The electronics industry in Japan is plunging into the mud, as exemplified by the recent Toshiba sales of NAND flash memory business series and the acquisition of Sharp by Foxconn last year, for example. Is it time for Japan to write off this place?
Maybe you think so, but you may not notice that many of the jewels undervalued are hidden beneath the surface of Japan's large enterprises; however, many established Japanese electronics companies have cut their R & D projects or sold their business units in order to survive Therefore, to find those "gems" that have been neglected in the field of Japan's electronics industry should be sought by those enterprises whose main businesses are not electronics.
For example, Toray Industries, which is famous for the production of man-made fibers, has extended its tentacles in recent years to the field of electronic circuits and semiconductor-related materials as well as filters for flat panel displays. The company has become a manufacturer of nanofibers, carbon fibers Component raw materials, and heavyweight suppliers of "nano-alloy" microstructure technology.
There are also Japan's large-scale construction and mining equipment maker Komatsu Group, which owns a wholly-owned subsidiary Kelk, a low-profile provider of thermoelectric modules for optical communications infrastructure and semiconductor manufacturing equipment; Kelk At CEATEC Japan in early October, a new thermoelectric generator that locks in the Internet of Things (IoT) / energy harvesting application was released.
Although many large Japanese electronics companies have waned in the global market, Kelk is also one of the few small and medium manufacturers in the region that still possess world-class unique electronic materials, precision components and energy-saving power module manufacturing technologies. In an interview with EE Time, Kelk president Hiroaki Takechi said in an interview earlier this year that the company's thermoelectric module business, other than its parent Komatsu, had invested in R & D early and would not exist today.
Wu Zhihong Ming said Komatsu researchers in the 1950s found that bismuth telluride (BiTe), its essence is a semiconductor, and when the bismuth telluride and antimony (selenium) made of alloy, Will become a highly efficient thermoelectric materials, can provide cooling (refrigeration) or power generation. Komatsu Laboratory's thermoelectric modules developed in 1966 as an independent business unit, the business became a wholly owned subsidiary in 1972, 2008 changed its name to Kelk.
Kelk's thermoelectric modules are also being used in the growing semiconductor manufacturing equipment market. Thermoelectric modules accurately control temperature characteristics and make them an integral part of the semiconductor process, including wafer cleaning equipment, chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) ) Equipment will be used.Wu Hongzhi disclosed that the company's thermoelectric devices for semiconductor equipment applications are high-margin products, the current global market, more than 65% of the thermoelectric modules for semiconductor equipment from Kelk.
Other markets where Kelk is optimistic include thermoelectric cooler (TEC) temperature control devices for thermal fiber cooler (TEC) devices used in communications equipment and data centers, and thermoelectric generator (TEG), a solid state Component that converts the temperature difference directly into electrical energy through the Seebeck effect. It is small in size and does not require external parts. (The Kelvin's TEG display at the top of the article shows the LED light at the temperature of the finger.)
Wu Zhi Hongming said that the thermoelectric generator can be used in power plants or steel mills to convert waste heat into electricity, Kelk can provide customers with customized solutions; for example, the following diagram of the small thermoelectric generator installed in the old manufacturing equipment , You can collect energy and provide remote sensing capabilities, do not need wiring and do not need to install the battery. Thermoelectric generator can also be used in a cassette oven or heater, as a separate power supply.
Kelk is also very optimistic about the application of thermoelectric generator in the field of Internet of Things, which can provide energy harvesting function for small wireless sensing devices to replace the battery. According to the prediction report of IDTechEx from market research institute last year, the thermoelectric energy harvesting market is expected to have a sense of wirelessness Driven by the demand of the detector and actuator, it surpasses 1 billion U.S. dollars in 2026.
Has always been to high-end, high-value market as the goal, but also successfully in the niche-based semiconductor applications such as equipment market to lay a country Kelk, to enter the field of warlords and the Internet of things, I am afraid that the need to substantially change the business model, which will Could be the company's new challenge; Kelk's total sales of 12.4 billion yen (about 110 million U.S. dollars) for the fiscal year ending March 2017 are 293 employees.
Compile: Judith Cheng