News & Events

Source: Global Semiconductor Watch On November 28th, the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics Organization (WSTS) released its latest forecast for the semiconductor market. Due to the widespread adoption of generative AI and the rapid increase in demand for related semiconductor products, as well as the expected significant recovery in storage demand, the estimated global semiconductor sales for 2024 have been revised upwards from the previous estimate of $575.997 billion on June 6 to $588.364 billion, an annual increase of 13.1%, surpassing the historical high of $574.084 billion in 2022.

Source: Sina Weibo, Global Semiconductor Observer Due to the decline in demand, the memory market is under pressure from oversupply and price decline in 2023. However, with the arrival of the fourth quarter, the prices of storage chip products are gradually rising, and the storage chip market is expected to overcome the trough. The latest financial reports of the world's top five original manufacturers also confirm the above viewpoint.

On November 14th, Great Wall Motors announced that the IGBT independently developed and produced by Xindong Semiconductor, a subsidiary of Great Wall Holdings, has achieved mass production and installation. The project took only 14 months from project initiation and development to installation. At present, the construction of Xindong Semiconductor Wuxi factory has been completed. Since the foundation was laid in February this year, it has taken 8 months for the main body of the factory to be capped, and the first module production line was successfully put into operation on October 28th. The factory has a first-class testing environment in China, which can meet the strict quality management requirements of IGBT power modules, quickly respond to vehicle requirements, and develop products in a targeted manner. In addition, it is reported that in October this year, Great Wall Motors sold 131300 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 31.04%. The cumulative sales for this year reached 995400 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 10.29%. Among them, Euler brand cars sold 10800 units in October, a year-on-year increase of 94.29%; The sales of new energy vehicles reached 30551 units, with a cumulative sales of 200897 units from January to October.

Source: Science and Technology News Recently, foreign media Wccftech reported that one of the popular trends for 2024 is terminal AI, which is now built into multiple chipsets such as Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, Dimensity 9300, and Exynos2400. There is new news suggesting that smartphones with AI capabilities require more memory, and Android phones with built-in AI capabilities will have a minimum memory capacity of 20GB RAM as the standard. Although 8GB RAM is still the standard for Android smartphones, it has been seen that phones with higher memory than most laptops or PCs have not yet become standard. In order to ensure the smooth execution of AI imaging functions on future devices, Android phones require at least 12GB of RAM, as AI applications and other functions require over 20GB of RAM to operate smoothly. There have been smartphones with over 20GB RAM in the market, and OnePlus has also released high-capacity memory devices, but at that time there was no AI function. If we expect AI functionality to run smoothly, smartphones in 2024 will require higher RAM. It is not yet certain that all Android phone manufacturers will follow suit, considering that multiple Android phone manufacturers are continuously investing in AI, AI will become a key focus for devices in 2024. Therefore, the industry believes that with higher RAM requirements, hardware specifications are more important for modern AI devices than ever before.

【The 6th China International Import Expo was held in Shanghai from November 5th to 10th. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin stated at a regular press conference on the 3rd that this year's CIIE is expected to welcome guests from 154 countries, regions, and international organizations, attracting over 3400 exhibitors to register. Since the first CIIE was held in 2018, its "circle of friends" has continued to expand, and its "charm" in the world is becoming stronger and stronger. Many countries have sent their largest or highest level delegations to attend this year's CIIE. Leaders from multiple countries, including Australian Prime Minister Albanese, Cuban Prime Minister Marrero, Kazakhstan Prime Minister Smilov, and Serbian Prime Minister Brnabic, will attend the opening ceremony and related activities of the CIIE. The United States has sent a delegation led by a senior official for the first time, and Russia will hold more than 500 business conferences at this year's CIIE. On the 3rd, relevant experts stated in an interview with Global Times reporters that at a time when many regions of the world are facing geopolitical conflicts and crises, and the trend of "anti globalization" is constantly surging, the active participation of so many countries, enterprises, and guests in the CIIE is not only attracted by China's huge market and open policies, but also demonstrates the desire of various countries for open development and win-win cooperation. The CIIE is a microcosm of China's continuous expansion of high-level opening-up to the outside world, and sends a strong voice to promote inclusive growth of the world economy, "Wang Wenbin emphasized on the 3rd Create numerous' firsts' and 'firsts' Wang Wenbin stated at a press conference on the 3rd that the CIIE has facilitated the domestic circulation, linked the domestic and international dual circulation, showcased the new pulse of the Chinese economy to the world, injected pressure into the world economy, and provided an important platform for foreign enterprises to tap into the vast market potential of China. Many numbers indicate that this year's CIIE will create numerous "firsts," "firsts," and "firsts in history. It is reported that in addition to welcoming guests from 154 countries, regions, and international organizations, as well as over 3400 exhibitors, more than 70 countries and international organizations have confirmed their participation in the national exhibition, covering five continents. Among them, 11 countries are participating for the first time, and 34 countries are participating offline for the first time. The spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce previously stated that the exhibition area of enterprises reached a new high of 367000 square meters. The number of Fortune 500 companies, industry leaders, and innovative small and medium-sized enterprises participating in the exhibition is the highest in history. The CIIE has set up a semiconductor zone in the technology equipment exhibition area, including Qualcomm ASML、 Texas Instruments, Canon, Nikon, Panlin, Samsung Electronics and other companies participated in the exhibition, covering multiple aspects such as semiconductor manufacturing equipment, wafer manufacturing, chip design, etc.

According to a report from Jiwei Network, the semiconductor downturn cycle seems to have no impact on the steady growth of the domestic power semiconductor market. Driven by the application of new energy vehicles, energy storage and power generation industries, as well as the mature application of new materials such as silicon carbide and gallium nitride in high-voltage scenarios, the construction boom of domestic power semiconductor industry projects has continued in the past two years, presenting a lively scene and gradually increasing investment and scale. According to statistics from Jiwei Network, the total investment scale of power semiconductor related projects that have made progress (such as signing contracts, opening/completion, and production) in 2022 exceeds 110 billion yuan. In the first half of 2023 alone, the total investment in power semiconductor related projects that have made progress has exceeded 100 billion yuan, and as of the end of September this year, this number has reached 150 billion yuan. Among them, newly signed projects account for a large proportion. Realize the landing of 40 billion yuan worth of newly signed power semiconductor projects throughout 2022; In the first nine months of 2023, the landing of over 80 billion yuan worth of newly signed projects undoubtedly achieved countercyclical growth. Countercyclical growth, the driving force for the development of power semiconductors continues to flow Power semiconductors are mainly used for energy conversion and circuit control in power equipment, and are the core devices for energy processing. The subdivided products mainly include MOSFETs, IGBTs, BJTs, etc. Among them, IGBT, as a new type of power semiconductor device, is internationally recognized as the most representative product of the third revolution in power electronics technology. At present, with the increasingly urgent demand for energy conservation and emission reduction in countries around the world, power semiconductor devices have moved from traditional industrial control and 4C (communication, computer, consumer electronics, automotive) fields to many industries such as new energy, new energy vehicles, rail transit, smart grids, variable frequency home appliances, etc. According to Yole's data forecast, by 2025, the global market size for power semiconductor discrete devices and modules will reach $7.6 billion and $11.3 billion, respectively. Against the backdrop of large-scale investment, China's power semiconductor project investment has also shown characteristics of covering multiple links in the industry chain and multiple application scenarios in terms of production capacity. In terms of industry chain construction, it covers various project categories such as wafers, substrates, devices, equipment, and modules; On the application side, new energy vehicles have become a concentrated direction for new construction projects, but there are also investments in areas such as rail transit and smart grids by companies like CRRC Times. It is worth mentioning that CRRC has successively invested in the construction of power semiconductor projects in Zhuzhou, Yixing and other places. In June of this year, its parent company, Times Electric, announced that "CRRC Times Semiconductor has formed a certain industrial competitive advantage" and "the demand for capacity expansion is urgent". It agreed to launch a new round of financing for CRRC Times Semiconductor to invest in the industrialization construction project of medium and low voltage power devices, with a total amount of approximately 11118.69 million yuan. Investment increases, SiC production capacity construction accelerates For a considerable period of time, the power semiconductor market has been dominated by established players from Europe, the United States, Japan, and other regions. With the development of local new energy vehicles in recent years, domestic enterprises have achieved rapid growth in various segmented markets. According to Omdia statistics, the top 3 global IGBT single tube and module companies in 2021 are overseas enterprises, with market shares of 53% and 56% respectively. Domestic enterprise Silan Microelectronics has a market share of 4% in the single tube market, while Star Semiconductor and CRRC Times have market shares of 3% and 2% in the module market, respectively. The China Academy of Commerce Industry Research predicts that with the deepening of domestic substitution, the localization rate is expected to rise to 32.9% in 2023. Multiple data and analyses indicate that China's power semiconductors have gradually moved from low threshold applications such as industrial control and medium low voltage to high-voltage applications such as automobiles and energy storage. Along with the construction of the third-generation semiconductor material industry represented by silicon carbide, localization has deepened. With the trend of longer range and shorter charging time of electric vehicles, silicon-based technology is gradually moving towards physical limits in terms of size, weight, and power efficiency. More and more manufacturers are turning to silicon carbide, especially the importance of silicon carbide in the application of new energy vehicle power systems is becoming increasingly prominent. With the acceleration of the "silicon carbide on board" process, the construction of the silicon carbide industry has also become one of the main themes for various companies to increase project investment this year. According to incomplete statistics from Jiwei Network, the number of newly signed third-generation semiconductor (power projects) has nearly doubled in the first nine months of 2023 compared to the entire year of 2022. JW Insights previously estimated that by 2026, the global market size of power devices in new energy vehicles will reach 85 billion yuan, and the global market size of SiC power semiconductors in new energy vehicles will approach 28 billion yuan, with a penetration rate of over 30%. Currently, among the actively constructed silicon carbide projects in China, high investment projects have emerged. In addition to the Sanan Yifa 8-inch silicon carbide project signed in Chongqing in June, there is also the recently constructed Changfei Advanced Third Generation Semiconductor Power Device Base, which is expected to have a total investment of over 20 billion yuan. Among them, the total investment of the first phase of the project is 10 billion yuan, which can produce 360000 SiC MOSFET wafers annually, including epitaxy, device design, wafer manufacturing, packaging, etc. It is expected to be completed by 2025. Hubei Gongxin News pointed out that by then, the project will become the largest SiC power semiconductor manufacturing base in China, with a leading production capacity in the industry. The scale of production capacity and technological leadership have become achievable goals for domestic enterprises after investment. Infineon once directly denied investors' doubts about Chinese suppliers during its Q3 conference call for fiscal year 2023, stating that the share of silicon carbide materials from Chinese suppliers reached around 20% in the past quarter, and this share will double in the coming quarters. We are pleased with the progress made by Tianyue Advanced and Tianke Heda With the advancement of various domestic projects, the production capacity of power semiconductor related products in China is constantly increasing, and the completeness of the industrial chain is also constantly improving. It has formed a coverage of core links from material enterprises such as Tianyue Advanced and Tianke Heda, to equipment manufacturers such as Liancheng Kaix Technology, to manufacturers such as Jita Semiconductor, as well as product enterprises such as Times Electric, Star Semiconductor, and Xinyue Energy.

On the afternoon of September 14th, the Ministry of Commerce held a press conference to introduce the recent key work in the business field and answer questions from reporters. At the meeting, a reporter asked that US Secretary of Commerce Raymondo recently claimed that the United States will continue to sell "billions of dollars" of chips to China, but will not sell "the most powerful" or "cutting-edge" chips to China. What is the comment of the Ministry of Commerce on this? The spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce, He Yadong, stated that the US measures to restrict the export of chips to China go against market rules, disrupt the global semiconductor market, not only harm the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies, but also seriously affect the interests of global semiconductor companies, including American companies. China is the world's largest semiconductor market. Artificially restricting economic and trade exchanges between China and the United States in the semiconductor industry is detrimental to others and not beneficial to oneself. China has always adhered to openness, inclusiveness, and win-win cooperation, and will continue to increase its openness to promote global scientific and technological exchanges and economic and trade cooperation.

US Secretary of Commerce Raymondo (Associated Press) According to the report, Raymondo said, "No one has ever said that we would sever ties with China in the semiconductor industry. We provide billions of dollars worth of semiconductors to China every year, which is beneficial to the US economy and American companies. We will continue to do so. But these semiconductors can be bought around the world and have almost developed into commodities similar to oil and gas. What we plan to achieve and will not compromise is to restrict the supply of our most advanced and powerful semiconductors to China On September 1st, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin responded to issues related to China US relations at a regular press conference, stating that competition between countries should be fair and reasonable, benign and regulated, with red lines and forbidden zones. We cannot ignore the rules of the market economy and the basic norms of international relations, nor can we use core interest issues as a tool for competition or provocation. Competition is not the entirety of China US relations, and we oppose defining all China US relations based on competition. In fact, the complementarity of China US economies far outweighs competitiveness, and the essence of China US economic and trade cooperation is mutual benefit and win-win. "Wang Wenbin said that although the systems of China and the United States are different, this does not prevent the two sides from cooperating based on common interests, nor should it become a reason for confrontation between China and the United States.

Power semiconductors, as the core components of electronic devices for energy conversion and circuit control, have enormous potential for development in the automotive and industrial fields, and their demand has also skyrocketed. Taking the automotive industry as an example, according to Strategy Analytics data, compared to traditional fuel vehicles, the proportion of power semiconductors used in pure electric vehicles is as high as 55%. In addition to a significant increase in usage, the value of single vehicle power semiconductors in new energy vehicles is also on the rise. A set of data from Infineon shows that the value of single vehicle power semiconductors in new energy vehicles is five times that of traditional fuel vehicles. The unstoppable trend of electrification and the demand space for both quantity and price have made the importance of power semiconductors increasingly prominent. Previously, Ding Rongjun, an academician of the CAE Member, attended the "2023 China Automotive Semiconductor New Ecology Forum" held in Wuxi City and delivered a keynote speech entitled "Development and Application of Power Semiconductor Technology", which described the development history of power semiconductor, technical characteristics and applications of power devices, and technical trends of power semiconductor in the future. The development of power devices has driven industrial transformation in the field of industry Academician Ding Rongjun believes that power semiconductors are the CPUs of "electricity and electronics", and they are used whenever energy is transmitted. The era of microelectronics began with the invention of the world's first germanium based bipolar transistor by Bell Laboratories in 1947. In the view of Academician Ding Rongjun, the development history of global high-speed rail is also a history of power semiconductor technology innovation and industrial progress. From rectifier diodes to thyristors, power electronics technology has emerged; The emergence of thyristors has promoted the advancement of rectifier locomotives towards phase controlled locomotive technology; From thyristor to GTO, the technological upgrade from DC drive to AC drive has been achieved; From GTO to IGBT, digital driving and control have been achieved, promoting the development of high-speed and heavy-duty technology in rail transit. The earliest old-fashioned locomotives in our country actually used thyristors, which later evolved to diodes and now to IGBTs. The high-speed trains we see today, whether they are the 'Harmony' or the 'Revival', were born from the development and evolution of power devices. ”Academician Ding Rongjun stated. Looking back at the development history of power devices, Academician Ding Rongjun believes that "from the discovery of germanium materials to the present, the development time of power devices is less than a century. However, with the driving force of application demand, power semiconductors have developed rapidly, leading to revolutionary breakthroughs in electronic technology and promoting industrial transformation in the entire industrial field "But unlike digital chips, digital chips pursue the progressiveness of the manufacturing process, and often new products replace old products. In power semiconductors, whether diodes or IGBTs, each device has its own characteristics and application occasions, so it is difficult to say that the emergence of new devices can completely replace other devices, and each power device has its place of use. ”Academician Ding Rongjun stated. IGBT is a representative product of the third technological revolution in power semiconductor devices In the view of Academician Ding Rongjun, IGBT is a representative product of the third technological revolution in power semiconductor devices. The characteristics of IGBT are voltage driven, high input impedance, low driving current, fast switching frequency, high voltage resistance, and application range of 600V~6500V. It can be widely used in industries such as rail transit, smart grid, new energy, aerospace, ship drive, AC frequency conversion, wind power generation, motor transmission, and automobiles. From the demand side, new energy vehicles mainly use 750V-1200V IGBT, with an annual demand of over 1 million units, showing explosive growth; Rail transit is the largest demand area for high-voltage IGBTs, with an annual demand of around 300000 units; The wind power inverters and photovoltaic inverters in the field of new energy mainly use 1200V-1700V IGBT M and H modules, with an annual demand of about 500000 units; The main applications of the power grid are 3300V welding and 4500V crimping IGBTs, with an annual demand of about tens of thousands of units. Compared with the current development status of power semiconductors at home and abroad, Academician Ding Rongjun believes that "China has achieved technological breakthroughs in thyristor and IGCT from following and parallel to leading; IGBT has formed a complete technical system for chip design, wafer manufacturing, packaging and testing, and has entered the international advanced level; In terms of third-generation semiconductor materials, SiC and GaN technologies have made rapid progress, but there is still a gap compared to the international advanced level, mainly due to cost reasons. At present, the price of SiC devices is still about four times that of silicon devices, and they only penetrate quickly in some scenarios that require high volume and efficiency. Therefore, SiC devices urgently need to reduce costs to accelerate their entry into more application scenarios. ” New materials and new topologies are the key paths for future technological breakthroughs in power devices The development of power device technology is driven by the inherent needs of "improving performance" and "reducing costs". Therefore, Academician Ding Rongjun believes that as Si based materials gradually approach their physical limits and Moore's Law approaches their efficiency limits, new materials and topologies will be the key path for future technological breakthroughs in power semiconductor devices. In the future, the technological evolution of power devices can be achieved from four directions: "new materials, new structures, new packaging, and intelligence". Source: Hexun Network