Smart phones, personal computers, smart home appliances, automobiles, medical electronics, industrial control machinery... Almost all electronic devices in people’s lives are equipped with chips. Since the 21st century, the role of chips in people’s lives has been almost irreplaceable. The development and progress of the IC industry is an important aspect to meet people’s growing material and cultural needs.
However, the integrated circuit industry has the characteristics of great technical difficulty, large capital requirements, long industrial chain, etc. It is not easy to develop. Although China has introduced a number of guiding policies, such as "to further encourage the development of the software industry and integrated circuit industry Policy (Guo Fa [2011] No. 4), "Implementation Outline for the Development of Integrated Circuit Industry", etc., but the gap between the international advanced level is still large. How should we better promote the development of integrated circuits? In the Fifth China During the special event of the Science and Technology Open Day and the 60th Anniversary of the Institute of Microelectronics of the Academy of Sciences, the China Electronics News reporter interviewed the director of the Institute of Microelectronics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the preparatory group leader of the IC Innovation Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the National Special Science and Technology Major Project 02 Ye Tianchun.
Catching up with high-speed dynamic targets
At present, there are many opinions about the development status of China's integrated circuit industry. Some pessimists believe that China's integrated circuit is a 'paper tiger' and that it will be broken in one go. Some extremes suggest that under such an external environment, we simply do not ask for it. Closed the door to do it yourself. How should we correctly understand the current development of the integrated circuit industry? How to promote?
In response to these problems, Ye Tianchun pointed out: 'The above views are inappropriate. China's integrated circuit industry has developed to today, after several generations of people, decades of hard work and step by step, despite many detours in the middle, but Nothing to give up. The reason why there has always been a gap is because it is one of the fastest-growing fields in the world with the most fierce competition in the world. That is to say, our catch-up goal is not static, but it is developing at a high speed. We only have to Faster speeds are possible to catch up with, but at a slightly slower pace, the gap will widen. The integrated circuit industry is also technically difficult, the industry is involved in a wide range, and talented personnel are highly intensive. What you want to do is to do it yourself. It is impossible to solve the problem in the short term. It is even more impossible for the country to solve the problem in a short period of time. The state is sober in this regard. Many technological projects such as the “National Major Science and Technology Special Project” have already been laid out. The challenge now lies in many things. Only half of the time, the relevant team is still working hard, some have already achieved certain results, and still need to make further efforts. More importantly, more investment is needed. And it is to maintain the strength of input. In general, this time is the critical moment. It is necessary to clench your teeth and there must be no pauses and pauses in the middle. Otherwise, you will have to give up.
When talking about openness and cooperation, Ye Tianchun further pointed out: 'In addition to its long industrial chain, integrated circuits not only include its downstream applications, but also involve a wider range of fields. Therefore, its development requires a highly globalized industrial ecology. Supporting the development of China's integrated circuit industry, we must not close our doors and do it ourselves. Only by opening up and cooperation, through solid research in opening up, can we enhance our corporate strength. At the same time, we need the joint efforts of the corporate sector, research institutions, and the financial community. Everyone can advance together to make this industry work. There are a lot of work that will take 10 to 20 years of hard work. This time, it needs strength. It needs resilience.
How does the 'visible hand' work?
Based on the analysis of the status quo of China's integrated circuit industry, how does the government's 'visible hand' play its role? 'The foundation of China's integrated circuit industry is still weak, and many core technologies are still immature. To achieve a breakthrough, the government needs to play its role. Organizational coordination, etc. Of course, in this process, we should stick to the principle of marketization to work. In fact, on a global scale, the development of the integrated circuit industry in any country, especially in the early stage of development, cannot be separated from the support of the government. Promotions, including the United States, EU countries and Japan, etc. Even at this stage, the IC industry in these countries and regions has developed very well, but in those areas that involve a wide range of investment, the role of the government is still not Or missing. ' Ye Tianchun said.
Specifically, Ye Tianchun believes that in the integrated circuit industry chain, those key manufacturing equipment and materials, the development of manufacturing processes, and some development cycles in the design field are long. Investment-intensive products such as CPUs and memory are all required by the government. The support of the government, 'Of course, the goal of government participation is to nurture the industry when it is weak, the goal is to make it grow and grow, and eventually go to the market.' Ye Tianchun said.
Memory is the key to the development of the industrial chain
Storage is one of the key products. At present, domestic companies such as Yangtze River Storage, Fujian Jinhua, Hefei Changxin, etc. are actively promoting memory production and development. From the process point of view, the second half of this year is expected to enter the pilot production phase. At this important moment, What are the points to note?
In response, Ye Tianchun said: 'Mainstream memory products, such as DRAM, NAND Flash, etc., have standardized bulk product characteristics, so the competition in this market is even fiercer. The success of a company often depends on the speed of technological progress. With capital investment, enterprises cannot quickly keep up with the pace of technological upgrading, and will soon be eliminated. At the same time, its R&D must not be separated from production. This is why the mainstream storage companies all adopt the IDM model.
Ye Tianchun also stated: 'Several domestic storage companies will enter the trial production stage this year. The next step will be mass production. Quality control and production management will become the key to success or failure. There is another point that needs attention: that is, product-specific structure, The development of unique technologies. Not all of the production lines in a storage plant are general-purpose equipment. After the initial stage of development, the company will inevitably develop some unique process technologies, and at the same time, it will need to customize the process equipment. I think In 3 to 5 years, China's storage companies should come to this stage, otherwise it is difficult to form their own competitiveness. To complete the customization of process equipment, the development of domestic equipment companies is very important.
Avoiding 'freewheeling' of social funds
The current vigorous development of domestic integrated circuits is inseparable from the attention paid by financial capital. However, Ye Tianchun also pointed out that a seemingly huge amount of social capital is not really invested in the integrated circuit entity economy. 'The state's funding is investment. Into it, the local government's funds were also invested, although there was a certain discount. But more social funds still stay in the state of speculation, and did not really invest in the real economy.
Ye Tianchun also expressed a certain degree of understanding of this status. 'The IC industry has a long cycle of investment recovery and high industry complexity. Fund holders need to consider the safety of their funds and the ultimate profit, so there is some hesitation It is understandable. At this time, research institutions, consulting agencies, and industry organizations are required to play a role. They should provide guidance and support for social funds, help them understand the industry, understand the development of enterprises, and understand the product direction, so that they can be more confident.
The Institute of Microelectronics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences is doing research in this area. In addition to the report of the conventional research institute of the Institute of Microelectronics, the Chinese Academy of Sciences opened a special report on “Foreign Investment Enterprises” for IC Business and Finance. The community established a platform for open communication. During the special session, more than a dozen institutes of foreign investment companies introduced innovative results and product applications to individuals from the financial and other industries.