Abstract:As the core of intelligent control, with the gradual implementation of the Internet of Things and the development of automotive electronics, the market demand for MCU has increased significantly. As the world's largest MCU monomer market, domestic MCU manufacturers mainly compete in low-end applications such as consumer electronics, smart cards and water, electricity and gas meters, and still need to make breakthroughs in areas with large market potential and relatively high profits. At present, the MCU market is still in a stage of rapid growth, and domestic enterprises have gradually completed the localization of the low-end MCU field due to their advantages in cost and service capabilities, driving the rapid rise of China's MCU chip market, data shows that the Chinese market size will be about 40.151 billion yuan in 2022
1. Definitions and Classification
MCU (Microcontroller Unit), also known as microcontroller, is a lightweight digital computing chip. MCU is to reduce the frequency and specifications of the central processing unit (CPU) appropriately, and integrate memory, counters, USB, A/D conversion, UART, PLC, DMA and other peripheral interfaces, and even LCD drive circuits on a single chip to form a chip-level computer, which can be controlled in different combinations for different applications, which has the advantages of high performance, low power consumption, programmability, and high flexibility. Depending on the number of bits, MCUs can be divided into 4-bit, 8-bit, 16-bit, 32-bit, and 64-bit.
Second, the development process
8/32 bits occupy the mainstream, of which 8 bits have the advantages of low cost, low power consumption, and easy development, while 32 bits are mainly used in high-end scenarios. The number of bits in the MCU refers to the width of the data processed by the CPU at one time, which can also be understood as the length of the data in the registers involved in the operation. The larger the number of bits, the more data the CPU can process at one time, and the faster the computing speed, that is, the MCU with the higher number of bits has more processing power. In general, the higher the core processing speed, the higher the configuration of memory space, and the corresponding peripheral combinations are richer.
3. Industry policy
In recent years, the Chinese government has successively introduced policies related to the MCU chip industry to promote the development of the industry. The "Outline of the 14th Plan for National Economic and Social Development of the People's Republic of China and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035" proposes to focus on key areas such as high-end chips, operating systems, key algorithms of artificial intelligence, and sensors, and accelerate the R&D breakthroughs and iterative applications of basic theories, basic algorithms, equipment and materials. Theoretical support for the development of China's MCU chip industry is proposed. In November 2023, the Shenzhen Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology issued the "Several Measures of Shenzhen to Promote the High-quality Development of New Energy Vehicles and Intelligent Connected Vehicle Industry", which pointed out that high-end microcontrollers (MCUs), power devices, power control analog chips, in-car/workshop communication chips, high-computing power main control chips, computing chips, system-on-chip (SOC) and other automotive chips are encouraged to achieve independent breakthroughs.
Fourth, industry risks
1. Market risk
MCU chips have strong versatility and large market capacity. The domestic low-end (8-bit) MCU market is relatively competitive and has a high self-sufficiency rate, while the high-end (32-bit) MCU market is mainly monopolized by foreign manufacturers such as ST, Cypress, and Renesas. Most of the 32-bit MCU products of domestic enterprises started late, such as Xinhai Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. only achieved batch shipment in 2018, mainly used in the field of power fast charging, at this stage there are relatively few application scenarios, has not been widely recognized by customers, and there is a risk of insufficient market competitiveness in the short term in high-end applications; Compared with Cypress and other companies, there is still a certain gap between the technology accumulation and brand precipitation of some enterprises in the industry, and they are facing certain difficulties and relatively weak market competitiveness in the process of domestic substitution.
2. Policy risk
National macroeconomic policies and their changes, especially changes in industrial policies and monetary policies, as well as the establishment and change of industry standards, will have an impact on the production, operation and circulation of the MCU chip industry, thereby directly affecting the economic benefits of the MCU chip industry. The mainland is in the process of economic system reform, and the policies and regulations promulgated by the state will have an adverse impact on the MCU chip industry, and enterprises in the industry need to pay attention to and make countermeasures in time.
3. Operational risks
With the further expansion of enterprise assets and business scale, it will increase the difficulty of enterprise operation and management, and put forward higher requirements for enterprise management. Although in the past business practice, the management of the enterprise has accumulated rich experience in enterprise management and has established a management system that can ensure the good operation of the enterprise. However, if the management system and management personnel cannot quickly adapt to the expansion of enterprise scale and production capacity, it will bring certain management risks to the enterprise.
4. Technical risks
The integrated circuit design industry covers hardware, software, circuits, processes and other fields, and is a typical technology-intensive industry, and the dependence of integrated circuit design enterprises on professionals is much higher than that of other industries. After years of development, the domestic integrated circuit industry has accumulated a number of technical talents, but compared with the international leading integrated circuit enterprises, domestic integrated circuit design enterprises are still relatively scarce high-end and professional talents. With the continuous growth of market demand, the competition of domestic integrated circuit enterprises for high-end talents is becoming increasingly fierce.
Fifth, the industrial chain
The upstream of the MCU chip industry chain is a basic resource supplier, which is mainly divided into EDA design tools and wafer manufacturing plants, the midstream is the MCU chip manufacturer, and the downstream is the terminal application. The manufacturing of MCU chips requires high-precision lithography machines, etching machines and other equipment, and the performance and process level of these devices directly affect the process and performance of the chip. With the continuous progress of technology, manufacturing equipment is also constantly upgrading, enterprises need to continue to introduce advanced manufacturing equipment, improve the level of technology, in order to produce higher performance, lower cost MCU chips.
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