The third-generation semiconductor has rebounded strongly. Some fund managers believe that as the shipments of 5G mobile phones continue to increase, the 5G-driven replacement wave will come, which is expected to promote the continued release of the performance of related technology companies. At present, we should follow the principle of "save the best and go". The core technology assets such as 5G equipment, transmission network, and cloud computing will be laid out based on the principle of "good quality". Among them, the semiconductor sector, as the underlying support for the technology industry, is expected to bloom more in the future.
After nearly sixty years of development in the semiconductor industry, semiconductor materials have experienced three significant changes and developments. The first-generation semiconductor materials mainly refer to elemental semiconductor materials such as silicon and germanium elements; the second-generation semiconductor materials mainly refer to compound semiconductor materials, such as gallium arsenide and indium antimonide; the third-generation semiconductor materials are mainly divided into silicon carbide SiC And gallium nitride GaN, compared with the first and second generation semiconductors, has a higher bandgap, high breakdown voltage, electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity, and will be used in the fields of high temperature, high voltage, high power and high frequency. Replace the previous two generations of semiconductor materials.
▲Source: Compiled by China Business Industry Research Institute
Semiconductor materials are an important part of the upstream of the semiconductor industry chain and play a key role in the production and manufacturing of semiconductor products such as integrated circuits and discrete devices. The third generation of semiconductor materials is represented by gallium nitride, silicon carbide, zinc oxide, aluminum oxide, diamond, etc. At present, the more mature ones include silicon carbide (SiC), gallium nitride (GaN), etc. Therefore, this article mainly studies the two third-generation semiconductor substrate materials: silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN).
Among them, the silicon carbide industry chain mainly includes substrate wafers, epitaxial wafers and device links. Domestic manufacturers engaged in substrate wafers mainly include Roxia Technology, Sanan Optoelectronics, Tianke Heda, Shandong Tianyue, etc.; manufacturers engaged in silicon carbide epitaxial growth mainly include Hantian Tiancheng and Dongguan Tianyu, etc.; manufacturers engaged in silicon carbide power devices There are many manufacturers, including China Resources Micro, Yangjie Technology, Tyco Tianrun, Green Energy Xinchuang, Shanghai Zhanxin, etc.
There is no big difference between the gallium nitride industry chain and the silicon carbide industry chain. They are also divided into substrate, epitaxial wafer and device links. Although silicon carbide is used more as a substrate material, there are still domestic companies engaged in gallium nitride single crystal growth, mainly including Suzhou Navitas, Dongguan Zhonggao, Shanghai Gallium Technology and Xinyuanji; engaged in gallium nitride epitaxy The main domestic manufacturers of gallium nitride devices include Sanan Optoelectronics, Sai Microelectronics, Hailu Heavy Industry, Jingzhan Semiconductor, Jiangsu Nenghua, Innosec, etc.; the main manufacturers engaged in gallium nitride devices include Sanan Optoelectronics, Wingtech Technology, Sai Microelectronics, Jucan Optoelectronics, Qianzhao Optoelectronics, etc.
In the third-generation semiconductor material industry chain manufacturing and application, SiC can manufacture high-voltage, high-power power electronic devices such as MOSFET, IGBT, SBD, etc., for use in smart grids, new energy vehicles and other industries. Compared with silicon components, GaN has the characteristics of high critical magnetic field, high electron saturation velocity and extremely high electron mobility. It is an excellent choice for ultra-high frequency devices and is suitable for applications in 5G communications, microwave radio frequency and other fields.
▲Source: Compiled by China Business Industry Research Institute
1. The third-generation semiconductor material industry chain: silicon carbide
In recent years, the third-generation semiconductor materials represented by silicon carbide have improved in bandgap width, breakdown electric field strength, and saturation. It has significant advantages in key parameters such as electron drift rate, thermal conductivity and radiation resistance, further meeting the needs of modern industry for high power, high voltage and high frequency. Power devices made of silicon carbide as substrates have superior electrical properties compared to silicon-based power devices. The details are as follows:
▲Source: Compiled by China Commercial Industry Research Institute
It is precisely because of the above-mentioned superior properties of silicon carbide devices, It can meet the new requirements of power electronics technology for harsh working conditions such as high temperature, high power, high voltage, high frequency and radiation resistance, thus becoming one of the most promising materials in the field of semiconductor materials.
In recent years, the application of silicon carbide wafers as substrate materials has gradually matured and entered the industrialization stage. Using silicon carbide wafers as substrates, the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method is usually used to deposit a layer of single crystal on the wafer to form an epitaxial wafer. .Among them, silicon carbide epitaxial wafers are produced by growing a silicon carbide epitaxial layer on a conductive silicon carbide substrate, which can be further made into power devices and used in new energy vehicles, photovoltaic power generation, rail transit, smart grids, aerospace and other fields. ;Grow a gallium nitride epitaxial layer on a semi-insulating silicon carbide substrate to prepare a gallium nitride-on-silicon carbide (GaN-on-SiC) epitaxial wafer, which can be further made into microwave radio frequency devices and used in 5G communications, radar and other fields .
Silicon carbide wafers are mainly used to manufacture discrete devices such as power devices and radio frequency devices after epitaxial growth. It can be widely used in modern industrial fields such as new energy vehicles, 5G communications, photovoltaic power generation, rail transportation, smart grids, aerospace, etc., and plays an important role in various major fields of my country's "new infrastructure".
(1) Power devices
Silicon carbide power devices are widely used in main drives inverters in new energy vehicles, DC/DC converters, on-board chargers and charging piles in charging systems, photovoltaics, wind power, etc. field. Benefiting from the increased volume of new energy vehicles, the silicon carbide power device market will grow rapidly. According to Yole data, the market size of silicon carbide power devices will be approximately US$400 million and US$5 billion in 2018 and 2024, respectively, with a compound growth rate of approximately 51%. According to this compound growth rate, the market size of silicon carbide power devices in 2027 will be approximately US$17.2 billion.
Silicon carbide material market size forecast
▲ Source: Cree official website, Everbright Securities
Power devices are one of the important basic components in the power electronics industry and are widely used in fields such as power conversion and circuit control of power equipment. As the core of electrical equipment and systems, power devices are used to process, convert and control electrical energy. They manage more than 50% of the world's electrical energy resources and are widely used in smart grids, new energy vehicles, rail transit, renewable energy, etc. Energy development, industrial motors, data centers, household appliances, mobile electronic equipment and other aspects of the national economy and national life are indispensable core semiconductor products in the industrial system. With its excellent high voltage resistance, high temperature resistance, low loss and other properties, silicon carbide power devices can effectively meet the high efficiency, miniaturization and lightweight requirements of power electronic systems. They are widely used in new energy vehicles, photovoltaic power generation, rail transit, smart grids, etc. The field has obvious advantages.
▲Source: Yole Developmen
1, Silicon carbide power devices are used in the field of electric vehicles.
Silicon carbide power devices are positioned between 1KW-500KW and the operating frequency is between 10KHz-100MHz. They are especially suitable for energy efficiency and space. Applications with higher size requirements, such as electric vehicle chargers, charging piles, photovoltaic inverters, high-speed rail, smart grids, industrial power supplies, etc., can gradually replace silicon-based MOSFETs and IGBTs.
▲Source: Compiled by Guotai Junan and China Commercial Industry Research Institute
2, Application of silicon carbide power devices in the photovoltaic field
According to Tianke Heda’s prospectus, in photovoltaic power generation applications, the cost of traditional inverters based on silicon-based devices Accounting for about 10% of the system, it is one of the main sources of system energy loss. Photovoltaic inverters using silicon carbide MOSFET or power modules combining silicon carbide MOSFET and silicon carbide SBD can increase the conversion efficiency from 96% to more than 99%, reduce energy loss by more than 50%, and increase the equipment cycle life by 50 times, thus enabling Reduce system size, increase power density, extend device service life, and reduce production costs. High efficiency, high power density, high reliability and low cost are the future development trends of photovoltaic inverters. In string and centralized photovoltaic inverters, silicon carbide products are expected to gradually replace silicon-based devices.
▲Data source: compiled by CASA and China Commercial Industry Research Institute
3, Silicon carbide power devices are used in rail transit applications
Rail transit vehicles have shown diversified development. In terms of operating status, they can be divided into mainline locomotives, urban rail vehicles, and high-speed trains. Among them, urban rail vehicles and high-speed trains are the main driving forces for the future development of rail transportation.Power semiconductor devices are widely used in rail transit vehicles, and their traction converters, auxiliary converters, main and auxiliary integrated converters, power electronic transformers, and power chargers all require the use of silicon carbide devices. Among them, the traction converter is the core equipment of the high-power AC transmission system of locomotives. Applying silicon carbide devices to rail transit traction converters can give full play to the high temperature, high frequency and low loss characteristics of silicon carbide devices and improve the traction converter. The efficiency of the converter device meets the application requirements of large-capacity, lightweight and energy-saving traction converter devices for rail transit, and improves the overall efficiency of the system. In 2012, hybrid silicon carbide power modules containing silicon carbide SBD were commercially used in 37 trains on the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line, achieving a significant improvement in the energy-saving effect of the train traction system, a significant reduction in motor energy loss, and a miniaturization of the cooling unit; In 2014, Japan's Odakyu Electric Railway's new commuter vehicles were equipped with the Mitsubishi Electric 3300V/1500A full silicon carbide power module inverter, which reduced switching losses by 55%, volume and weight by 65%, and power loss by 20% to 36%.
▲Data source: CASA, Tianke Heda prospectus
(2) Radio frequency devices
Microwave radio frequency devices are the basic components for signal transmission and reception, and are the core of wireless communications. They mainly include radio frequency switches, LNA, power amplifiers , filters and other devices. Among them, power amplifiers are devices that amplify radio frequency signals and directly determine key parameters such as wireless communication distance and signal quality between mobile terminals and base stations. The high frequency, high speed and high power characteristics of 5G communication place higher requirements on the high frequency, high speed and power performance of the power amplifier. GaN RF devices based on silicon carbide have both the high thermal conductivity of silicon carbide and the advantages of high-power RF output of gallium nitride in high frequency bands, breaking through the inherent defects of gallium arsenide and silicon-based LDMOS devices. Able to meet the requirements of 5G communications for high-frequency performance and high-power processing capabilities, silicon carbide-based gallium nitride RF devices have gradually become the mainstream technology route for 5G power amplifiers, especially macro base station power amplifiers.
With the development and promotion of global 5G communication technology, 5G base station construction will bring new growth momentum to radio frequency devices. According to Yole Development, the global RF device market will exceed US$25 billion in 2025, of which the RF power amplifier market will grow from US$6 billion in 2018 to US$10.4 billion in 2025, and gallium nitride RF devices will play an important role in power amplifiers. The penetration rate will continue to increase. As the demand for silicon carbide-based gallium nitride devices increases in the 5G market, the demand for semi-insulating silicon carbide wafers will also increase significantly.
▲Data source: Yole Development, Tianke Heda prospectus
2. The third generation semiconductor material industry chain: gallium nitride
As a third generation semiconductor material, gallium nitride has a higher bandgap, which is the theory so far It is the material system with the highest electro-optical and photoelectric conversion efficiency. Its downstream applications include microwave radio frequency devices (communication base stations, etc.), power electronic devices (power supplies, etc.), and optoelectronic devices (LED lighting, etc.). However, in the third generation of semiconductor materials, due to technical and process limitations, gallium nitride materials still face challenges as a substrate to achieve large-scale application. Its application is mainly based on sapphire, silicon wafer or silicon carbide wafer as the substrate, through epitaxy Gallium nitride is grown to create gallium nitride devices.
According to the forecast of Yole cited in the journal article, the market size of GaN radio frequency devices will reach US$750 million by the end of 2020, with an average annual compound growth rate of 20%. At present, gallium nitride devices have been used in 5G communication base station radio frequency transceiver units, consumer electronics fast chargers, electric vehicle chargers OBC and other fields.
▲Source: Guotai Junan
(1) LED field
Among them, the LED field accounts for 70%.As LED chip technology and processes continue to update and iterate, the luminous efficiency, technical performance, product quality, and cost economy of LED lighting products continue to improve significantly; coupled with the increasing number of enterprises and investments related to the industry chain, the LED light source manufacturing and supporting industries are growing rapidly. Manufacturing technology continues to upgrade, and the cost economy of large-scale production of end products has further improved. Currently, LED lighting products have become mainstream applications in home lighting, outdoor lighting, industrial lighting, commercial lighting, landscape lighting, backlight display and other application fields. LED The market penetration rate of lighting products replacing traditional lighting products continues to increase, and market demand continues to grow.
According to statistics from the National Semiconductor Lighting Engineering R&D and Industry Alliance (CSA), the domestic market penetration rate of China's LED lighting products (domestic sales volume of LED lighting products/total domestic sales volume of lighting products) has rapidly increased from 3.3% in 2012 to 2018. 70%, far exceeding the global average.
▲Data source: Compiled by National Semiconductor Lighting Engineering R&D and Industry Alliance (CSA) and China Business Industry Research Institute
China is the largest manufacturer of LED lighting products. With the domestic LED lighting market penetration rate rising rapidly to more than 70%, LED lighting has basically become a necessity for lighting applications, and the domestic LED lighting market has shown a faster growth momentum than the global average. According to statistics from the GGII LED Research Institute (GGII), the output value of China's LED lighting market increased from 259.6 billion yuan in 2015 to 415.5 billion yuan in 2018, with an average annual compound growth rate of 16.97%, a growth rate higher than that of the world Average. It is expected that by 2021, the output value of China's LED lighting market is expected to reach 590 billion yuan, and it is still expected to maintain an average annual compound growth rate of more than 12% from 2019 to 2021.
▲Data source: Compiled by National Semiconductor Lighting Engineering R&D and Industry Alliance (CSA) and China Business Industry Research Institute
(2) 5G base station field
Microwave RF devices currently using gallium nitride are mainly used in the military field and 4G/5G communications. Base stations, etc., due to military security implications, foreign countries have imposed an embargo on high-performance gallium nitride devices to China. Therefore, the development of independent gallium nitride radio frequency power amplifier industry will help break foreign monopoly and achieve independent control. On August 17, 2020, at the "Light up Shenzhen, 5G Smart City" press conference, Shenzhen Mayor Chen Rugui officially announced that Shenzhen has achieved full coverage of 5G independent networking, and Shenzhen has taken the lead in entering the 5G era. As of August 14, Shenzhen has built 46,480 5G base stations. As of July 26, Shenzhen has built 45,000 5G base stations, completing Shenzhen's previous goal of completing 4.5 5G base stations by the end of August one month ahead of schedule. Currently, Shenzhen ranks first in the world in terms of scale of 5G industry and shipments of 5G base stations and terminals.
Judging from the latest 5G base station construction plans announced by provinces and cities across the country, according to incomplete statistics, 29 provinces and cities have previously announced 5G base station construction plans for 2020. Guangdong's 5G speed is greatly accelerated, and 60,000 5G base stations will be built in 2020. From the 49th press conference on epidemic prevention and control held by the Guangdong Provincial Government Information Office, Yang Pengfei, deputy director of the Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology, said that 5G network construction will be comprehensively accelerated in 2020, and 60,000 5G base stations will be built within the year. The number of users reaches 20 million. It is expected that in 2020, investment in new information infrastructure represented by 5G base stations and data centers will exceed 50 billion yuan. The following is the 2020 5G base station construction plans of various provinces and cities across the country:
▲Data source: Compiled by China Business Industry Research Institute
(3) In the photovoltaic field
GaN and SiC devices entering the photovoltaic market will bring greater competitive advantages to small systems. Mainly including: lower levelized electricity costs and improved profits from electricity sold through leases and power purchase agreements. In addition, these devices improve performance and reliability. According to a report cited by Polaris Solar Photovoltaic Network, citing a report from Lux Research, a research institute, driven by the downstream demand for solar modules, wide bandgap semiconductors, namely silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN), will lead the solar inverter isolator market. Reaching $1.4 billion in 2020.
In recent years, the scale of newly installed photovoltaic capacity worldwide has continued to increase. Although China was affected by the "531 Photovoltaic New Deal" and the domestic newly installed photovoltaic capacity declined in 2018 and 2019, it benefited from the rapid development of emerging photovoltaic markets such as India and Mexico, as well as the recovery of the European market.As photovoltaic technology improves, the cost of photovoltaic power generation continues to decrease, and photovoltaic power generation has broad room for growth in the future. As one of the key equipment of photovoltaic power stations, photovoltaic brackets will grow with the growth of new installed capacity of photovoltaic power stations around the world. In the first and second quarters of 2020, the country's newly installed photovoltaic power generation capacity was 11.52 million kilowatts.
▲Data source: National Energy Administration and China Business Industry Research Institute compiled
3. List of third-generation semiconductor material-related industry concept stocks
China Business Industry Research Institute specially compiled third-generation semiconductor materials silicon carbide and gallium nitride concept stocks The list of relevant companies is as follows:
▲ Source of data: Compiled by China Commercial Industry Research Institute
▲ Data source: Compiled by China Commercial Industrial Research Institute
Note: The above information is for reference only. If there are any omissions or deficiencies, please correct me!
For more information, please refer to the " China's Third-Generation Semiconductor Materials Industry Market Prospects and Investment Opportunities Research Report" released by China Business Industry Research Institute. China Business Industry Research Institute also provides industrial big data, industry intelligence, and industry research. Reporting, industrial planning, park planning, 14th Five-Year Plan, industrial investment promotion and other services.
