Regarding the importance of the memory control chip, the design participant of China's first transistor, Professor Deng Xiancan of China's pioneering semiconductor field described the image more popularly: 'The hard disk is like a warehouse for data storage, the memory is the room, the controller is Gates are gatekeepers; gates and gatekeepers must be Chinese, information can be safe. 'To grasp the commanding heights in the chip field, not only in design tools (EDA), intellectual property rights (IP), production processes, materials, software, etc. Comprehensive layout, breakthroughs in general-purpose key chips such as processors (CPUs), programmable devices (FPGAs), and more, we must seek the development of dedicated ICs in video audio, signal processing, memory controllers, communication protocols, etc. The memory industry echoes that, as an indispensable link in the industry chain, the competition in the field of memory controllers can not be ignored.
Realistic breakthrough
Why controller chips are so important? As we all know, in the information storage application field, a large number of memory controllers, USB flash drives, mobile hard disk drives, solid state drives, and even large data storage devices and server high-speed bus core controller chips all require storage controllers. Related storage functions. Take SSDs as an example. Solid-state drives are now standard on computers. The core of solid-state drives is the controller and memory. Memory is a standard unit of information storage. It is pursuing high-density storage of data, and storage controllers. , It is a complex function chip that manages memory and realizes data read/write through the computer bus and the main chip. In fact it is a system on chip (SoC) that includes the computer interface core technology and the memory chip management technology.
In the storage application market, not only is the memory 'along with people', the storage controller field is also mostly owned by international giants. In addition to flash memory manufacturers such as Samsung, Intel, Toshiba, Sandisk and others with their own storage controllers, third parties Storage controller manufacturers SMI, Marvell, etc. also occupy a large market share. And China wants to achieve information security, these chips must be made in China. Some domestic companies are also investing in the first, took the lead in rushing out of the siege of Hangzhou Huasheng Microelectronics shares. SageMicro has been designing and industrializing a series of chips with independent intellectual property for more than a decade, including more than a dozen models of SD/eMMC/CF memory card controllers, solid state drives, computer interface bridging/hard disk arrays. Controller chip, continuous success in domestic and foreign markets.
Zhou Bin, vice president and chief operating officer of Hua Wei Micro, told the “Micronet Collection” reporter that the controller chip involves multiple factors such as CPU, interface, IP, and algorithm. On the one hand, Huawei Microelectronics has accumulated computer interfaces and solid-state storage for many years. Rich intellectual property cores (IP) and algorithms such as flash management algorithms, error correction algorithms, encryption and decryption algorithms, IP stacking from SD/MMC to USB, IDE to SATA, PCIe and NVMe from physical layer to protocol layer The single licensing fees for these IPs in the international market will exceed hundreds of thousands of US dollars, while the Hua Wei Microteam has devoted more than ten years to the development of these proprietary IPs. On the other hand, Hua Wei Microelectronics has also achieved its core encryption algorithm technology. Chip-level protection of data and information security. 'These IPs are not unique to Huawei Technologies. If there are customer needs at home and abroad, they can also be provided to customers in an authorized manner.' Zhou Bin stressed.
In addition to memory controller chips, Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. has gained international and domestic market recognition in the field of memory bridge chips. Through the acquisition of more than 20 years of history Initio (crystal volume electronics) to improve the market configuration, because the three major hard disk manufacturers are Initio chips. The customer, Huasheng Micro, has continued to increase shipments in the field of storage bridge chips, becoming the international mainstream bridge chip manufacturer after Taiwan's Cheung and Chi Micro.
At the same time, in addition to providing autonomous controllable memory control chips and bridging chips, Huaxun Microelectronics has also implemented dual-pronged integration of supply chains to develop standard and customized system products such as controllable and safe domestic all-solid-state drives and large-capacity solid-state memory cards. The 2.5-inch 10TB world's highest density hard disk developed in the previous two years and solid-state hard disk with special applications meet the deep application requirements of users in relevant industries. It is reported that various encryption storage and encryption self-destruction schemes designed by Huaye Micro according to actual needs , It has become the mainstream choice for safe storage in all countries. In order to meet localized application requirements, Huayinwei also cooperates with customers in platforms such as Godson, Shenwei, and Feiteng, as well as operating systems such as zhonglin unicorn and Galaxy Kirin. The application introduced a series of encrypted hard disks, partitioned hard disks, and self-destructed hard disks. As a result, Hua Wei Microelectronics completed the transition to the top domestic storage controller chip, module and system provider.
And Hua Weiwei is not content with it. Zhou Bin said: 'Hua Weiwei is an exquisite cultivator in this sub-industry, focusing on the storage controller chip and computer/server interface chip market. It is certainly beneficial to achieve localization. The mission of China's information security. However, for Hua Weiwei, it is still important to survive in a competitive international environment. With rationality, friendliness, and equality in regard to any competition, it is perseverant and steadfast in its efforts to acquire customers. Trust is fundamental, and the culture advocated by Hua Wei Micro is 'passionate innovation, intent to make the core'. '
Continuous test
After all, the proposition that develops the chip all the time is to continue to iterate, and the memory controller is also out of the ordinary, and faces the challenge of 'resonance' with the market demand.
Zhou Bin said that on the one hand, from magnetic media storage to solid-state hard drives, from RAM, ROM to 3D NNAND, etc., the storage media is changing faster and faster. At the same time, a part of the flash memory plants themselves as controllers, brings to third-party storage controller manufacturers New pressures. On the other hand, with the development of technologies such as Internet of Things, AI and big data, the demand for customization has become higher and higher, and the storage interfaces have become more diversified, from traditional SATA and SAS to PCIe interface chips. High-speed, lower-power, and more-safety requirements increase the CPU and algorithm requirements of controllers. This requires controller manufacturers to plan and layout ahead of time, and prepare 'munitions' to play.
From the market point of view, the development of the industry requires constant 'incentives'. According to Zhou Bin, there are currently 200 million SSD controllers in the world and about 600 million traditional disk storage controllers. The total demand is about 800 million. The demand for SSD controllers keeps rising. From the perspective of controller interfaces, there are traditional mainstream IDEs, SATA, SAS controller interface chips, and PCIe interface chips that are rapidly growing. Currently, PCIe accounts for 30% of the SSD market. SATA interface accounts for 60%, while SAS interface accounts for about 10%. In the future, as the demand for big data and server applications continues to increase, the proportion of PCIe interfaces will increase to meet more and more data acceleration, cache and other functions.
Focusing on future application changes and market trends, in addition to focusing on the domestic and foreign markets in the field of memory controllers, Hua Wei Micro will also start its 'incremental' plan for server storage controller chips and large data hard disk array controllers. , This is not only to adapt to the needs of domestic big data and server industry's technological changes, but also to meet the needs of localization of memory and servers. In the field of high-performance hard disk controllers, hard disk array controllers, Huasheng Micro will continue to develop.
Future opportunities
With more than US$200 billion in IC chip imports in China, today more than oil, Hua Weiwei has become one of the few IC design companies that export Chinese chips to the world. Seagate, a world-renowned hard disk company, is a customer of Hua Weiwei. It is both a honour and a spur.
In the recent ZTE Incident, Huawei's investigation into the United States triggered a collective reflection from the domestic IC industry. It can be said that the domestic IC industry has been advancing with advancing artillery. Today, the artillery has become increasingly fierce. The domestic IC industry is ecologically weak and takes many years to complete. The input and follow-up flow, innovation, adventure, fault tolerant social and cultural atmosphere and education system follow-up.
In this regard, Zhou Bin pointed out that the general trend of IC industry transfer to China will not change. There is a largest application market in China. Copying is not enough. It must sink to the application scene, accumulate, and continue to break through. To do it. At the same time, it should be noted that the chip is in the upstream of the industrial chain, from chip to hardware and software integration, from reference design to customer application, the chain is very long, and the cycle from development to mass production to market is also long. Do a good job of planning in advance, aiming at deep diving. At the same time, we also hope that the country will do top-level design in terms of policies, standards, and funds, and constantly optimize the environment.
Nowadays, the domestic industrial environment is constantly migrating. Smartphones are speeding up the reshuffling, and new forms of business such as 5G, Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and blockchain will create new forces and new formats. Insiders pointed out that ZTE once again After being accurately targeted, industry players can only truly adapt their performance to industrial applications, and can get out of the lab to achieve mass production. This can be a large-scale replacement of imported chips. Only in this way can domestic manufacturers unlock the yoke on their necks. Thousands of chip design companies are able to complete the industrial chain, and only thousands of design companies can support the investment in a huge semiconductor production line. In turn, the semiconductor production line can only have enough 'rice pot'. Form a virtuous circle.
In fact, in the field of memory controllers, Huayi Microelectronics began to be based in China but not limited to the domestic market. Instead, it directly entered international competition. Although it has experienced difficulties and obstacles, in the long run, it is inevitable that China’s chip development will face The situation, early adaptation, early participation, can get more lasting patience and stronger competitiveness.