Set micro-grid launch WeChat IC: "Every day IC", big news immediately released, every day IC, every day set micro-network, micro-into a! Scan the end of the two-dimensional code to add attention.
1. Butterfly Effect: Apple replace baseband suppliers, these semiconductor manufacturers will be affected!
Set a micro-channel news, KGI Gu Guoming analyst recently released the new machine this year, iPhone related parts report, for the iPhone key components baseband chip part, he pointed out that Apple's iPhone product line this year may be fully switched to Intel's baseband chip , A change in the past Qualcomm Qicheng, Intel's 30% dual-supplier strategy.As soon as this news, Qualcomm's share price fell 3%.
Qualcomm has been Apple's chip supplier for many years, but the relationship between Qualcomm and Apple began to deteriorate after Apple sued Qualcomm for overbilling its chips last year and refused to pay about $ 1 billion in refinances.Reuters last October It has been disclosed that Apple has designed iPhones and iPads that do not use Qualcomm baseband chips and Nomura Securities (Nomura Instinet) said Apple will abandon Qualcomm in favor of other chip suppliers to reduce the cost of iPhone materials, the company analyst Romit Shah said that Apple would save more than $ 100 million in cash by switching to Intel chips in the next iPhone.
The iPhone 7 is Intel's first product to begin shipping baseband chips to Apple, which has long held the opinion that Qualcomm's version of iPhone 7 performs 30% better than Intel's version. In the case of weak signals, the Qualcomm version Better than the latter 75%. Overall, Intel may 5G network technology as Qualcomm, equipped with Qualcomm's iPhone's performance is superior to the use of Intel's chip iPhone.
However, Guo Ming-kun recently pointed out that Intel is expected to become the exclusive supplier of new iPhones this year due to its baseband chip performance has been able to meet Apple's technical requirements to support CDMA2000 and dual card dual standby features, Intel offer more competitive, and Apple Qualcomm is conducting patent litigation and other litigation, hoping to exert pressure on Qualcomm.
If Apple really adjusted for baseband suppliers this year, there will be a degree of reshuffling in Apple's supply chain.
Foundry, after Intel and Qualcomm shipped to Apple's mobile baseband chip by TSMC foundry, Intel replaced Qualcomm, the chip is expected to be moved back to Intel's own wafer fab production.Currently Intel has begun planning to expand Own wafer capacity, is expected to be 10 nm in volume production in 2019, the company had threatened to go against TSMC.
As a result, TSMC and UMC and other original Qualcomm orders accounted for more than 10% of revenue of the wafer fab will be affected.To this more optimistic that TSMC, said not worried about transfer orders, the mode of operation is not dependent on Qualcomm, Apple is only Qualcomm orders Part of it, the impact is limited.
In terms of RF chips, RF components such as power amplifiers (PA) previously used by Qualcomm's baseband chip platforms are mainly based on products from Avago, which is likely to switch from Avago to Qorvo after its launch. Correspondingly, For Avago, Qorvo Foundry's steady Mao, as well as for OEM foundry KYEC, etc. will have a corresponding impact.Jing Yuan Yuan from Apple introduced iPhone 7, Intel baseband chip is the main back-end test plant, if Intel took all iPhone orders, KYEC orders will also surge, becoming Intel and Qualcomm for Apple orders for the benefit of vendors.
Romit Shah, an analyst with Nomura Instinet, said that Apple will also switch some Broadcom products to Qorvo and STMicro products, after executives at Qorvo said later this year that Apple is expected to get the most design adoption ever, More than the previous part of the wireless components market research firm Drexel Hamilton pointed out that mid / high-band PAD and Phase 6 were adopted by the design, while the mid / high-band PAD has been sent to the new smart phone manufacturers, but not yet Qorvo clear that the new orders obtained by Apple is the product affected by this news, Qorvo shares rose 10% on the day.
According to Bloomberg supply chain data, TSMC has nearly 15% of its revenue from Broadcom and Qualcomm, UMC 17% of revenue from the two companies, steady Mao nearly 15% of revenue from Qorvo .This change is implemented, Apple The supply chain will also have some reshuffle.
It is noteworthy that Apple came out this year, the new iPhone may be completely abandoned Qualcomm platform, Broadcom at this time 'moderate' to increase the purchase price, Apple and Broadcom stand in the same front, intended to exert pressure on Qualcomm's board of directors and shareholders, to promote Shareholders agreed to a public offer .So the micro-network analysis, Apple abandoned Qualcomm does not exclude Apple's pressure on Qualcomm's competitive strategy, the future is really implemented is not yet known. (Proofreading / Liu Yang)
2.SIA semiconductor sales break new record, memory growth rate of 61.5%;
According to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) announced February 5, December 2017 global semiconductor sales of 38 billion US dollars, the highest monthly sales record high compared with the previous month, December sales rose 0.8%. And the same period last year Than the surge of 22.5%.
Semiconductor sales in the fourth quarter of 2017 were US $ 114 billion, the highest in the single-country quarter, up 5.7% from the previous quarter and up 22.5% from the same period last year. Semiconductor sales in 2017 increased 21.6% year-over-year % To 4,122 billion US dollars, rewrite the annual high.
John Neuffer, President and CEO of SIA, said in a statement that semiconductors are used in a wide range of products, from cars to coffee makers. New technologies such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality and the Internet of Things also require semiconductors. As world demand soars, 2017 sales hit a new Milestone, long-term prospects are good 2017 semiconductor market is heating up, it is estimated 2018 semiconductor growth will be more moderate.
In all types of semiconductors, memory sales reached as high as $ 124 billion in 2017, up 61.5%. DRAM sales increased significantly by 76.8% and NAND flash by 47.5%.
The second and third largest sales were logic chips (102.2 billion U.S. dollars) and micro-ICs (63.9 billion U.S. dollars). Other semiconductors, including rectifier, increased by 18.3%, diodes grew 16.4% Sensors and brakes grew 16.2%. Consolidated sales of semiconductors in 2017 have risen by almost 10%, even without memory.
In terms of buying gas from all regions, in December 2017, Americas sales increased by 41.4% and 2.1% respectively month-on-month; in Europe it increased by 20.2% and 1.6% respectively month-on-month; in China it increased by 18.1% and increased by 1.0% month on month; in Asia Pacific / Elsewhere in the world increased by 17.4%, a monthly increase of 0.2%; Japan rose 14.0%, a monthly increase of 0.9%.
3. Heraeus PV PERC battery efficiency hit a new high: 3 times in 4 months to refresh the world record;
Latest News from Microworld, the World's Leading Supplier of Metallized Sizing for Photovoltaic Industry Heraeus PV's Third World Record in 4 Months Helping Customers Refresh PERC Battery (Passive Emitter and Back Local Contact Battery) Conversion Efficiency . The latest achievement comes from a Heraeus customer in China: The solar cell company's single-crystal PERC module achieved a 20.41% conversion efficiency and set a new world record in 2017. Two client companies, with Heraeus Silver Pulp, four times the world record PERC battery efficiency, and has been verified by third-party testing agencies:
In October 2017, a single-crystal PERC cell with Heraeus silver paste achieved a 22.71% photoelectric conversion efficiency, certified by Fraunhofer ISE CalLab, Fraunhofer Solar Energy Research Institute In the same month, the conversion efficiencies of P-type polycrystalline PERC and P-type single-crystalline PERC solar cells made of Heraeus metallized paste reached 22.04%, respectively, after being certified by the Chinese Academy of Sciences solar photovoltaic power generation system and the wind power generation system quality inspection center 22.78%, both set new records. In November 2017, the conversion efficiency of single-crystal PERC cells made by Heraeus silver reached 23.45% after being verified by the Chinese Academy of Sciences solar photovoltaic power generation system and the wind power generation system quality inspection center. Created a landmark new world record
Heraeus has been able to achieve such impressive results without the innovative investment strategy that the company started to implement in late 2016. The plan has two important cornerstones: First, vigorously develop and introduce professionals In 2017, With more than 120 scientists and solar technology experts recruited by Ritchie, Heraeus has built a research and development cluster closer to other key markets in China and other parts of Asia with its rapidly expanding technology team to deepen its technical cooperation with its customers. They are accelerating their R & D and manufacturing steps to shorten their time-to-market, and second, launching new battery optimization services. With Heraeus' industry-leading, high-performance screen-printed front and back conductive silver pastes, the company can expand its product portfolio , To enhance the performance of silver paste, thus providing customers with value-added services other than printing and sintering processes.The program was officially launched in April 2017. Through close cooperation with world-class research institutes, Heraeus can provide customers with complete solar cells Analysis, simulation and process optimization services. With these services, Heraeus customers according to their specific production and design Prepare conditions, find and implement the optimal process.
Dr. Zhang Weiming, senior vice president and chief technology officer of Heraeus Solar, said that these world records made by Heraeus customers fully reflect the company's strategic philosophy that promoting breakthrough innovation in the field of solar energy requires the success of the community. On the one hand, Heraeus The ability to tailor its slurry formulation to a particular battery design is equally important, but working closely with the customer's technical team is equally important, said Dr. Zhang Weiming: 'We think we have to find another way for those who want to be market leaders As a result, Heraeus's strong commitment to scientists, technologists and optimization services is delivering a 'dividend' to these customers, and slurry is only the first step. "Dr. Cheung Wai-ming further pointed out that to help customers accelerate innovation and production : "Heraeus is assisting clients in identifying and resolving technical bottlenecks in their processes, and most importantly we can help them achieve the efficiency of their labs in production."
4. Lian Yong reported revenue of 47.074 billion yuan in 2017, an increase of 3% over the previous year.
Set micro-grid news, UNITA Technology held a legal briefing yesterday, announced the company self-closing consolidated financial statements for 2017. According to the company, UNITA Technology 2017 consolidated net operating income of NT 47,074,000,000 yuan, more than The previous year increased 3.12%. The gross profit margin for the year was 28.80%, an increase of 0.44 percentage points over the previous year's gross profit margin of 28.36%.
The fourth quarter consolidated net operating income of NT 119115000000 yuan, compared with the third quarter decreased 3.61%, compared with the fourth quarter of the previous year increased 6.52%; fourth quarter consolidated revenue decreased over the third quarter, mainly Due to the sluggish seasonal demand of SOC products, the quarterly gross profit margin was 29.37%, 0.36% higher than the third quarter's gross profit margin of 29.01%, mainly due to the difference of royalty income and product mix. Annual operating expenses were NT $ 7.8 billion, compared with NT $ 7.32 billion in the previous year. Net operating profit for the year was NT 5,755 million, up from NT 5,544 million in the previous year.
In the fourth quarter, operating expenses were NT $ 1,941 million, NT $ 2 billion in the third quarter and NT $ 1,832 million in the fourth quarter of the previous year.
Net operating profit for the fourth quarter was NT $ 1,569 million, with NT $ 1,596 million in the third quarter and NT $ 1,332 million in the fourth quarter of 2005. The annual after-tax profit was NT $ 5 billion 24 million yuan, an increase of 0.39% over the previous year, after-tax earnings per share of NT 8.26 yuan after the fourth quarter after-tax surplus of NT 1,350 million, a decrease of 15.40% over the third quarter, 4.70% increase in fourth quarter of 2004, earnings per share after tax was NT 2.16 yuan. UFJ expects the first quarter of 2018 performance outlook is as follows: ‧ Consolidated revenue is expected to NT 10,300 to 10,700 million ‧ Gross margin is expected to be between 27.5% and 29.0% ‧ Operating profit margin is expected to range between 10% and 12%
5. Korean economic agencies predict that the growth rate of Korean semiconductor exports will be reduced year on year this year.
According to a report released by the Korea Institute of Industry (KIET) on the 4th, the export of Korean semiconductors will increase by about 18.6% this year, although higher than that of 2014 (9.6% ↑) and in 2015 (0.4%), ↑) and 2016 (-1.1%), but well below last year's 60.2%.
Last year, South Korea's semiconductor exports amounted to 99.68 billion U.S. dollars, becoming South Korea's first single-item export volume hit 90 billion U.S. dollars .Report predicts that South Korean semiconductor exports this year, although the growth rate will slow down, but the global semiconductor demand will continue At a high level.
This year's global semiconductor market is still hot.With the rapid development of data centers, artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things and other fields, the demand for semiconductors has risen sharply, the industry appeared in short supply, especially this year's memory market There will be a shortage of supply.
The report also said that although the future of China's semiconductor companies will pose a threat to South Korean companies, but this year the impact on the overall market is still weak. Korea Institute of Technology researcher Zhou Darong (sound) said: 'The government cut off the big business Support, so the semiconductor industry will have a negative impact, companies should expand research and development (R & D) efforts, so as to cultivate more semiconductor elite.
6. Front-end voice activation: Obtain clear speech from noise and echo
Youval Nachum, Senior Product Manager, CEVA Audio and Voice Product Line
Set to Microphone News, Voice-first user interface is now becoming a mainstream technology for smartphones and smartphones, with Alexa, Baidu's DuerOS, Bixby, Cortana, Google Assistant and Siri becoming indispensable helpers for millions of users Now that people are accustomed to the services of voice assistants and the same need is growing in cars, appliances, wearables, etc. All of these devices require a feature that can be used in challenging acoustical environments, with or without noise, Noisy music or other background sounds can understand the user's voice commands.The task of front-end voice activation is to make sure that the user's voice is clear and understandable when it reaches the backend so that it can be processed and understood. Let's see how it works work.
What happens to your listening device when you're talking? Many voices enter the device along with your voice and need to reach the target clearly and easily. The backend processing engine in the target interprets its meaning and makes the appropriate The goal might be to have a DSP-enabled voice activation device, a cloud-based virtual assistant, or another person on the phone who needs a clean audio signal for understanding and responsiveness. A good front-end solution will Adopt a variety of techniques to purify the input sound, and provide clear and understandable voice to the back end.
Two examples of voice activated devices are near-field and far-field pickups. Near-field devices are worn close to the user's mouth like earphones, earbuds, earphones, and wearable devices when they are worn (or worn). They typically use between 1 and 2 Microphones. Far-field devices can receive user sounds through the room, typically from 3 to 8 microphones. Common devices of this type are smart speakers, smart appliances, voice-activated Internet of Things and cell phones. Multiple microphone arrays are used for beamforming Which estimates the direction of the signal source by the time difference of the arrival of the sound signal to different microphones This allows the device to receive sound only from the direction of the user while ignoring other sound sources Beamforming may also be used to track the speaker and sound from multiple sounds Separating the right voice signal from the combination is like calling in a conference room.
To get an understandable speech sample, there are two types of sound that must be filtered out, one to hear the sound generated by the device itself and the other to the external sound When the device produces sound such as a smart speaker to play music or to another One end of the person talking on the phone can use echo cancellation (AEC) technology to ignore its own voice. This feature can 'plug in' or interrupt the smart speaker, even while it is playing music or responding to an earlier command. After these echoes have been eliminated, the noise suppression algorithm can be used to clean up the external noise, followed by the coding of the clean sound samples and finally to background processing for semantic understanding.
Implementing beamforming, echo cancellation, and noise suppression requires sophisticated algorithms and extensive signal processing, however, and voice-activated technologies are beginning to move into the smallest devices, such as ear-mounted devices that stick in the ear, the power of the solution Power consumption and cost-effectiveness are becoming critical.Latest battery life is one of the most critical factors for headsets, portable smartphones, mobile phones and wearables.Low power consumption features are also important for in-car entertainment and home security systems.
If there is so much work to be done, why not transmit voice signals to the cloud for processing? Cloud processing does not help in this situation. Front-end processing must be performed on the device or latency and power savings can become a problem.Therefore, Front-end processing must be extremely efficient and does not affect quality.To achieve this goal, the need for high-performance and low-power software and hardware optimization.
Of course, back-end processing may in some cases transmit signals to the cloud.However, as more and more consideration for increasing privacy, improving security, reducing latency and reducing power consumption, back-end processing on the device Be preferred
ClearVox ™ Integrated Front End Software Solution
At CEVA we use years of experience and audio expertise to meet these challenges ClearVox is an advanced software package that provides enhanced speech intelligibility for voice-activated devices, specifically for CEVA-TeakLite-4 and CEVA-X2 audio / voice DSPs ClearVox offers voice-pickup front-end solutions for the entire voice-activated and voice-interactive market, from smart speakers to advanced headsets and IoT devices ClearVox covers near-field and far-field applications that support the most challenging low-power Consuming devices such as earbuds, and high-performance devices that can support users over 10 meters in distance.The software package includes algorithms such as beamforming, direction of arrival, noise suppression, and echo cancellation.It typically provides a 12dB signal-to-noise Improve the speech recognition rate in noisy environments, and support the insertion of music and fast forward, which can be applied to embedded and cloud-based speech recognition systems.