Keywords: semiconductors
Last time we simply reviews the development history of China's semiconductor industry, before continue to analyze China's semiconductor industry characteristics, we must first understand the simple process of semiconductor manufacturing process, while for the readers of the semiconductor industry should be very boring, but to see the whole pattern of the semiconductor industry is very important. There is also must declare that the author is studying economics, macroeconomic, professional is also don't know anything about semiconductor should can be used to describe, in terms of manufacturing process than I know a lot of readers, write the purpose of these techniques in the industry for only know, if there are any shortcomings or mistakes of place please understanding.
Semiconductor manufacturing process in general can be divided into: chip design, wafer processing before and after the procedure of packaging test three processes. Chip design is according to the demands of end products from the system, module, gate level selection and combination, and determine the device structure and process, implement relevant functional and performance requirements, the final output circuit design of landscape, provide to the production enterprise for processing production; Wafer processing is also known as before, are presented according to the design of circuit layout, through the furnace tube, wet etching, deposition, photolithography, dry, injection and annealing process in the semiconductor wafer substrate and forming components and Internet line, has completed the final output whole function and performance of wafer; Packaging test, also known as process after, is on a silicon wafer processing enterprises according to customer requirements for packaging processing into separate single chip, and the electrical function test to confirm.
In the semiconductor industry, the enterprise has become the mainstream of vertical specialization division of labor and specialized is engaged in the chip Design companies are known as the Design House, this kind of enterprise itself generally no production lines, production are almost outsourcing, without their own production line enterprises is referred to as no production line (Fabless), it is very common in the semiconductor industry. Like the recent softbank company bought by UK ARM is typical design process of the corporate and no production lines. Companies such as qualcomm and broadcom also. As Taiwan's famous semiconductor maker TSMC (TSMC) is a wafer processing professional manufacturers, they have not even their own brands, professional production of semiconductor devices for other company, this kind of company is also known as contract (Foundry), besides, TSMC, tsu electricity and smic is also such enterprises. Assembly (Assembly/Test) is a representative of the enterprise in Taiwan, the moonlight, silicon and long telegram science and technology of China. And relative production mode is the integration of vertical division of labor (IDM, Integrated Device Manufacturer) production mode, namely the inside back cover from the chip design to test procedure done completely in the same enterprise, like Intel's semiconductor industry leader and the second company of samsung is the integration of production mode. Integration of production business model needs strong technical accumulation, so for a new join the backwardness of enterprise rarely used.
In semiconductor production of three types of enterprises, the general design process of the enterprise, the highest technical content among contract in the second, then the process of testing enterprises belong to labour-intensive, low technical content. Semiconductor industry production chain, of course, also including the raw materials suppliers and equipment suppliers, some of the suppliers, especially in semiconductor equipment suppliers have a lot of high technical content in the enterprise, like Japan's Canon and Japan are world-class printing equipment suppliers, we will in the later serial mentioned again.
After the simple understanding of the semiconductor production process, let's look at the status quo of China's semiconductor industry. According to Gartner, 2013 global semiconductor packaging and test industry market size of $49.8 billion, accounting for the global semiconductor industry market size ratio of 16.4%. In the past five years, encapsulation test link in the entire semiconductor industry output value proportion have been remarkably stable, always maintain the stable range from 16% to 17%. According to China semiconductor industry association statistics, in 2013 the domestic integrated circuit packaging and testing market size was $110 billion, up 6.1% from a year earlier, nearly 10 annual compound growth rate as high as 16.3%, far higher than the growth of global semiconductor testing industry. 2013 domestic testing industry output value accounted for 44% of the semiconductor industry output value, and in the past ten years the proportion always stay in more than 40% of the high level.
Can be seen from these figures, China's semiconductor companies in the semiconductor production chain, the overall technology of low level, the main cause of this phenomenon is, relative to the rest of the semiconductor production process, packaging and testing process has low technical barriers, labor costs are high and need huge investment capital barriers caused by high characteristic, these are the advantage of China has great progress is taken for granted.
So in the highest technical content among chip design link? And on the contrary, we think the chip design of China has been rapid development of high-speed, semiconductor industry chain each link is one of the fastest growing areas. According to China's semiconductor association statistics, 2013 domestic chip design the size of the market have for 2013, compared with 2004 increased by nearly 10 times, the compound annual growth rate of 29%, is 2.5 times of the domestic semiconductor industry. In semiconductor production of three processes, the chip design in 2004 accounted for only 15%, at least this figure has risen to 32% in 2013.
Looked at the Numbers you will immediately understand that China's semiconductor industry weakness before the process of wafer processing this part, the status quo of China's semiconductor industry figuratively speaking should be "the head, feet thick, waist very fine" pattern of distortion, and compared with domestic demand in the industry production capacity completely out of line. Low technical content and the testing process is completely understandable us, high-tech chip design is good we will be pleased, processing is very backward before but let's hard to understand. In the general awareness of the Chinese people, "processing" should be the strengths of the Chinese people, don't China have tried? The government, there is no policy tilt? The answer is NO! Is the result of unsatisfactory. Next time we look at China's largest wafer production enterprise smic is the typical example, analyze why do wafer processing process will be the development of China's semiconductor industry fast knot.
