In recent years, the integrated circuit industry has been in the forefront of the wind and attracted much attention. At the just concluded 2022 ICS Integrated Circuit Summit, Professor Wei Shaojun, Mr. Li Ke and other industry experts gave their views. With facts and data, it is shown that the chip product innovation can be realized on the mature integrated circuit process and EDA tools without the most advanced process. The pursuit of energy efficiency can achieve product innovation features. When it comes to unilateral decoupling in the United States, it means that we do not want to decouple, and there will be semi decoupling. The United States should ensure that it is ahead of China's second-generation semiconductor technology. In 2023, they will increase their containment of China, not slow it down, but strengthen it. According to the views of experts, this article looks at the IC development strategy and internal and external environment cognition from four aspects: mature technology innovation, supply chain security, talent shortage, and semi decoupling strategy development.

01  Pulse the bank's business to realize product innovation

      Professor Wei Shaojun and Mr. Li Ke explained with facts and data that the chip product innovation is realized on the mature integrated circuit process and EDA tools, and the products with high integration and 128 layers can still be achieved without the advanced 14 nanometer process. The energy efficiency of their mainstream processes can be reached by one or two orders of magnitude with mature processes. The energy efficiency is very important. If supercomputing is to be done with low energy efficiency, the power consumption will be huge. We don't need the most advanced technology. If we pursue the energy efficiency index, others can't stop us and realize our product innovation features.

      Professor Wei Shaojun and Mr. Li Ke explained with facts and data that the chip product innovation is realized on the mature integrated circuit process and EDA tools, and the products with high integration and 128 layers can still be achieved without the advanced 14 nanometer process. The energy efficiency of their mainstream processes can be reached by one or two orders of magnitude with mature processes. The energy efficiency is very important. If supercomputing is to be done with low energy efficiency, the power consumption will be huge. We don't need the most advanced technology. If we pursue the energy efficiency index, others can't stop us and realize our product innovation features.

      When we use mature technology, it gives us the opportunity to improve domestic EDA tools, lithography machines and other equipment, and promotes the industry to enter a virtuous circle of self-help. Li Ke's data also shows that the simulator companies with the highest performance growth do not use advanced technology. They only import advanced technology six years after it entered the market, from cheap to stable. There is an opinion discussion on I Love Scheme, which is consistent with today's pragmatic product innovation ideas, and also refers to realizing product innovation with mature processes. it "Without a 7nm process, what will we do in the next five years? Look at the fact that all analog IC companies in China together cannot compare with ADI, the second largest analog IC company in the world. From the product line layout, there are a lot of missing items and a big gap in product stability. Recently, I received a replacement request from a digital pressure sensor company, and we need to find a replacement product LMP91002S. It is a power management IC that supplies power to the analog front-end. China There are so many power management IC companies that have not found a substitute. Therefore, IC design companies have developed cooperatively to supplement the product application fields. In five years, the product lines of Shengbang Micro, Zhuosheng Micro, Chuantu Micro, Nanocore Micro and Zhongke Haoxin, which are merged together, are equivalent to ADI, and the product stability, especially the FR product performance, will be improved in five years. ".

      Professor Wei revealed that Changjiang Storage and other companies have achieved success in the innovation of mature process products.

02   Analysis of countermeasures for international environment semi decoupling

      Li Shi said that it is difficult for China to break through the encirclement. By 2025, the output value of integrated circuits in Shenzhen will increase by 400 billion yuan, including 2/3 of the design industry. The international environment is subject to great changes, so we should vigorously promote the double cycle and carry out international cooperation strategically. Professor Wei's speech is humorous. Americans want to decouple, while Chinese people don't want to decouple. Americans want to exclude China from the semiconductor industry chain, but they can't bear to give up the Chinese market. Therefore, "semi decoupling" is realistic, and our countermeasures should focus on semi decoupling.

      Professor Wei made a picture of smiling faces and crying faces. The smiling face of the United States is an integrated circuit, while the crying face of China is an integrated circuit. Therefore, the United States should limit and curb the development of integrated circuits in China. In addition, for mobile communication network communication, the United States is a tearful face and China is a smiling face. Therefore, if the United States wants to suppress Huawei ZTE, there can be no place where China can compete with the United States.

      Under the semi decoupling environment, China should vigorously develop 5G application and product design standards. The integrated circuits for 5G applications, including sensors, can be basically realized in mature processes, and the equipment has excellent process cost performance. China is a big manufacturing country, but the product standards of consumer and industrial equipment are all from ships, such as UL safety regulations/ISO 9001 quality specifications. Semi decoupling allows mature management ideas and business processes to be interconnected. Therefore, China should seize the window period and vigorously develop product design standards, which is an anti decoupling method and also lays a foundation for future technology product exports.

     Experts believe that we should make full use of China's huge market, drive product innovation by application, and build China's product standards and product systems. China is a world factory that produces products for the world. Therefore, in most cases, product specifications are defined by others, product definitions are made by others, and even design requirements are proposed by others. We design under the framework given by others, or develop our own products by referring to the design of others. Path dependence and external technology lead us to stick to the big market of China but not make good use of it. Chip design is also a product developer, so we should be calm and inward looking, start with research and application, strengthen our product definition ability, form a unique product scheme from application, design, chip and other aspects, and create our own standards and paradigms. This is the unique advantage of China's integrated circuit design industry, which cannot be taken away by others. It is essential for us to get rid of the external dependence of the technical path and form our own product system and technical standards.

03   Mastering market data to promote the development of supply chain security

      Many experts concerned about the security of the supply chain and pointed out that globalization is almost dead. In this case, we must take precautions and adjust our strategies as soon as possible to ensure the security of our own supply chain. This does not mean that we should close the door, but that we should alert everyone. Although domestic enterprises are relatively weak and the technical level of products is generally lower than that of foreign competitors, this cannot be the reason why we exclude local suppliers. Let's quote the conclusion of "2022 CITE Supply Chain Security Development Forum". "Supply chain security is a key topic in the production and service industry. We conclude that the supply chain includes four elements, including the quality and integrity system to eliminate false product specifications, local supply to improve the design of procurement, logistics commitment to delivery and timely procurement with the help of market forecasting tools. “

      Today's experts pointed out that giving local suppliers a chance to improve their purchasing ability with local supply is a recognition that local supply must be able to better control the specification, quality and delivery date, and there is less geopolitical interruption. The global core shortage has given Chinese local IC companies an opportunity. In one year, the enterprises have experienced the transformation from "passive replacement" to "active replacement". Without external force, this is an unimaginable change.

      In the supply chain security competition, China's integrated circuits can neither "subjugate the country" nor win quickly. They need to go through arduous struggle to usher in the dawn of victory. The reason why we are now in a relatively passive situation is that we have not yet got rid of "external" innovation and have a strong path dependence. The reason why we should be firm in confidence is to see that China's development is in the "industrial upgrading" rather than "industrial reconstruction", so we have a more powerful position from the overall perspective.

04   Looking forward to the talent shortage in the future is a consensus

      Academician Pan Yi, Professor Zhou Shengming, Professor Wei Shaojun and other experts all elaborated that talent bottleneck is a major obstacle to the development of China's integrated circuit industry. China's talent training system is not good, far away from industry, and lacks practical talents. For quite some time in the past, our education system put skills training in vocational colleges instead of planning corresponding engineer training in universities. This is a mistake. We should re recognize the integration of production, teaching and research, and cultivate talents at different levels, and vigorously cultivate skilled and engineering personnel.

      The talent bottleneck is gradually highlighted, not only chip shortage, capacity shortage, but also talent shortage. At present, we are short of not only leading talents and talents, but also general engineering and technical talents. The main reason is that the IC talent training system does not adapt to the development of the industry, and the two cannot form the same frequency resonance. According to the report of CCID Consulting, by 2024, there will be a talent gap of 220000 people in the whole industry, including 120000 people in the design industry. Although the central government has realized the seriousness and urgency of this problem and launched the "excellent engineer talent training plan", talent training takes time, and universities cannot be expected to fill the talent gap in a short time. Only enterprises can best understand their own needs, and can also cultivate the talents they need most pertinently. Therefore, enterprises should not be a spectator on the issue of talent training. Only by establishing an industry education integration mechanism for IC talent training with colleges and universities, and making efforts to do a good job in their own talent training, can they be invincible.

      At present, China is in the period of industrial rise, which is the problem of upgrading the industrial chain and talent allocation. The United States is in the period of industrial restructuring. Unlike China, China has a greater number of victories. Those who know the current affairs are outstanding, and we are determined to develop confidence! Ability requirements, no. It is a mistake that the work of vocational schools is not implemented in universities. Colleges and universities should re recognize the integration of production and education.

      Liu Yaohuang, the director of Pingshan District Bureau of Industry and Information Technology, gave a gift package to the employees of enterprises. The east wing of Pingshan District is a university circle. Shenzhen University of Technology and Moscow University of Beijing Institute of Technology are located in the circle, supporting the three-level talent policy of Pingshan District: skilled talents, senior engineering talents and academician talents. For example, the district government subsidizes 200000 yuan for people with an annual salary of more than 800000 yuan. Shenzhen Institute of Technology focuses on the cultivation of integrated circuit talents and supports a number of integrated circuit enterprises such as BYD, SMIC and Beijing Junzheng.

Note: The article reprinted My Love Scheme Network

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