Industrial and commercial information shows that Huawei invested 700 million yuan for wholly-owned holdings. Hubble Technology Investment Co., Ltd., which was just established on April 23 this year, recently invested in Shandong Tianyue Advanced Materials Technology Co., Ltd., holding 10% of the shares. . Shandong Tianyue is my country's leading company in the third generation of semiconductor materials, silicon carbide. "Those who get silicon carbide will win the world"! Industry insiders said. It can even be said that it is difficult to 5G without silicon carbide. 5G networks in my country and around the world are under large-scale construction.
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big data transmission, cloud computing, AI technology, Internet of Things, including the next step of energy transmission, for Network transmission speed and capacity have put forward increasingly higher requirements, and the market demand for high-power chips is very large. The load capacity of silicon material has reached its limit, and there is no room for breakthrough in the performance and capability limits of semiconductor devices using silicon as the substrate.
Silicon carbide is an ideal substrate material for manufacturing high-temperature, high-frequency, and high-power semiconductor devices. Its comprehensive performance can be improved thousands of times compared with silicon materials. It is known as the "core" of solid-state light sources, power electronics, and microwave radio frequency devices. It is the "new engine" for industries such as optoelectronics and microelectronics.
Industry insiders say that after mass production of silicon carbide materials is achieved, foreign monopolies will be broken and domestic 5G chip technology and production capabilities will be improved.
▌The new generation of semiconductor materials has initially developed, and Chinese companies have begun to lay out
Since the advent of the first silicon diode in 1957, silicon materials have quickly become the core of power semiconductors due to their stable properties, simple preparation methods, low costs and other factors. materials, but silicon device performance is gradually approaching its physical limits. However, with the development of science and technology, rail transit and smart grids have put forward higher voltage resistance requirements for power semiconductors, while industrial control and 5G equipment require higher response frequencies.
The third generation of semiconductor materials can meet the new requirements of modern society for high temperature, high power, high voltage, high frequency and radiation resistance, and it has economic and environmental benefits such as small size, less pollution, and low operating loss. Therefore, the third generation of semiconductors Materials are gradually becoming the focus of development.
The current mainstream third-generation semiconductor materials are silicon carbide and silicon nitride . The former is mostly used in high-voltage applications such as smart grids and rail transit; the latter has greater applications in high-frequency fields (5G, etc.). The power semiconductor market is dominated by foreign companies. Domestic companies have also made certain achievements in the new generation of semiconductor materials and are actively catching up.
In terms of silicon carbide, domestic companies have gradually formed a complete industrial chain, which can produce a new generation of silicon carbide power semiconductors ; in terms of gallium nitride, many domestic universities, research institutions, and company manufacturers have already carried out a large number of Research, with a large number of patented technologies; in terms of zinc oxide, nearly two-inch single-wafers have been successfully grown in China, which is at the world's leading level.
As a representative material of the third generation semiconductor, the silicon carbide market is developing rapidly. According to IHS data, the total silicon carbide market in 2017 was US$399 million, and will reach US$1.644 billion in 2023, with a compound annual growth rate of 26.6%. Among them, the field of new energy vehicles has developed the most, with a compound annual growth rate of an astonishing 81.4%.
Starting in the 1990s, silicon carbide materials began to enter the market. Cree began R&D work on silicon carbide at the end of the last century and applied for a number of patents in various countries around the world, resulting in a technological monopoly and restricting the development of other companies.
ROHM Semiconductor began researching silicon carbide technology in 2000 and acquired SiCrystal in 2009; Infineon has a strong capital advantage, which leads to the current silicon carbide market being mainly controlled by these three companies. The silicon carbide wafer market is almost monopolized by Corey , Rohm Semiconductor, and II-VI International.
Domestic companies and research institutions such as Yangjie Technology, CRRC, and China Electric Power 13 Institute have also increased research on silicon carbide devices, gradually breaking the blockade of foreign companies, and now a complete silicon carbide industry chain has been formed - —That is, upstream substrate, midstream epitaxial wafer, and downstream device manufacturing.
Overall, the third generation semiconductor technology is still in a state of development, and there are still many shortcomings. Taking silicon carbide, which is currently the most widely used, as an example, there are still several technical flaws:
material costs are too high. At present, the process of silicon carbide chips is not as mature as that of silicon. It is mainly 4-inch wafers, and the material utilization rate is not high. The wafers of Si chips have already developed to 12-inch. Specifically, for products with the same specifications, the overall price of silicon carbide devices is 5-6 times that of silicon devices.
high temperature loss is too large. Although silicon carbide devices can operate at high temperatures, the high power loss produced under high temperature conditions greatly limits their application, which is contrary to the original purpose of device development.
packaging technology lags behind. The current packaging technology used in silicon carbide modules still uses the design of silicon modules, and its reliability and lifespan cannot meet its operating temperature requirements.
▌Silicon-based new materials: my country is transforming into a strong country in silicon materials, silicon carbide semiconductors contain huge potential
Silicon-based materials are widely used and important, and my country is transforming from a big country in silicon materials to a powerful country
There are many types of silicon-based material products, which can be divided into inorganic silicon and silicone categories, are widely used in aerospace, electronic appliances, construction, transportation, energy, chemical industry, textile, food, light industry, medical, agriculture and other industries. The main fields of
are: 1) High-purity semiconductors: High-purity single crystal silicon is an important semiconductor material and can be used in various integrated circuits, photovoltaic cells, etc.; 2) Alloys: Silicon can be used to combine with other metals to prepare alloys. Used to improve the original performance, such as ferrosilicon alloy, silicon-aluminum alloy, etc.; 3) Ceramics: prepared into ceramic materials as high temperature resistant and structural materials, such as silicon carbide and silicon nitride; 4) Optical fiber communication materials: pure dioxide Silicon can draw high-transparency glass fibers and is an important material for optical fiber communications; 5) Organosilicon compounds: refers to compounds containing C-Si bonds and at least one organic group directly connected to a silicon atom. Products are mainly divided into silicone rubber, silicone resin, silicone oil and silane coupling agent according to different forms.
China is a major producer of silicon materials, but in the high-end field there is still a gap between it and the international first-class level. The development of my country's 3D silicon industry began in 1957, when the first 3D industrial silicon 3D single-phase two-electrode furnace was built and put into production in Liaoning with the help of the Soviet Union.
After more than 60 years of development, my country's silicon industry has basically formed a complete system with organic silicon, high-purity silicon, nano-silicon materials, industrial silicon, and high-purity quartz as the pillars.
In terms of scale, my country has become a major producer of silicon materials in the world. In 2017, the total domestic production capacity of industrial silicon and organic silicon monomers accounted for 78% and 53% of the world respectively. The booming development of the silicon industry has also driven the development of similar industries. The rise of outstanding companies such as Sheng Silicon Industry and Xin'an Co., Ltd. However, in some high-end fields, such as semiconductor materials, silicon-based battery materials, and new organic silicon materials and other high value-added products, there is still a certain gap between the technological accumulation, talent pool, and application scale and the international advanced level.
Advantages and disadvantages of the development of my country's silicon industry : The core advantage of the rapid development of my country's silicon industry is cost, which is mainly reflected in lower resource (energy) prices, environmental costs, capital costs and relatively sufficient human resource reserves. The disadvantages of
mainly lie in technology and services. Specifically, the company's competitiveness is generally weak, it does not yet have a world-class brand, and its international influence is insufficient; it has not yet mastered core technologies, its environmental safety and health concepts are backward, and it has too many historical debts.
From the perspective of the industrial chain, if my country is to complete its transformation from a major silicon material country in the world to a powerful country in the future, the industrial upgrading of silicon chemical industry is imperative. On the basis of my country's silicon industry complete supporting midstream and upper reaches, focusing on the development and application of high-end, high value-added silicon chemical products is the core issue before us.
▌The third generation semiconductor material - silicon carbide SiC
The silicon carbide semiconductor industry contains huge potential and is currently monopolized by a few developed countries.
Silicon carbide semiconductor is the successor to the first generation semiconductor (silicon Si) and the second generation semiconductor (gallium arsenide GaAs). The third generation of semiconductor materials. In terms of
performance, the third generation semiconductor materials represented by silicon carbide have higher bandgap width, breakdown electric field and thermal conductivity. Their superior performance makes them have great prospects in the field of microwave power devices and are very suitable for Produce radiation-resistant, high-frequency, high-power and high-density integrated electronic devices.
Therefore, Japan, the United States, Germany, Russia and other countries are spending great efforts on research, and it is currently monopolized and blocked by a few developed countries and has imposed an embargo on our country.
The complete industrial chain of silicon carbide semiconductor includes: silicon carbide - ingot - substrate - epitaxy - chip - device - module, and its downstream applications include semiconductor lighting, electronic power devices, lasers and detectors, and other applications.
The silicon carbide semiconductor market is expected to grow rapidly
Silicon carbide devices are being widely used in the field of power electronics. Typical markets include rail transit, power factor correction power supply (PFC), wind power (Wind), photovoltaic (PV), new energy vehicles ( EV/HEV), charging pile, uninterruptible power supply (UPS), etc.
According to data from Yole, a well-known French electronics supply chain market research institution, it is expected that the global SiC application market will reach US$500 million by 2020, and the market size will further reach US$1 billion by 2022, of which the compound growth rate from 2016 to 2020 will be The growth rate is 28%. At the same time, driven by the downstream electric vehicle industry, the compound growth rate from 2020 to 22 will reach 40%.
The global carbide silicon industry The United States, Europe and Japan are three pillars
At present, the global carbide silicon industry pattern presents a tripartite pattern of the United States, Europe and Japan, of which the United States is the only one (70-80% of the world's silicon carbide semiconductor production comes from American companies) ; Europe has a complete industrial chain in silicon carbide substrates, epitaxy, devices and applications; Japan is the absolute leader in equipment and module development.
The main problems hindering the progress of domestic third-generation semiconductor research are: 1. Raw material bottlenecks: equipment for preparing SiC wafers is relatively vacant, and most of them need to be imported; 2. Original innovation problems: Most relevant scientific research institutes and production companies cannot tolerate long-term " The current situation of "only input, no output"; 3. The problem of talent team construction.
However, unlike the situation where it has been lagging behind for many years in the first- and second-generation semiconductor materials and integrated circuit industries and is difficult to catch up with the international advanced level, my country's research work in the field of third-generation semiconductors is relatively far behind the world's forefront. Although it is small, it has also accumulated a certain foundation, and a number of outstanding companies have emerged, such as Tianke Heda, Shandong Tianyue, Tyco Tianrun, etc.
▌Domestic carbonized silicon industry leaders: Tyco Tianrun, Shandong Tianyue
Tyco Tianrun: a leading enterprise in the industrialization of domestic silicon carbide (SiC) power devices
Tyco Tianrun is China's first third-generation semiconductor A provider of silicon carbide device manufacturing and application solutions, it is not only a leading company in silicon carbide chip manufacturing, but also an emerging force supporting high-end manufacturing. The company has recently successfully completed a new round of financing. The participating institutions include China Three Gorges CCB, GF Qianhe and Tuojin Capital. It has completed a Series C investment of nearly 100 million yuan in Tyco Tianrun.
Several industrial capitals have vigorously entered the carbide silicon industry , which will further promote the wider industrial application of domestic silicon carbide power devices in various industrial fields, especially new energy photovoltaic inverters, electric vehicles and variable frequency air conditioners. .
The international silicon carbide field is currently entering a stage of rapid development. International silicon carbide manufacturers and upstream material manufacturers have locked in long-term supply contracts. At the same time, from a downstream perspective, silicon carbide power devices continue to be used in commercial applications such as Tesla On the one hand, this has stimulated domestic investment in the field of new material semiconductors. On the other hand, it has warned that China's silicon carbide power devices urgently need to increase their efforts and catch up with international peers.
Shandong Tianyue: The world's fourth mass-producer of silicon carbide substrate materials
Shandong Tianyue is the world's fourth mass-producer of silicon carbide substrate materials. It is a well-deserved unicorn in the field of wide bandgap semiconductor materials in China. The main products are extremely technically difficult, and only 4 companies in the world produce them in mass production.
, a new material company, was established in 2010. It only took 8 years to grow into an internationally advanced high-tech enterprise of silicon carbide semiconductor materials. Its main product, silicon carbide substrate, is a representative of the new generation of semiconductor materials and is widely used in electric power. Transportation, aerospace, new energy vehicles, semiconductor lighting, 5G communications and other technical fields.
Silicon carbide semiconductor is the basic material for 5G communications and the Internet of Things. Based on this, in 2016 Shandong Tianyue's "Wide Bandgap Power Semiconductor Industry Chain Project" was included in the "National Integrated Circuit "13th Five-Year Plan" Major Productivity Layout" project by the National Development and Reform Commission. This is also the only project in Shandong Province that is included in this major layout. project. Recently, the company's three projects, including the research and development and industrialization of high-quality large-size wide-bandgap semiconductor silicon carbide single crystal substrates, have been included in Shandong Province's key projects for the conversion of old and new kinetic energy, and will become a powerful booster for the conversion of old and new kinetic energy. (Report source: Guoyuan Securities, Caitong Securities)
Leqing Think Tank, in-depth industry research (Public account ID: lqzk767, website: www.767stock.com)
