In recent years, when we talk about the megatrends of technology, we will definitely mention AI, 5G, electric vehicles, and big data. But do you know that these technologies that will change the future of mankind are likely to be built on a technology called "third-type semiconductors". on something! Why is this thing so powerful? Let's talk about the "third type of semiconductor" today! Hiho~ Hello everyone, I'm Zhiqi! Semiconductors can be said to be the foundation of the entire modern human technology. Not only our current technology, but almost all of them are based on semiconductors. Future technology trends are also very dependent on semiconductor technology . The third generation of semiconductors is a very new invention in the current semiconductor industry. Although it is still relatively immature , it has become a battleground for various technological powers. A lot of resources have been invested in research and development , but for most people, "the third type of semiconductor" "Maybe it's still a very unfamiliar term, how important is this thing? Why do countries fight for each other? What does the so-called "third category" mean? Today, let's try to discuss it with you in the simplest way ! 【What are semiconductors used for? ] To know how important the third type of semiconductor is, we must first understand what semiconductors are used for. Simply put, all electronic products, from computers, airplanes, to your rice cooker , require a lot of " Electronic components” to work together to complete these electronic components, which can be understood as the cells of electronic products, each responsible for many different functions, such as switching signals, amplifying and shrinking signals, etc. Semiconductors are an important material for manufacturing electronic components because semiconductors are between There is a difference between "conducting" and "non-conducting", so with some technology, we can control its conductivity, allowing it to perform many different types of tasks, but this alone is not enough to explain the real power of semiconductors, because early in the In the 1940s , electronic components made of semiconductor materials had already appeared, but these electronic components were still very large, and it was necessary to manually solder different electronic components one by one, which was very space-consuming and inefficient . In 1958 Jack Kilby, an engineer from Texas Instruments , thought of saying , "Well, since different electronic components can be made of semiconductors , can we make these electronic components on the same semiconductor material in reverse ?" In this way, space is saved, and there is no need to weld to weld! After continuous attempts, Jack Kilby finally successfully integrated electronic components with different functions into the semiconductor material germanium (Ge), and invented the world's first "integrated circuit" , which is the IC (Integrated Circuit) semiconductor IC we often hear. Not only is it much smaller in size, but it operates more efficiently and consumes less power. It has become a key technology that affects modern human civilization. Jack Kilby also won the Nobel Prize for this and is known as the father of IC. By the way , a cold knowledge Jack Kilby later He has also visited Taiwan and is an honorary professor of Jiaotong University! [There are still generations in the semiconductor industry? ] As mentioned earlier, the "germanium" used by Jack Kilby was later called "the first generation semiconductor" by some people. There is the first generation, of course, there will be the second and third generation semiconductors. The semiconductors are also the same as the Iphone, the later the generation is. Is it more powerful? Well... that's not the case, because ICs are divided into many different types, each with different functions. For example, some ICs are used to calculate data, some are used to convert signals, some are used to manage power, and so on. Generally speaking, different types of ICs are suitable for different semiconductor materials. Therefore , different generations of semiconductors are not actually replacing each other. They are more like different types and are suitable for making different things . In order to avoid misunderstandings, we are here. It is not necessary to use the term of generation to distinguish between the first, second and third types of semiconductors. The first type of semiconductor is dominated by two materials, "germanium" and "silicon". This type of technology has the longest development time and is the most mature , so it is the current semiconductor The most important materials in the industry, such as general computers, TVs and even refrigerators, etc. "consumer electronic products" mostly use the first type of semiconductors. The second type of semiconductors are mainly "gallium arsenide" (GaAs) and "indium phosphide" (InP), which are characterized by being able to withstand high-frequency electromagnetic waves, high power and low power consumption, so they are commonly used in mobile phones, base stations, lighting equipment The above is the protagonist of today's film - the third type of semiconductor. This family is dominated by "gallium nitride" and "silicon carbide". Compared with the first and second types, they have more high pressure, high temperature, and high power. Features Simply put, it is very durable. Don't underestimate this "durability" . This alone opens up a lot of future possibilities [How important is the third type of semiconductor? ] For example, because the third type of semiconductor can withstand high voltage, it is suitable for use as a "power component", that is, a part that handles power conversion. This is a bit complicated. Electricity that can be used by electrical appliances Of course , the previous semiconductor materials can also do this task, but the third type of semiconductor is much stronger than the past in terms of volume and efficiency. For example , there are many "gallium nitride" chargers on the market today. The charger is more than half smaller, and it can also charge products with different voltages such as laptops and mobile phones at the same time. This is the credit of the third type of semiconductors. Moreover , the charger is still a relatively small application. We can also enlarge the scale. Now everyone is talking about Future technologies such as big data, metaverse, AI, etc. actually require very, very powerful computing power, so it is necessary to build a lot of data centers and put a lot of servers in it to operate 24 hours a day. However, the data center must be running all the time. Its power consumption is very amazing, and if it is too hot during operation, the machine is easy to break, which requires additional cooling equipment to dissipate heat. It will cost more electricity, so it is often criticized as an electricity-eating monster. At this time, "nitrogen Gallium nitride is very good at managing power characteristics , so it can effectively solve this problem. For example, the "real-time microcontroller (MCU)" using gallium nitride technology can accurately convert and distribute power to maximize power efficiency . Yes The industry estimates that if the global data centers switch to gallium nitride power components , it will reduce energy waste by 30 to 40%, and it is expected to save 100 megawatt hours (TWh) of electricity and 125 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions within a decade ! [Green energy applications also rely on it! ] In addition, in recent years, the world has been paying more and more attention to the green energy issue. The third type of semiconductor also plays a very important role . Take electric vehicles as an example. Although everyone knows that electric vehicles are more environmentally friendly , many people worry about the battery life of electric vehicles. It is not enough, it will be very inconvenient to travel far, but electric vehicles using gallium nitride technology can greatly improve this problem because it not only uses electricity more efficiently, but also charges faster, and because of its smaller size, it can be used in the car. Put more batteries into it to increase the driving endurance and make more people willing to use electric vehicles. In addition, solar energy, wind farms, etc., it can be said that as long as it is related to power management, the third type of semiconductor can be very large. To improve its efficiency to a certain extent and accelerate the popularization of new energy sources, the advantages of so many third-type semiconductors that we mentioned earlier are actually only the application of its "high-power" characteristics. In addition, the "high-frequency" characteristics of the third-type semiconductors also make him It is very suitable to be made into "radio frequency components" that process high-frequency electromagnetic waves and can be used in different fields such as 5G, satellite communication, and military fields. Therefore , it is no exaggeration to say that the third type of semiconductor is said to be one of the key technologies that carry the future of mankind. Therefore, Make it a battleground for the great powers of science and technology [Technology and Warring States era of the third type of semiconductor? ] Although the third type of semiconductor has many advantages, because the technology has just started, raw materials are not easy to obtain, and manufacturing technology is still very difficult , so the cost of initial research and development is very high . Invest in the production and development of third-generation semiconductors and want to deploy this battlefield ahead of time. For example, the United States, which developed the third-generation semiconductor technology earlier, was mainly used in military and communications in the past . Now it is actively expanding into other fields. Currently , the United States occupies a leading position in the field. It has great advantages in technology and raw materials , and Japan also released the "Semiconductor Strategic Points" last year. It also regards the promotion of the third-generation semiconductor research and development as one of the important policies. Finally , it must be mentioned that China is the most active, because China is in the first place. 1. The development of the second type of semiconductor is limited, so I want to use the technology of the third type of semiconductor to find a new way. Therefore, in the "14th Five-Year Plan" announced in 2020, China has included the third type of semiconductor into the national key research and development The plan is expected to invest 10 trillion yuan for R&D and production, which is aggressive . Here in Taiwan, the third type of semiconductor is also included in the "forward-looking research and development plan" , hoping to gather the forces of the private sector and the industry to promote the research and development of the third type of semiconductor. In other words, although the third type of semiconductor accounts for less than 1% of the output value of the semiconductor industry, the entire field is growing rapidly and you also have the opportunity to participate in this cutting-edge technology! [Semiconductor leader: Texas Instruments! ] When it comes to the third type of semiconductor, we can't help but mention the godfather Texas Instruments in this episode! Texas Instruments is one of the most important semiconductor manufacturers in the world. Their vision is to use technology to make the world a better place . As mentioned earlier, Texas Instruments invented the world's first IC chip, which gave birth to the later semiconductor industry and also invented DLP technology. The projector has greatly promoted the rise of the Hollywood film industry. These technological achievements have truly changed our lives , and this all stems from Texas Instruments' corporate culture that emphasizes innovation! For example, Texas Instruments holds the Jack Kilby Award R&D competition every year to encourage employees to be creative and turn their ideas into applications that can change the world. In order to encourage employees to continue to innovate, the Jack Kilby Lab was also established in 2008, and continues to welcome talents from all walks of life. Interested audiences can click on the information column to view more news. In addition , in addition to past technological achievements and the current cutting-edge third-class semiconductor field, Texas Instruments also continues to exert its innovative spirit. At present, they have invested in research and development in the field of gallium nitride for more than ten years. Applications such as personal electronic devices, cloud power grids, data centers, and electric vehicle charging have all achieved results. As we mentioned earlier, the third type of semiconductor applications have been successfully developed by Texas Instruments, and the commercialized solutions are in addition to products. Texas Instruments also provides integrated solutions according to industry trends and needs, so they are currently acquiring and building fabs around the world to expand production capacity to meet the needs of different customers. If you are only interested in the third type of semiconductors, Texas Instruments now , It also provides an opportunity to gain a deep understanding of the technology! In the SEMICON Texas Instruments held in September this year, the "Power and Opto Semiconductors Forum" on September 15th will discuss in depth the solutions and future innovative applications of gallium nitride. Whether you are a student, practitioner, scholar or general public , You are welcome to sign up! [Our point of view] Living in Taiwan, an important semiconductor town, we will inevitably hear some "semiconductor hard words" , but because the threshold of understanding in this field is very high, many times we are only confused when we hear it, so this time we will do this topic At that time, our team also found it very challenging , but after in-depth understanding, we found that semiconductors are not far away , they are ubiquitous in our daily life, but it is usually difficult for us to have the opportunity to discover the truth behind these daily things. With such a deep technology in it, we are also very happy to have this opportunity to come and work with you to understand these things that affect our daily life bit by bit! However, because the knowledge in this field is too complicated, in order to make it easier for everyone to understand, the description of our video has been simplified. Some examples may not be completely accurate. If you are an expert in related fields, you are also very welcome to leave a message and share with us~ Then if you want to know more about the "third type of semiconductor" , you are also welcome to search for Texas Instruments, or sign up for a SEMICON speech! Okay, that's it for today's discussion. Finally, I want to ask everyone. Finally , if you like today's video, please share it and let more people know about "the third type of semiconductor"! In addition, you can also click here to see the discussion of "semiconductor" and "electric vehicle" So, today's Zhiqi Qiqi will come to an end here , see you tomorrow night~
