A few days ago, Samsung Electronics held a wafer foundry business briefing in Tokyo, Japan, to demonstrate technology and production capacity prospects to customers to further strengthen its wafer foundry business. It is understood that Samsung is actively investing in the foundry business. In terms of mature processes, Samsung plans to increase its mature process production capacity to 2.5 times the current level by 2027.
Intel and TSMC have never stopped deploying in mature process fields. Previously, Intel announced that it would manufacture WiFi chips for MediaTek’s digital TV and mature processes. Mature processes may become an important part of Intel’s efforts to build the world’s leading chip foundry business. TSMC revealed at this year’s technical seminar that it plans to expand the production capacity of TSMC’s mature process in 2025 to the targetAbout 50% of the previous level.
Wafer manufacturers are working hard to mature their processes
At present, the increasingly diversified development of emerging fields and terminal applications has made the market more and more demanding for differentiated processes. The promotion of mature process technology has become one of the focuses of the recent semiconductor market, attracting industry-leading wafer manufacturers.Make great efforts to lay out your plans.
TSMC continues to invest and expand in mature processes, the largest and most stable market in the industry, and upgrades mature processes according to customer needs. Related products are widely used in fields such as IoT MCUs, wireless charging and automotive radar, high-end panel driver IC applications and wireless charging chips. The industry predicts that TSMC’s investment in mature processes has exceeded US$4 billion this year and will not be less than US$4 billion next year. It is expected that TSMC’s cumulative investment in mature processes in recent years will reach US$10 billion.
Significant investment has also given TSMC a leading advantage in mature process capacity. According to statistics from Counterpoint Research, TSMC’s mature process (node ≥ 40nm) production capacity ranks first among global wafer foundries, with a market share of 28%, followed by UMC (13%) and Samsung (10%).
In recent years, Samsung has continued to pay more attention to mature manufacturing processes. Samsung recently held a wafer foundry business briefing in Tokyo, Japan, and once again expressed its strong intention to strengthen its wafer foundry business. It is worth noting that Samsung specifically mentioned that it will mature its process by 2027Production capacity has been increased to 2.5 times the current level. This may indicate that Samsung hopes to narrow the market share gap with TSMC in the wafer foundry field by actively deploying mature processes.
In order to regain its advantage in the competition with TSMC, Samsung's foundry department is also strengthening its highly customized special processes and plans to increase the number of special process nodes to 10 or more in 2024.
Intel, which is running all the way under the IDM 2.0 model, may also hope to fulfill its promise of "creating the world's leading chip foundry business" by developing mature processes. Entering the second half of this year, Intel announced that it will OEM digital TV and mature process WiFi chips for MediaTek. In this regard, MediaTek stated that this cooperation will strengthen its supply of mature process nodes.
In addition to TSMC, Samsung and Intel, foundry manufacturers represented by United Microelectronics and Power Semiconductor continue to focus on mature process fields and maintain a steady pace of development. At the beginning of December, both UMC and Power Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. said that customers’ attention to the company’s mature process foundry business has increased significantly recently. UMC bluntly stated that the popularity of its Singapore factory continues to increase; Power Semiconductor emphasized that the popularity of mature processes will continue and widespread adoption of mature processesThe growth trend of the automotive chip business will become more obvious, and Power Semiconductor will benefit from it.
Mature processes have greater economies of scale
The reason behind the efforts of leading foundry manufacturers such as TSMC, Samsung and Intel to mature processes is actually due to multi-dimensional considerations such as economic benefits, market and technology.
Zhu Jing, deputy secretary-general of the Beijing Semiconductor Industry Association, told a reporter from China Electronics News that first, considering economies of scale, the market production capacity of mature processes is larger. Mature processes are likely to maintain nearly 75-80% of production capacity in the next three years, and have greater economies of scale than advanced processes. Second, from the perspective of risk reduction, mature processes have a wider application range and relatively more dispersed customers. When the industry cycle fluctuates greatly, it can offset the high risks of investment in advanced processes. For example, when the market performance of chips requiring advanced processes is obviously poor, foundry companies will consider increasing chip production capacity of mature processes to ensure overall capacity utilization. Third, considering the technical requirements, the three companies are seeking to seize more market share in the global foundry business. In order to provide customers with comprehensive services, it is not enough to only focus on advanced technology. Especially the current new technical requirements such as chiplets and heterogeneous integration, requiring foundries to provide diversified process capabilities.
The better economic benefits obtained in mature process fields will also help major manufacturers better deploy advanced processes. Chi Xiannian, a senior consultant at the CCID Consulting Integrated Circuit Center, told reporters that with the improvement of process technology, the requirements for semiconductor equipment and materials have become more stringent, which has directly led to an increase in manufacturing costs. As advanced processes gradually approach their limits, wafer foundries begin to counterattack mature processes. This may indicate that major foundries hope to gain profits by occupying the market space of mature processes to spend on the high R&D expenses of advanced processes.
As leading wafer manufacturers increase production and expand production, market competition for mature processes has become more intense. Referring to how various manufacturers currently create differentiated advantages in mature process fields, Zhu Jing told reporters that TSMC has always been an industry leader in mature process fields. Especially in special processes such as 28/22nm and automotive-grade semiconductors, TSMC occupies more than 70% of the global market share. Its differentiated advantages are strong technical capabilities and high-quality customer service capabilities. TSMC has a high viscosity on the client side, which is no less than its influence on advanced processes.
"Compared to TSMC, Samsung and IntelThey are indeed newcomers to the mature process OEM industry, but both companies have their own trump cards in some areas. Zhu Jing said that Tower acquired by Intel has great advantages in specialty processes such as analog and radio frequency, while Samsung also has strong competitiveness in image sensors, display drivers and other fields, and can win some orders from customers who require special processes. border-box="">In the face of fierce market competition, leading wafer fabs may embark on a different development path from other manufacturers. According to Bu Rixin, a partner of Chuangdao Hard Technology, as wafer fabs continue to increase investment in mature processes, production capacity may become increasingly saturated or even excessive. In this context, leading wafer fabs may rely on large-scale, mature and stable process levels to occupy most of the market share. The remaining manufacturers will seek differentiated routes and focus on unique processes in mature processes.The domain is refined and detailed.
Mature manufacturing processes will allow a hundred flowers to bloom
After entering 2022, mature processes will usher in the increased layout of major wafer manufacturers such as TSMC, Samsung and Intel, which may reveal more signals about the current market development.
Currently, Moore's Law is severely slowing down, and the costs and risks of R&D investment in processes below 3 nanometers have increased exponentially. However, incremental innovation based on PC, mobile phone and other markets has entered a phase of retirement. The incremental demand for advanced processes has significantly narrowed, and customers who can afford advanced processes are also highly concentrated. Therefore, the competitive situation in advanced processes has gradually become a 'zero-sum game'. " Zhu Jing explained to reporters that this is also an important reason why OEMs that originally focused on advanced processes are gradually seeking opportunities in mature process fields and increasing their layout of mature processes.er-box="">In fact, the demand for mature processes is closely related to the demand and prosperity of downstream industries, and is also closely related to the overall economic situation. Bu Rixin told reporters that the importance of mature processes in the entire industrial chain is self-evident. The increased layout of major wafer fabs is not only a counter-cyclical investment, but also optimistic about the future economic recovery trend.
The mature process chip market is experiencing restorative growth after nearly a year of sluggish demand. In Chi Xiannian’s view, this is inseparable from the vast market space of mature manufacturing processes. He said that the mature process market is full of varieties, including analog chips, power semiconductors, radio frequency chips and other products. These products still maintain relatively stable demand despite the weak demand for high-end consumer electronics, and the demand for market space is expected to gradually increase in the future. Overall, the mature process market in the future is expected to show a situation where a hundred flowers bloom like "Eight Immortals crossing the sea, each showing his or her magical powers." Zhu Jing said that consideringThe number of domestic mature process IDM manufacturers will also increase, and this field will have a larger number of players. Therefore, mature processes will be a market full of competition. In particular, it is necessary for mainland China to invest more resources in mature processes to solve the problem of industrial chain disconnection in the manufacturing and design fields of the industry.
ANNA