The semiconductor manufacturing industry "curve of self-help" OEM to integration

30 years ago, when the world has only one IBM, the semiconductor industry and the computer industry today even software industry in people's eyes is just as part of IBM's own needs, as you can imagine a person to head, torso, dismembered and then assembled in a visceral can survive as the same can not believe that from the integration of a company's products to work. However, with the Intel will be the core of the computer - CPU as a separate product supply after the production, the breakdown of the industry began to form the various aspects of today's IDM companies. Semiconductors have become the cornerstone of all, manufacturing all of this is necessary for each IDM enterprise, until more than 20 years ago.

Foundry to integration

1987, TSMC (TSMC) after the establishment of the semiconductor industry experienced a change in turn the world upside down industrial division, further refinement, vertical integration and horizontal division of labor will be cut into a plurality of semiconductor industry related sectors, purely manufacturing semiconductor foundry began to debut in China Taiwan shining. It can even be said that such a direct production of small and medium sized Silicon Valley Fabless design company to provide a hundred flowers bloom, the survival of the soil.

With the passage of time, the semiconductor technology as the cornerstone of the world science and technology development, the increasingly complex technology and production difficulties, make significant changes of ecological pattern of industrial division. Wafer foundry began to evolve to a similar IDM model, to the upstream IC design and downstream packaging test, and is committed to improving the surrounding support industry, completed by the flagship to the aircraft carrier leap.

In fact, the foundry is already a very large "carrier" system, but in the mode of development has appeared slight differences. TSMC and UMC the top two global foundry TSMC as an example, the full implementation of the Zhang Zhongmou at the start of the policy, the industrial division of labor in the end now, although also in IC design and packaging and testing function, but it is the emphasis on customer demand to provide service support, expand the is the "carrier" platform; and UMC way is more like the formation of a system in a fleet to foundries as the core, supporting the upstream IC design company by way of investment, the relevant enterprises MediaTek, novatek, "Lian Synnex Jiajun" has become a IC design the world famous company. Although the two companies vary, but none of the expansion of the foundry field, is no longer purely in a single mode.

Has led Shanghai Hongli semiconductor Cai Nanxiong also talked about the establishment of "virtual IDM" point of view, as grace Cai Nanxiong had such analysis, after the fine division of labor in the semiconductor industry, will appear again the integration of the situation, but such integration will no longer be the original IDM model, but the formation of strategic alliance in the form of company Fabless design and foundry together, appeared new mode of "virtual IDM".

Cai Nanxiong further explained that the IC design company, the majority is a IC design company corresponding to a foundry, for IC design companies, the risk is very high. In this case should be formed is a IC design company corresponding to a number of semiconductor wafer factory, the concept of OEM production diversification, can effectively guarantee the stability of production, reduce risk. At the same time, IC design companies can get more experience and experience in the production of the design verification in fab, can be more close to the market, to achieve regional advantages.

Live in Shanghai, the mainland's largest foundry in the industrial development of core international is absorbing the advantages of TSMC and "Military", on the one hand to expand the industrial part of special needs, such as built in Shanghai mask factory, established a joint venture for the image sensor supporting the optical lens part and Chengdu packaging factory etc., and actively support the IC design company of the adjustment process, this strategy is quite similar to UMC; and on the other hand is to itself bigger and stronger, in core international, specialized support for IC design company service team has more than 200 people, not including between special design and service company cooperation, this mode of operation is the advantage of tsmc. SMIC is the essence of the current wafer industry in the integration of experience, explore the development of semiconductor manufacturing better mode.

Generation plant integration "very careful"

TSMC (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., the largest as a bridge between the mainland and Taiwan semiconductor manufacturing industry, has been carrying most of mainland manufacturing fabless IC design company of high-end products. TSMC (Shanghai) Limited General Manager Zhao Yingcheng analysis of the current development of the semiconductor manufacturing industry said that the current factory is not the true sense of the direction towards IDM development, because of the large IDM company which is completely the application requirements of terminal oriented products and specifications for the design and development. TSMC will extend the service to the upstream and downstream is designed to provide customers with a more complete solution, not directly selling chips, competitive relations are completely different.

True, semiconductor manufacturing part in foundries as an independent part of the beginning, its role has its tentacles can not be directly to the end customers, system vendors who, otherwise it will touch on the interests of the iron law of contradiction. There is also a way to invest in the design of the foundry to the upstream extension, while avoiding direct to end customers,