Semiconductors for vehicle automation, electrification, connectivity and infotainment are in great demand and it is projected that the demand for indium phosphate, indium gallium arsenide, and gallium nitride, each essential for different classes of chips, will continue across the next ten years.
The findings come from IDTechEx Research and this shows that semiconductors for automated driving and ADAS (advanced driver assistance systems) will grow at a 10-Year CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 29 percent. This is captured in a report titled: “Automotive Semiconductors 2023-2033”. This represents a dive into the existing and emerging semiconductor technologies used in vehicles today and tomorrow.
CAGR is an economic measurement of a company’s market potential, providing a measure of an investment’s annual growth rate over time, with the effect of compounding taken into account. The CAGR metric enables financiers to calculate and determine the returns for all individual assets.
The report focuses on the areas of automation and electrification, indicating the types of semiconductor technologies needed. Highly automated vehicles require high-performance computers capable of thousands of TOPs (tera-operations per second). Such vehicles also required advanced sensors.
Autonomous vehicles continue to be seen as the future of automotive technology. As examples, the Mercedes S-Class gained SAE level 3 certification in the U.S., following its certification in Germany in 2022. SAE refers to the Society of Automotive Engineers, who define six levels of driving automation ranging from 0 (fully manual) to 5 (fully autonomous). In the context of Mercedes, Level 3 vehicles have “environmental detection” capabilities and can make informed decisions for themselves, such as accelerating past a slow-moving vehicle.
As a second example, in Phoenix, Arizona, Waymo’s completely driverless robotaxis is in place. This Level 4 vehicle operates effectively provided the route and end destination is within select geofenced regions.
With these changes, the development of autonomous vehicles requires more sensors on vehicles. These are higher-performing sensors with more expensive and more advanced semiconductor technologies.
With radar next generation, 4D imaging radars are required and this means adopting Si CMOS technologies with nodes of 40nm and less (to replace current 90nm SiGe BiCMOS technologies). For LiDAR, conventional near-infrared detectors are giving way to shortwave infrared, which brings performance advantages.
