Microcontroller(MCU) traditional application scenarios include home appliances, industrial control, etc. These fields generally only have the most basic requirements for performance, and more emphasize stable, power consumption and cost.But with the development of the times, today's vehicles,AIFor applications such as wearable devices, higher requirements have been put on the performance of the MCU, so the MCU also has the motivation to improve the process.

At present, the mainstream node manufactured by MCU is still a mature technology of more than 40 nanometers, but the new application has promoted more advanced nodes such as 28nm such as 28nm.Let's look at the application of several mainstream nodes below:

40nm and above:Main process nodes manufactured by major manufacturers.In traditional applications, the MCU does not focus on performance, and mature nodes are sufficient to apply.In addition, because of EFLASH (embeddedstorage) Economic nodes are also limited to mature craftsmanship 40nm and above, which also limits the MCU process improvement.

As one of the most abundant manufacturers of product lines,STBasic products such as STM32F1/F4 are based on 65nm or higher processes, including 90nm.High -performance products such as STM32H5/H7 use 40nm process.RisaProducts using 40NM process include RA6M4 series, RX66T, etc.

28nm:carAs well asInternet of Things, Industrial automation and other applications have a stronger and lower power consumption MCU, and new embedded types such as MRAM, RRAM and PCMstorageApplication breaks through the process restrictions caused by traditional EFLASH.At the level of the industrial chain, in recent years, Foundry's expansion of production is more than 28nm production capacity, and new products have also developed towards this process.

The representative products of this node include NXP's i.MX RT1170 series, MCX N series and S32K series.STThe Stellar P6 series car MCU is also based on 28nm process.RisaThere are RH850/E2X series, RH850/U2B series, RH850/U2A series, etc. are based on 28nm.

18nm and 16nm:The cost of advanced craftsmanship is high, but high performance in CPU and SOCchipWhile moving towards the digital process, the MCU also improved.With the development of AI applications, the MCU undertakes the task of data processing of the end -side device, including image data, which requires higher performance.also,carIntelligence also generates far exceeding the previous data streams and requires a stronger MCU for processing.Of course, more powerful embeddedstorageMicro -shrinking technology also gives the MCU process evolution and creation.

The representative products of this node are adopted by NXPTSMCS32Z and S32E products created by 16nm FinFET process,RisaRL78/F, RL78/G23 series.

STThe 18nm FD-SOI technology is introduced to create the next generation of products. This new product line will be expelled in 2025.Compared with ST's current 40nm ENVM technology, the integration of 18nm FD-SOI and EPCM has greatly improved the performance power ratio, NVM density, digital circuit density, and improved the radio frequency performance of wireless MCU.

Production changes brought about by process upgrade

As far as the application scale is concerned, MCUs, which are currently mature nodes such as 40/65/90nm, occupy the mainstream, and their performance is enough to use general appliances, industrial control and other scenarios.These mature nodes have been developed for a long time, and have comprehensive design tools, process resources and product ecology. The MCU team develops based on these nodes.New product, Can greatly compress the project time.

along withcarIntelligent, edge AI applications are developing rapidly, MCUs with higher performance and lower energy consumption have become rigid demand.Risa, NXP andSTAt present, they are dedicated to the development and promotion of high -performance MCUs, which has increased the number of products with 28nm and 18nm and 16nm processes.

Of course, it is well known that the construction of the wafer production line is quite expensive, and the more advanced the production line costs.The original production line of the MCU is usually only 40nm, and it is necessary to seek wafer foundry for more advanced production capacity.TSMC, UMC,SMICWaiting for the fabry factories, all of which are the objects of cooperation between the original MCU factory.STThe FD-SOI process is withSamsungCooperation development.

Local market and new trend of domesticization

In recent years, the macro situation has changed drastically,ComponentLocalized production has become an important issue, which is also applicable to MCU.recent,STWith HuadisemiconductorReaching cooperation, the production of 40nm products is produced by the latter's foundry, which is the manifestation of this trend.

ComponentLocalized production is to meet the local supply chain security demands, and the other is to reduce costs.In the Chinese market, the rise of local manufacturersSTFacing tremendous pressure, in order to miss the Chinese market in electricitycarIn other aspects, ST chooses localized production to promote cost reduction and achieve faster market release speed.

It can also be seen that with the great acceleration of technological progress and product launch rhythm, competition will increase.Although the price will be "rolled" lower, it is not without a chance.Calculate, intelligence on the edgecarAs well asInternet of ThingsWhen emerging areas, there are still a large number of opportunities in the MCU market, and the original factory, distribution enterprises and end companies are pioneered.