Almost all electronic products and devices have power management chips, so power chips are also known as the "heart" of electronic devices. It is the largest market segment for analog chips. According to the input voltage attribute, the power chip can be divided into AC-DC (AC to DC) conversion chip and DC-DC (DC to DC) conversion chip. AC-DC conversion is usually the conversion of AC mains (220V or 110V) into the DC voltage required by the internal circuits of electronic equipment or products; DC-DC conversion usually refers to the conversion of the attributes or parameters of the DC power supply, such as step-down , Step-up, step-up and step-up conversion, etc., to match the power supply requirements of equipment or circuit modules.
In recent years, the downstream industry of power chips has boomed, providing a broad market space for power chips. For example, the demand for power chips in automotive electronics, communication equipment, industrial control and other fields has grown rapidly, and the performance requirements of the chips are higher. The power chips developed, designed and sold by the issuer belong to the industry's mid-to-high-end products. At present, the market is mainly occupied by foreign giants such as Texas Instruments, Analog Devices, and Infineon, and the market concentration is relatively high.
What is the difference between the development of power chips at home and abroad?
In terms of the international market, data from the Institute of Foresight Industry shows that the global output value of power chips in 2018 was 25 billion U.S. dollars. In recent years, thanks to the continuous growth of markets such as new energy vehicles and 5G communications, the global power chip market has developed rapidly. It is estimated that the market size will reach 56.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2026, with an average annual compound growth rate of 10.69%.
In the domestic market, China Business Intelligence Network data shows that from 2015 to 2019, China's power chip market has increased from 52 billion yuan to 72 billion yuan, and is expected to exceed 78 billion yuan in 2020, with an average annual compound growth rate of about 8.5%. . Stimulated by factors such as consumption upgrades and the development of new technologies, the functions of various electronic products in China are showing a trend of diversification, and the upgrading is accelerating. The demand for power chips continues to increase. In addition, the trend of substitution of semiconductor imports has also brought more development opportunities to many domestic chip companies.
As one of the indispensable components of electronic equipment, the market demand for power management chips is showing a significant growth trend with the continuous growth of downstream applications such as 5G communications, smart homes, and new energy vehicles. The following major areas are the focus:
1, automotive electronics
Automotive electronics is the general term for car body car electronic control devices and car car electronic control devices, and is one of the important application areas of power chips. With the increasing electronicization of automobiles, more and more electronic products are carried in automobiles, which increase the consumption of electricity, power and other energy of automobiles. Therefore, automobiles have increasingly strict requirements on power consumption. Products require high-efficiency, small-sized power modules that can output large currents at high voltages.
2, industrial control
The full name of industrial control is industrial automation control, which refers to the use of computer software, microelectronics, electronic and electrical technologies to make production more automated, efficient, precise, and with controllability and visibility. In order to achieve the above effects, industrial control equipment needs to have a stable power system, sensitive sensors, efficient information transmission and other functional modules. The stable operation of the above-mentioned system or module needs to be equipped with an efficient and reliable power chip.
3, communication equipment
According to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, China's major telecom operators have begun to deploy 5G communications in 2018, laying out new base stations. As of December 31, 2019, the number of mobile phone base stations in China was approximately 8.41 million; as of December 31, 2020, the number of mobile communication base stations in China reached 9.31 million, a net increase of 900,000 for the year, of which more than 60 new 5G base stations were built. Ten thousand. Compared with 4G base stations, 5G base stations require more antennas, and electronically adjustable antennas have higher requirements for the anti-interference performance of the power chip. The increase in the number of communication base stations and the number of single base station antennas means that the development of China's 5G communication industry requires the simultaneous development of China's power chip market.
4, consumer electronics
Consumer electronics refers to the electronic products that consumers use daily, such as personal computers, smart phones, battery cars, etc.
5. Household appliances
Household appliances refer to electrical appliances and electronic appliances used in homes and similar places, including refrigeration, cleaning, kitchen appliances, and electric heating appliances.
Looking forward to the future, new trends in the development of new power supplies
With the increasing popularity of the application of new technologies such as the Internet of Things, autonomous driving, 5G, and artificial intelligence, the performance of related electronic products continues to improve, and applications continue to innovate. Power chips are one of the core components of electronic products. , Volume, reliability and other aspects put forward higher requirements, the power chip market presents the characteristics of diversified demand and application segmentation. High integration, high voltage, high power, high reliability and low power consumption have gradually become the main technological development trends in the power chip industry.
1, high integration
The power chip needs to be equipped with peripheral inductors, capacitors and other components when it works. Therefore, the number of pins, shape, number and shape of peripheral components, PCB board area, and layout style determine the volume of the power module. The development trend of light weight and miniaturization of electronic products requires higher integration and smaller size power chips.
2, high voltage and high power
The power supply voltage of terminal equipment continues to increase, which puts forward higher requirements on the withstand voltage performance of the power chip. As the integration of digital chips becomes higher and higher, power chips with greater output power supply power for them, which has become another driving factor for high-voltage and high-power power chips.
3, high reliability
The power consumption of the chip is large when it is working, and the heating and temperature increase may cause the abnormal function of the internal materials, the device and the circuit module of the chip, which affects the reliability of the chip. Environmental factors during chip operation, such as temperature, humidity, vibration, electromagnetic interference, etc., will also affect the reliability of the chip. Therefore, the power chip is the "heart" of electronic products, and its reliability is directly related to the service life of electronic products. With the diversification of electronic product functions and the complexity of applications, power supply chips are constantly developing in the direction of high reliability.
4, low power consumption
The standby power consumption of the power chip is a core indicator for evaluating the performance of the power chip. If the standby power consumption of the power chip is high, it will affect the battery-powered electronic equipment's battery life. Therefore, low power consumption is a major development trend in the power chip industry.