The 8-inch wafer capacity of power management chips is in short supply, so why can't it be migrated to 12 inches?
Power management chips are in short supply
As many fabs around the world officially expand production in 2021, the production capacity of semiconductor components will gradually increase in the next few years. According to data released by SEMI, the global semiconductor equipment market is expected to reach US$101.3 billion in 2022, and global front-end fab equipment spending is expected to exceed US$98 billion.

On the other hand, according to the statistics of the future think tank, in mainland China, the 12-inch production capacity of the planned, under-construction, and production fabs and IDM factories is about 2.2 million pieces/month, and the 8-inch production capacity is about 1.3 million pieces/month. From this point of view, the expansion plan of 8-inch capacity is far less than that of 12-inch capacity. For power management chips, 8-inch wafers are in short supply, can they be turned into 12-inch wafers?

At present, Japan, the United States, mainland China, and Taiwan are the regions with the most 8-inch wafer fabs in the world. The 8-inch fabs built in the mainland include at least 12 such as SMIC Shaoxing, Silan Jixin, Haichen Semiconductor, and SMIC (Tianjin), and at least 7 are under construction, including Mingguan Microelectronics, Innovax Section etc. The projects targeted in the 8-inch fabs listed above are also different. Among them, SMIC Shaoxing's 8-inch production line will mainly produce RF, MEMS, IGBT, MOSFET and other products; Innosec's Suzhou 8-inch project will focus on Gallium Nitride products.

Organized according to public information (incomplete statistics)

But even if there are 8-inch factories in China that can rank in the world, the production capacity is still tight. This is mainly related to two reasons. First, the 8-inch production capacity is mainly used for power management chips, CMOS image sensor chips, display driver ICs, radio frequency chips and power devices, and the demand in these fields has not yet seen a downward trend. The second is that power management chip manufacturers in the consumer electronics field are reluctant to transition to 12-inch wafer manufacturing.

Why are many domestic power management IC suppliers reluctant to switch to 12-inch wafer manufacturing? Chuangxinwei told Electronic Enthusiast Network that from the actual demand, most power management ICs are indeed not suitable for switching to 12-inch wafer technology. In addition to the substantial increase in R&D costs (mask and engineering wafer costs), several factors are key constraints: First, the 12-inch BCD process platform is not as complete and mature as the 8-inch, lacking high-voltage devices and special devices required for analog power products . Second, the chip size of the power management chip is generally small, and the number of particles in a single chip switched to a 12-inch wafer is too large, causing certain difficulties for subsequent CP testing and packaging. Third, not many 12-inch wafer manufacturing processes have passed the automotive-grade certification, and the replacement verification cycle is very long.

It should be noted that in the first half of 2021, new companies related to the semiconductor industry increased by 178% year-on-year. 8-inch wafer capacity is in short supply, and it is difficult for some start-ups to obtain foundry for 8-inch fabs, let alone 12-inch wafer foundry. At the same time, due to the pressure of price increases, both start-ups and industry leaders have to bear more cost pressures. Recently, Taiwan media reported that TSMC will increase the price of 8-inch mature process foundry in the third quarter of this year, and 12-inch mature and advanced processes are still under evaluation.

At this stage, 8-inch wafer manufacturing is more cost-effective than 12-inch wafer manufacturing, but it also faces various challenges such as technology and cost. From this point of view, for domestic power management chip manufacturers, 8 inches is the main theme.

Industry insiders told Electronic Enthusiasts Network that in the semiconductor industry, whether they are willing or unwilling to switch to 12-inch wafer foundry, the general trend in the future will still shift to 12-inch wafers. However, the status quo is that the expansion of 8-inch wafer manufacturing capacity is limited, and power management chip manufacturers will actually still focus on the 8-inch process, and will move to more advanced processes later.

It is worth mentioning that, in the face of the current situation of shortage of production capacity, whether it is a start-up company or a company with rapid development, the particularity of the semiconductor industry determines that the company cannot only rely on R&D capabilities to maintain the company's rapid growth and development. , especially for design companies, it is also crucial to grasp the supply chain.