-scale construction of 5G base stations and the explosion of the fast charging market, the demand for third-generation semiconductors has shown an unprecedented growth trend." Yu Kunshan believes that in addition to 5G, new energy vehicles are also becoming the third-generation semiconductor market the main driving force.
Liu Liehong, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, previously stated that the number of 5G terminal connections in my country currently exceeds 310 million, accounting for more than 80% of the world; there are 819,000 5G base stations, accounting for more than 70% of the world, covering all cities at or above the prefecture level across the country; There have been more than 10,000 5G application demonstration projects in industrial and economic and social fields.
Currently, silicon carbide power devices have been used by internationally renowned car companies in their electric vehicles. In the electric drive system, the main inverter is responsible for controlling the electric motor and is a key component of the car. The main inverter of Tesla Model 3 uses 24 silicon carbide MOSFET power modules produced by STMicroelectronics, which is the first in the world. OEM manufacturer that applies silicon carbide MOSFETs to commercial vehicle owner inverters. In December 2020, Toyota Auto launched and publicly sold the "Mirai" fuel cell electric vehicle, which was the first time Toyota started using silicon carbide power devices.
In terms of new energy vehicles, taking Shanghai as an example, Zhang Jianmin, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Economic and Information Commission, said, “It is planned that by 2025, Shanghai’s annual output of new energy vehicles will exceed 1.2 million units, and the output value of new energy vehicles will exceed 350 billion yuan, accounting for 10% of Shanghai’s total. The output value of the automobile manufacturing industry accounts for more than 35%. "
At the same time, different regions in Shanghai are also actively developing materials industries represented by third-generation semiconductors. Zhu Zhisong, member of the Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee and Secretary of the Party Working Committee of Lingang New Area, said, “The new area is actively leveraging the agglomeration advantages of the integrated circuit industry, strengthening technological research and layout in the field of automotive electronics, especially automotive chips, and striving to become a global hub for automotive chip innovation and entrepreneurship. gathering place.”
High cost and lack of technical talents have become constraints
Due to the slow crystal growth rate and difficult preparation technology, the production cost of large-size, high-quality silicon carbide substrates is still high, and the supply of silicon carbide substrates is low. Volume and higher price have always been one of the main factors restricting the large-scale application of silicon carbide-based devices, limiting the application and promotion of products in downstream industries.
Huaan Securities analyzed that the bottleneck of industry development currently lies in the high cost of silicon carbide substrates. The current cost of silicon carbide is four to five times that of silicon. It is expected that the price will gradually drop to about twice that of silicon in the next three to five years. The growth rate of the silicon carbide industry depends on the maturity of the silicon carbide industry chain, and the carbonization Silicon device product parameters and quality have not been sufficiently verified.
Shandong Tianyue Science and Technology Innovation Board prospectus stated that “in the short term, the penetration rate of silicon carbide devices in the field of power devices will be limited to a certain extent, resulting in the large-scale application of silicon carbide materials in some areas of relative advantage. Big challenge. "
Dongxing Securities research report stated that the silicon carbide industry is still in the growth stage. From the perspective of the enterprise and the competitive landscape, technical problems have not yet been completely solved. Pioneers and traditional leaders rely on first-mover advantages and process maturity. obvious barriers. "Driven by new downstream demands such as new energy vehicles, the demand for silicon carbide materials and related devices is expected to usher in explosive growth."
In addition, this industry also faces problems such as a lack of high-end technology and talents.
Industry insiders judge that the price of silicon carbide devices is expected to continue to decline in the future, and its industry applications will develop rapidly. Currently, industry companies are taking various measures to reduce the cost of silicon carbide devices.In terms of substrates, we jointly promote the reduction of silicon carbide substrate costs by increasing the size of silicon carbide substrates, upgrading preparation technology, expanding substrate production capacity, etc.; in terms of manufacturing, with the opening of the market, major device suppliers have expanded Manufacturing, as the scale expands and manufacturing technology continues to mature, it also brings about a reduction in manufacturing costs; in terms of the market, major product suppliers and major customers lock in the market by signing long-term cooperation contracts, and both supply and demand parties jointly promote market penetration and Form a virtuous cycle.
CCID Consulting predicts that by 2025, gallium nitride is expected to account for more than 50% in the field of radio frequency devices, and the market size is expected to exceed US$3 billion. In terms of silicon carbide, it is expected to reach US$3 billion in 2025, and the automotive market will become an important driving force for the growth of the silicon carbide market.
According to a Yole report, from a global market perspective, the market size of silicon carbide power devices in 2019 was US$541 million, benefiting from market demand driven by electric vehicles, charging piles, photovoltaic new energy and other markets, and is expected to grow to US$2.562 billion in 2025 USD, with a compound annual growth rate of approximately 30%. The demand for silicon carbide substrates is expected to benefit from this and achieve rapid growth.
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