How important is the chip?
Like the 'neural system' of society
The chip is 'Where is the sacred'? Why is it so important? Dr. Li Zilan from the Guangdong Semiconductor Industry Research Institute said, 'It actually plays the role of the modern social nervous system. If the society is like a human, the chip is responsible for thinking, sensing, communication, Even controlling a part of the energy, such as power chips control power, voltage, communication, DC, etc., is therefore very important for modern society.
Li Zilan said that all future industrial development directions are partly supported by semiconductor chips. 'For example, IoT, 5G, automotive electronics, artificial intelligence AI, AR, VR, blockchain all need semiconductor chips', he said In the case of cars and mobile phones, electronic products are widely distributed in automobiles. The proportion of automobile electronics to automobile costs has increased year by year. According to statistics, automotive electronics accounts for more than 30% of the cost of complete vehicles. With the maturity of driving technology, the cost of automotive electronics will reach more than 50%, which will become a key part of automotive intelligence. Smartphones are basically composed of components such as chips and displays. 'China produces 77% of mobile phones worldwide, and With a number of leading brands, as a dominant industry, only 3% of the chips are made in China'.
The demand for semiconductors in the future of electric vehicles is soaring, power semiconductors bear the brunt, and they are basically dependent on imports.
According to statistics, in 2017, China's imports of chips reached US$260 billion, surpassing crude oil as the number one import product, but domestic chips accounted for only about 10% of the domestic market.
Domestic chips and chips from developed countries
How big is the gap?
Global electronics industry ecosystem
'The gap between domestic chips and developed countries is multifaceted, three-dimensional', Li Zilan told reporters in South China that China's electronics manufacturing industry is second only to the United States, but the chips of electronic products are heavily dependent on imports. 'Whether it is a chip There is a big gap between design, production equipment, manufacturing materials, manufacturing processes, etc., Li Zilan said.
The design of the chip is inseparable from the design software EDA. The world's top three EDA companies are all American companies. According to statistics, the US design companies account for 69% of the market. On the equipment, the world's most important semiconductor device lithography The machine is produced in the Netherlands, but some of the core components required for the equipment are produced by American manufacturers. Silicon wafers are important materials for the fabrication of integrated circuits. By lithography, ion implantation, etc., silicon wafers can be fabricated into integrated circuits and various Semiconductor devices. Japan has obvious advantages in semiconductor production materials. According to the data, the world's top two silicon wafer manufacturers for integrated circuits are Japan's Shin-Etsu and SUMCO, which account for more than 60% of the world; the two companies produce large-size silicon wafers ( 200 mm and 300 mm account for more than 70% of the world, forming an absolute monopoly and extremely high technical barriers.
How far are we from 'China Core'?
How far are we from 'China Core'? Li Zilan said that Huawei's Kirin chip is very remarkable, but the semiconductor chip industry has a wide coverage, many sub-divisions, and there is a Kirin chip, or a breakthrough at a certain point is not enough. We need a lot of things, everyone's joint efforts. 'If one day, we can produce a lot of chips and products. When others have to use it, China's chips will rise. If you can do it with me, I have You, when everyone can't live without it, 'China Core' is coming.'
'The global semiconductor chip industry competition is ultimately the efficiency of innovation,' Li Zilan analyzed. 'If your product performance is only half of other products, still stay in the last stage of technology, you can't sell it.'
The development of the semiconductor industry is the only way to transform and upgrade the industry. 'At present, one of the most important enterprises in artificial intelligence is the semiconductor chip company NVIDIA, because artificial intelligence has very high requirements on computing power,' said Li Zilan, but the semiconductor industry has a wide range of links. At present, there are gaps between China and developed countries in various fields, and there is a certain challenge in catching up.
How to realize 'China Core'? Li Zilan said that cooperation must first be carried out. The semiconductor industry is the common crystallization of the world's top experts for decades. No country has achieved complete autonomy in the entire industry chain, seeking innovation and seeking breakthroughs. To seek cooperation. Then innovation, 'innovation is the most useful, making new or stronger products in innovation, others' products can be based on our products and technology', Li Zilan said, 'Innovation is almost unique path of' .
future
Semiconductor development trend
Semiconductor chips involve different materials and functions. According to the direction of future applications, they are divided into many types. The largest category is digital circuits, and there are multiple categories of functions, such as analog circuits, separation circuits, and optoelectronics.
'The main melody of digital circuits is miniaturization. For digital circuits, the smaller the device, the more the number, the faster the switching speed. And the digital circuit evolves from one technology generation to another, which takes about two years, 'about 2004 The most advanced process size is 65 nanometers. Now the most advanced technology has reached 10 nanometers. 'Red cells are 7000 nanometers, and the core feature size of semiconductor devices has reached 10 nanometers. Digital circuit miniaturization is the ultimate challenge to equipment and technology.' Li Zilan said.
Miniature: The main theme of digital circuits
The miniaturization of the device also leads to the development of the structure in three dimensions, which is the second trend of digital circuits. 'Three important digital chips Logic, DRAM and FLASH, all of which are three-dimensional. The latest product launched by Samsung today is 96 layers. It’s so amazing, Li Zilan said. In 1965, one of Intel’s founders, Gordon Moore, said that the number of transistors in the chip doubled every two years. 'Moore's Law is actually a summary of the digital circuit's law of miniaturization', Li Zi Lan said, 'So far Moore's Law has been published for more than 50 years, which means that at least 25 times, the number of transistors on a chip is more than 10 billion, which can achieve very powerful functions.'
Gordon Moore (one of Intel's founders) once said that the number of transistors in the chip doubled every two years.
The other category is the first, second and third generation semiconductors with multiple functions, including analog circuits, separation circuits, optoelectronics, etc. 'Because of its wide application, this piece is as important to the economy as digital circuits, in many ways. Both play an important role', Li Zilan said. New materials can greatly improve the performance of the original products, or achieve the functions that could not be achieved. Third-generation semiconductor materials (such as GaN) in optoelectronic display, power electronics, RF devices, etc. There is great potential and prospects. Si power devices have reached the limit, the third generation of semiconductors has just emerged, the quality factor of GaN power devices used is 1130 times that of Si, 'GaN power devices will bring revolution in power electronics', Li Zilan Say.
'The future will surpass Moore's Law, improve performance and achieve new functions', Li Zilan said, from the simple pursuit of miniaturization, to the realization of new different functions, 'for example, in the field of microLED display, communication base station and radar electronics, Innovations such as materials and device structures enable even greater and advanced functions. This is the focus of semiconductor chip innovation, and it is also an opportunity, and the requirements for equipment are not so exaggerated. For example, starting from the emergence of commercial blue LEDs in the 1990s, GaN materials began. It has attracted public attention and is becoming more and more widely used. 'But digital chips and other types of chips are not separated. Another important trend is to integrate them at the system level.'
'All in all, the future of semiconductor chips is shrinking, transcending microcosm and integration,' said Li Zilan.