Outlook 2018: Miniaturization, reliability trends share spotlight

Suppliers of electronic components in China will sustain initiatives for the development and production of smaller but more robust electronic components.

Miniaturization and reliability have been recurring themes in electronic components, driven by the growing complexity and the ever-shrinking space on circuit boards. In China, these trends pervade efforts to update product lineups and underscore maker capability to handle any requirement that meets international standards.

In connectors, tighter pitch and lower profile height can be expected in the next releases, with enhanced performance the underlying objective. Most local companies in the FPC connectors industry have turned out units with 0.3mm pitch and some as fine as 0.25mm, while a few continue to target 0.2mm that only foreign players can offer at present. By profile height, the objective is still slimmer than 1mm. One company, the Box Group, can produce FPC and board-to-board types with a 0.6mm height. The first is in 0.2 and 0.3mm pitches and the latter in 0.35mm.

The microminiature RF connector category, which includes SSMA, SSMB and MMCX kinds, as well as of I-Pex-compatible variants, will attract more manufacturers. So will board-to-board connectors, which have become popular for their space-saving design. The majority of suppliers will acquire more certification, including national and overseas standards such as IEC 61169 and GBT 11313.

In automotive wire harnesses, companies are turning to material substitution, using aluminum instead of copper, to reduce the cross sectional area and weight of wires without effect on high-voltage handling.

From the USB interconnects side, there will be an increase in output for Type-C units as the interface has been replacing Micro-USB in recent and next rollouts of smartphones, wearable electronics, tablet and notebook PCs and VR devices. USB 3.1 interconnects are likewise on steady release.

LEDs and optoelectronics align with the trends as well. China's production for high-power LEDs for advertising displays is equally divided between SMD and DIP types, but this will change as the former will accelerate, driven by the trends for high definition and finer pitch in advertising displays. The same development applies to IR LEDs as makers strengthen the SMD category for the mobile electronics market.

In the COB LED module segment, a number of manufacturers are adopting flip-chip packaging not only for high performance but also to yield smaller modules. New flexible LED strips, meanwhile, will have SMD diodes in smaller packages. In particular, 2835 types are being eyed, which compared with 3528 diodes are 2.8 times brighter, have double the luminous area and exhibit better heat dissipation, all at half the thickness.

The popularity of thinner and less power-consuming displays with vivid colors and sharp images, especially in smartphones and tablet PCs, spurs makers of TFT-LCD modules to foray into LTPS technology. In rival AMOLED display technology, companies highlight product advantages of self-illuminating quality, ultrathin and lightweight form, and high flexibility, which are gaining a following not only in mobile devices but also in wearable electronics and VR devices.

In motors, brushless types will take over China's DC motor line because they are distinctly more lightweight, compact, robust, low-noise, efficient and reliable than their traditional brushed counterparts. Micromotors that are more energy-efficient and come in smaller dimensions will stay high on the agenda. Some companies are developing more SMD variants.

To meet the miniaturization requirement in home appliances, mobile electronics, automotive, security and medical equipment industries, local suppliers of buzzers are putting emphasis on SMD types as well. They also continue to boost product performance, targeting a lower than 50ppm failure rate, beyond 10,000-hour life span and at least IP67 rating in next product launches.

More SMD fuses in smaller footprint will be introduced. Companies are following through oninitiatives to push 0402 units closer to mainstream supply in the next one or two years and take advantage of demand in the mobile electronics market.

Over at the passive components side, China suppliers of high-frequency transformers hope to use new materials and structures to realize a thinner product profile and smaller footprint while ensuring better performance. The goal in ceramic capacitors is to bring the thickness of a single dielectric layer to below 1µm, while makers plan to release 0201 units and eventually 01005 variants. At present, they can reach 2µm and 0402.

Inductor development likewise continues toward miniaturization, with most makers looking to introduce chip types in 0201 in the near term and step up to 01005 in the future. Top-tier companies have as additional objective the integration of passive and discrete components in a single package using low-temperature co-fired ceramic or LTCC technology or its variation that is based on ferrite. Besides suppliers of inductors, makers of EMI ferrite beads or bead arrays and SMD transformers are pursuing separate ventures on this.

Boosting production of SMD types is on the agenda in the coils segment, complementing initiatives for higher Q value, and wider rated current and operating temperature ranges.

The PCBs on which these components will be mounted are undergoing transformation as well. In the multilayer category, the highlight is on HDI and flexible types. Such boards can accommodate more components while ensuring easy layout and enhanced shielding than traditional single- and double-sided variants.

Green applications

China makers of components are keeping abreast of developments in LEDs, EVs and new energy systems.

In LED driver manufacturing, the industry there highlights dimming control to follow the trends for greater power saving and automation. Suppliers are working on more hybrid variants based on the best features of PWM and DALI methods to achieve higher precision control and greater compatibility across diversesetups.

For EVs, makers of charging cable assemblies line will continue to emphasize standardization and high reliability in the next several years, and make sure products pass national and international approval.

To match requirements in solar power systems, suppliers of PV connectors ensure products can support more than 25 years of use, corresponding to the life span of PV systems. That of solar fuses underscore better reliability and stability. There are companies that use a pure-copper strip sealed in the fusion tube, which is made from high-strength aluminum oxide and filled with chemically treated high-purity quartz sand as arc-extinguishing medium. The firm connection between the fuse body, contact cap and built-in insulation spacer ensures adaptability to various extreme circumstances. The commonly used inputs are silver-copper alloy for the fuse links and high-strength ceramic for the fusion tubes.

New or alternative materials

On the sideline but just as important are initiatives done by China universities and research institutions on new or alternative materials that will enable the release of more compact but more reliable products.

Research led by academic institutions to verify the advantages of using graphene in supercapacitors is under way. The Herbert Gleiter Institute of Nanoscience in Nanjing University of Science & Technology, on the other hand, has come up with metal oxide inputs to enhance electrode performance and boost supercapacitor capacity by five to 10 times over current kinds. More breakthroughs are expected in coming years.

Flat, chip and film cores used in high-frequency transformers are currently the object of study of local universities and research institutions, including University of Electronic Science and Technology of China. These will ensure greater efficiency by cutting down losses. Film cores, in particular, can help reduce thickness to less than 1mm of transformers targeting applications in frequencies of more than 1MHz.

Several universities and research institutes, including the Ningbo Institute of Industrial Technology and the Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, are actively engaged in R&D on solid polymer electrolyte. Adoption in Li-polymer batteries will lead to future releases of more advanced solid-state types with enhanced flexibility, capacity, safety and operating life. Such variants will target use in EVs, and mobile, wearable and medical electronics.