Local sensors will inevitably usher in a wave of explosive growth, and may even achieve corner overtaking in market share like new energy vehicles.
A sensor is a detection device that can sense the measured information. Its function is to convert natural signals in the environment into electrical signals or other required forms of information output to meet the requirements of information transmission, processing, storage, display, and recording. and control requirements.
Since its birth, the sensor has gone through three stages: structural type, solid type and intelligent type. The sensor in the first two stages is generally composed of three parts: sensitive element, conversion element and conversion circuit, and sometimes an auxiliary power supply is added. However, with the development of various science and technology, the first two types of sensors are gradually unable to meet the needs of data acquisition, processing and other processes, and intelligent sensors that integrate software algorithms and artificial intelligence technologies have begun to enter the stage of history. Compared with traditional sensors, smart sensors integrate microprocessors, which have the functions of collecting, processing, and exchanging information. It can be said that it is the product of the combination of sensor integration and microprocessors.
There are many kinds of sensors. As the perception layer of the information age, it is the basis and data source of the Internet of Things, intelligent manufacturing, big data, intelligent buildings and other fields. Therefore, it has been widely used in all walks of life, such as robots, smart cars, and environmental monitoring. , industrial automation, medical diagnosis, etc. From the perspective of application proportion, automotive electronics, industrial fields and communication electronics are the three most important fields of sensor applications, accounting for more than 20%. In addition, the market share of consumer electronics is about 14.7%, and applications such as medical electronics also account for more than 7%.
Global sensor market size
According to CCID Consulting, with the intelligent development of new energy vehicles, industrial automation, environmental monitoring, and medical electronics, in 2020, the global sensor market will reach 160.63 billion US dollars, and the smart sensor market will reach 35.81 billion US dollars, accounting for the overall scale. of 22.3%. Although in the first half of 2022, facing the impact of economic restructuring and the complex external environment of repeated new crown epidemics, the overall demand for electronic products is declining, but with the dust of the epidemic and the improvement of global economic fundamentals Driven by the continuous demand for intelligence and digitalization in the fields of automation, medical care, environmental protection, and consumption, it is expected that the global sensor scale will further increase in 2022, and by 2025, the global sensor scale is expected to increase to 320 billion US dollars.
At the same time, according to the “2031 Smart Sensor Market Outlook” report released by the market research agency TMR, the compound growth rate of the global smart sensor market from 2021 to 2031 is as high as 18.2%. And the report mentioned that based on the increase in the use of IoT devices, the smart sensor market will exceed $208 billion in 2031.
Global sensor and smart sensor scale ($100 million)
Source: CCID Consulting
However, for now, western developed countries such as the United States, Japan and Germany have a 60% market share in the global sensor market, and they have an absolute monopoly in the manufacturing and packaging of high-end sensors. Judging from the data in recent years, STMicroelectronics, NXP, Bosch, Emerson, Siemens, Honeywell, Sony, Omron and other companies are in an absolute monopoly position in the design and manufacturing process. Industrial automation and other fields. Among them, STMicroelectronics has a dominant position in the global consumer inertial sensor market, accounting for 40% of the market share, while Bosch is the world’s largest MEMS sensor manufacturer. Although China’s sensor industry has established a complete industrial chain system, most companies are still manufacturing low-end production line products, and most high-end sensors need to be imported.
Local sensor market size
According to CCID Consulting data, the market size of domestic sensors in 2021 is about 295.18 billion yuan, maintaining a rapid growth of 17.6%. With the continuous progress of society, the sensor industry has been paid more and more attention under the empowerment of the Internet, and the introduction of relevant support policies will be added in the future, and the sensor industry market can be expected. It is expected that the size of China’s sensor market will increase to 315 billion yuan in 2022.
According to the statistics of the National Institute of Technology, there are currently about 172 major local sensor manufacturers that have begun to take shape. From the perspective of urban distribution, there are 32 in Jiangsu, 28 in Guangdong, 27 in Shanghai, 20 in Beijing, 13 in Zhejiang, and 9 in Shandong. 7 in Fujian, 6 in Tianjin, 6 in Hubei, 5 in Shaanxi, 4 in Sichuan, 4 in Anhui, 2 in Chongqing, 2 in Henan, 2 in Liaoning, 2 in Hebei, 1 in Jilin, 1 in Gansu, 1 in Shanxi. Among them, there are more than 20 sensor companies in the four cities of Jiangsu, Guangdong, Shanghai, and Beijing, which basically overlap with the layout of domestic chip design companies, and there are regional clusters. It is especially worth mentioning that East China, as the gathering place of China’s electronics manufacturing industry, concentrates about 50% of China’s sensor companies, and has absolute advantages in sensor design, production and manufacturing.
Geographical distribution of domestic sensor companies
Source: Nanda Institute
But on the other hand, my country’s sensor industry is also facing the status quo of “small, low, and weak”. About 60% of sensitive components and sensors still rely on imports, and the research and development and manufacturing capabilities of mid-to-high-end sensors are relatively short. Almost the majority of the shares are also mainly concentrated in the hands of a few listed companies. At present, my country’s sensor industry is divided into the first echelon by market value, such as Weir, Goertek, Zhaoyi Innovation, China Resources Micro, Silan Micro, AutoNavi, etc. occupy most of the domestic sensor market, and the rest are small and medium-sized Enterprises, products are mainly concentrated in the low-end. In particular, it should be pointed out that these listed companies are diversified business development. For example, in addition to the most well-known CMOS sensor business, Weir also includes discrete devices, power management and other products; Zhaoyi Innovation, China Resources Micro, Silan Micro etc. are the same model, the proportion of sensor business is actually not high.
The representative companies whose main business is the sensor business and their corresponding development status are listed below.
Goertek
Goertek is a global leader in electro-acoustic devices and a leading enterprise in the design and manufacture of overall systems. The company started from electro-acoustic devices such as micro speakers, receivers, and microphones, and has gradually extended to other precision devices and complete machine businesses by virtue of customer relationships and precision manufacturing capabilities. Acoustic and optoelectronic integrated solutions such as acoustics, optics, and wireless communication have been created, and have become an important support for the complete machine business, forming a strategic layout of “parts + complete machine”.
Some product solutions of Goertek
Source: official website
The company’s main products are capacitive air pressure sensors, combined sensors with integrated microphones and air pressure, etc. Major downstream customers include Apple, Huawei, Xiaomi, Fitbit, etc. In 2021, the company will achieve an operating income of 78.221 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 35.47%, and a net profit of 4.275 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 50.09%.
Weir Shares
Weir was established in 2006, and its main business is the R&D and design of semiconductor discrete devices and power management ICs. In 2019, it acquired OmniVision, the world’s third largest CMOS image sensor supplier. In addition to OmniVision, OmniVision has acquired high-quality assets such as Spicco and SynapTIcs in the past two years, and has increased its investment in discrete devices, RF IC, The R&D efforts in analog IC and other fields have formed a business layout with the CIS business as the core and the coordinated development of multiple product lines.
In 2021, the company will achieve a total operating income of 24.104 billion yuan, an increase of 21.59% over the same period of the previous year; the net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company will be 4.476 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 65.41%.
Gekewei
Founded in 2003, Gekewei is a leading image sensor chip and DDI display chip design company in China. Its products are widely used in mobile mobile terminals and a wide range of non-mobile electronic products around the world. Image sensors are widely used in mobile phones, smart wear, mobile payments, tablets, notebooks, cameras, and automotive electronics. In 2021, the company will achieve operating income of 7.001 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.44%; net profit will be 1.258 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 62.75%.
The future of sensors
According to the latest data, in the first quarter of 2022, the fastest year-on-year growth in China’s sensor market segment is RFID products, with an increase of more than 20%. Followed by visual products and optoelectronic products, the growth rate reached 19.9% and 18.8% respectively. The growth rate of other products such as safety sensors also exceeded 10%. The Institute predicts that in the future, industrial automation, automotive electronics, communication electronics, and consumer electronics will be the largest markets for sensors, and with the national policy of “carbon peaking and carbon neutrality”, new energy vehicles will dominate. Sensors in the field of automotive electronics will usher in faster development.
In particular, intelligent systems and unmanned driving in new energy vehicles are important driving forces for the development of sensors. In the era of smart cars, a large number of motion sensors will be used to realize active safety technology, image sensors or laser sensors will be used to realize active detection and recognition, and MEMS microphone sensors will be used to realize voice interaction, etc. All intelligent systems will promote the further development of sensors.
Specific to the details, the Non-Research Institute believes that sensors will develop in the direction of intelligence and integration. For example, the sensor will continuously learn itself during the service cycle through the collected data, without manual calibration and maintenance; the development of chip-level packaging technology also makes it possible for the sensor to integrate more functions and achieve more complex detection.
in conclusion
Undoubtedly, with the continuous integration of artificial intelligence technology into electronic products, the increment and intelligence of sensors are imminent, and the future market space is huge. Although my country’s sensor companies are in a backward state in the high-end field, there are many problems to be solved, but benefiting from the guidance of national policies, China’s local sensor companies already have an industrial chain integrating design, manufacturing, packaging and testing. The demand for sensors in automotive, intelligent manufacturing, communication electronics and other application fields continues to increase, and local sensors will inevitably usher in a wave of explosive growth, and even achieve corner overtaking in market share like new energy vehicles.