With the promotion of the commercialization of 5G, the demand for crystal oscillator, one of the passive components, is also experiencing a period of rapid growth in the fields of base stations, smart phones, servers and so on. Some production capacity is in short supply, and the price of some products is over 25%. Known as the "heart" of electronic products, crystal oscillator plays a gatekeeping role in 5G high-frequency high-speed signal transmission.
Since the second half of last year, many semiconductor components have enjoyed a period of strong demand, driven by domestic substitution and 5G. Quartz crystal is also out of stock price voice, product delivery continues to lengthen, become a recent industry focus.
In addition, under the influence of the epidemic at home and abroad, the overseas market of crystal vibration industry is still in a state of production suspension, and even if the domestic market has resumed production, the new production capacity of the original factory will inevitably be reduced, and the delivery date will be delayed. For 5G, TWS headset, Wi-Fi 6 and other market demand, crystal industry may usher in a real explosion period in the second half of the year.
Universal crystal vibration shortage, delivery time is extended
Recently, the sound of price increases in the crystal vibration market is constantly out of stock. Based on multiple factors such as the shortage of upstream raw materials, the hoarding of midstream supplies and the increase in the short-term demand of the downstream, domestic listed companies have issued a price increase notice, and the price of warm and thermal crystal vibration and other adjustments between 15%-25%.
In addition to the price increase, the current crystal shortage is also concerned. According to Jiwei Network, at present, the most lacking model of crystal oscillator is 32.768K, which is the most used quartz crystal oscillator in the frequency control components industry, occupying more than half of the market share.
"Affected by the global epidemic, the current shortage of imported materials is very serious, foreign processing plants can not produce goods, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines and other crystal factories are currently in a state of production suspension. Not long ago, the original Japanese factory we are acting for also informed us that they will stop production until April 14. It is not clear whether they can resume production as scheduled." CAI Qinhong added.
As is known to all, in the crystal vibration field for a long time, the old Japanese manufacturers such as KDS, NDK, etc. dominated the market share of more than 60%, the rest of the market is basically divided between Taiwan and European and American manufacturers, and the market share of domestic crystal vibration manufacturers is relatively low.
In addition, there are also many Japanese and Taiwanese factories in mainland China. Even with the support of the comprehensive resumption of production in China, no matter imported Jingzhen or local Jingzhen brands, they are still facing the pressure of prolonged delivery.
"It is inevitable that the delivery time will be extended. Suppliers determine the delivery time according to the ranking, and the production capacity of Japanese-Taiwan companies is to meet their domestic demand before considering the demand of other regions. Even if the current domestic overall crystal vibration capacity has been reduced, this sequencing delivery time is still the same.
For domestic crystal manufacturers, the impact of the epidemic on production capacity and delivery time has become a foregone conclusion. Manufacturers that rely on price war to survive will be affected from both sides. For manufacturers with sufficient cash flow reserves, technology research and development and production expansion plans, there are still opportunities in the 5G era.
Small crystal vibration "controlled by others"
Throughout the global crystal vibration industry pattern, the current United States with high research and development level in the field of high-end communication, Japan also occupies a high position in the field of high fundamental frequency crystal vibration, but China is limited by materials and high-precision equipment, there is still a gap in the field of small size crystal vibration.
The quartz crystal refresh is the most core electronic parts in 5G technology, based on 5G network equipment data workload increases, and the equipment circuit needs to be used through the crystal vibration with other components issued commands, so as to obtain the pulse signal source to work, which requires higher stability and reliability of the crystal vibration. Therefore, crystal vibration products are required to develop to miniaturization, high precision and low power consumption.