5G RF chip
As a global leader in 5G technology, Huawei's P50 and nova9 series can only support 4G but cannot support 5G, which is undoubtedly a very confusing thing. So why is that?
Broadcom RF chip
The biggest reason is that the lack of RF RF chips, which are very important in 5G, has led to the inability to provide 5G services. So what exactly is such an important RF chip? RF chips belong to a kind of analog chips, known as the crown jewel of analog chips, so it can be seen that the difficulty of its research and development.
The main function of the RF chip is two aspects, transmission and reception: the wireless communication baseband signal is converted into a radio frequency signal and transmitted through the antenna, and the received radio frequency signal is converted into a digital signal and handed over to the baseband for processing. At present, the main manufacturers of global RF chips are Broadcom, Avago, Skyworks, Qorvo and Japan's Murata, and the self-sufficiency rate of domestic RF chips is less than 2% in the statistics of 2017.
Huawei is missing three chips
Huawei before the supply cut OFF RF chip is mainly provided by Murata, Qorvo, Skyworks, Epcos and other manufacturers, and after the supply cut Huawei is trying to find a domestic alternative manufacturer, of which 4G RF chips are provided by HiSilicon and Zhuosheng Micro, but 5G RF chips are difficult to find solutions in the short term, so it has also led to the problem that the newly listed flagship mobile phones cannot use 5G.
Bill Gates once asserted that cutting off supply will only make Chinese chips stronger
Many people are opposed to the disconnection of chips, among which bill Gates, the former richest man in the world, once warned the relevant departments in the United States: "Cutting off the supply of chips will only force them to make their own chips and achieve self-sufficiency." In contrast, the United States will lose high-paying jobs and jobs. "It now appears that this warning is gradually becoming a reality.
Why was the domestic production rate of RF chips once less than 2%? Because although this field is important, it is very difficult to break through under the monopoly of foreign giants, so domestic companies do not put breakthroughs in the field of RF chips in the first place, but give priority to breaking through other fields. However, with the advent of chip supply cuts, a large number of companies have begun to realize that the chip industry cannot be measured solely by profits, otherwise the losses caused by the interruption of supply will be very huge.
Enriched with microelectronics
Therefore, starting from the second half of 2021, a number of chip manufacturers, including Vanchip, National Flying, Hantianxia, Smartmicro, RDA, and Zhuoshengwei, began to develop 5G RF chips. After Zhuoshengwei announced the launch of 5G pure domestic RF chips in the 5GNR band in September 2021, Fuman Microelectronics announced the development of 5G front-end RF chips and entered the mass production stage in January this year. In addition, enterprises including Weier Shares, Suzhou Hantianxia, Kaiyuan Communications, Sanan Integration and other enterprises have also made breakthroughs and entered the trial production stage, just around the corner from mass production. It can be said that more and more companies are making breakthroughs in the field of 5G RF chips.
With the gradual rise of domestic chips represented by 5G RF chips, the fear of Bill Gates is becoming a reality - the supply cut has made more and more domestic manufacturers begin to awaken and invest in research and development in various chip fields. With the entry of more and more technology and funds, a virtuous circle follows: the scale of the industry continues to expand, the industrial chain continues to improve, and the number of talents continues to increase.
Those who can't kill you will eventually make you stronger
For the chip industry, the most important thing is not the breakthrough of one or several enterprises, but the study of many companies in different areas of chips, and finally form a perfect chip industry chain from point to surface. In the past, we indulged in the idea of "building better than buying", which led us not to wake up early, but the chip supply cut undoubtedly sounded a wake-up call for us - without our own chip industry, other industries are like buildings built in the air, full of unknown risks.
Although the chip supply cut has caused us a temporary impact, the so-called killing us will only make us stronger. After more and more companies have made breakthroughs in more and more fields, and after we have built a complete chip ecological environment, those companies that have cut off our supply will sooner or later suffer their own consequences.