Categories
Electronic Components Semiconductor Supply Chain

Top car brands affected by semiconductor shortages

The semiconductor shortages have had a significant impact across a lot of industries. One hit the hardest has been the new vehicle market. Here are a few of the companies that have been the worst-affected:

Jaguar Land Rover

Certain models have been almost discontinued by the brand, which apparently is to catch up with demand for other models. Waiting lists for popular Range Rovers are over a year long, with sales suspended in some markets. There will be some production decreased so more resources can be used for popular models.

Toyota

The company was forced to cut its annual output target since production was lower than expected in the second half of the year. Currently demand is still higher than supply, so factories have been forced to shut on certain days. Supplies of Corolla, RAV4, and Yaris are supposedly the most affected.

Ford

Similarly to Toyota, Ford was forced to cut production at several factories, and things haven’t improved much since. Ford’s CFO said he didn’t think any “significant relief” was coming. Ford’s CEO said both semiconductors and EV battery materials were in high demand, and would be for the next decade.

Volvo

In late 2022 Volvo announced the temporary closure of one of its factories. The company’s biggest shareholder has also been affected by shortages, with its profits allegedly falling by 55% in the first half of 2022.

Honda

Honda’s profits were mostly due to the weakening value of the yen, making its results seem more positive. These skewed results were mostly due to the chip shortage, with 3.8 million vehicles predicted to be cancelled in 2022. This is, however, a huge improvement on the 11.3 million cancelled in 2021.

The executive vice president of Honda said he doesn’t believe the worst of the shortages has passed. The American production of CR-V and Civic models were severely affected.

Stellantis

The amalgamation of Jeep, Dodge, Alfa Romeo and Fiat has been dealing with shortages since its inception. The company is currently overhauling the entire line-up to work towards a majority of low-emission vehicles.

Thanks to this, Stellantis is in need of more semiconductors than ever. However, apparently profits rose in Q3 2022, with sales of battery electric vehicles rising by 40%. If this continues, things may slowly begin to improve for the company.

Volkswagen

The company have said they have around 150,000 unfinished cars in need of semiconductors. Because of ‘geopolitical developments’, namely tensions between China and the US, it believes shortages will continue for a year minimum.

Nissan

Nissan went from predicting the sale of 4 million units to 3.7 million in 2022. This, they said, was down to China lockdowns and general semiconductor shortages. Production issues have been relatively localised, with China production falling by 23.5%. This balanced the gain in output at Nissan’s other factories.

Nissan has been trying to use alternative chips and dual sourcing to bypass some of the current shortages. If this is successful, there may be a positive outlook for the company again shortly.

Mazda

Mazda was reportedly struggling so much in November 2022 that they couldn’t even predict output for the following two weeks.

Things have not gotten much better, with predictions that supply will be limited until the end of 2023. It also predicted the lowest-priced car trims will see the strongest growth thanks to the looming recession. However, Mazda expects a rise in profits this year thanks to the struggling value of the yen.

GM

The American company has allegedly 95,000 unfinished vehicles waiting for semiconductors. This is harming its storage and sales, and will continue since the unfinished vehicles are those in high demand.

Despite not meeting demand, GM is still predicting strong sales and fewer supply disruptions in 2023.

Overall

Many companies expect the shortages and supply chain issues to continue throughout 2023. Some are hopeful, however, that as supply eases, so too will the financial pressures they currently face.

A reliable source

In the past Cyclops Electronics has helped several car companies source electronic components they couldn’t find elsewhere. We have a huge stocklist and a professional sales team that can find what you need at the best price. Contact us today at sales@cyclops-electronics.com, or call us on +44 (0) 1904 415 415.

Disclaimer

The information in this article has come from various sources, including Slash Gear’s article, Car Companies That Were Impacted Most By The Semiconductor Shortage.

Categories
Electronic Components Future Semiconductor

The future of semiconductor manufacturing, is it digital twins?

What is a digital twin?

The concept of digital twins has been around since the early 90s. Since then, it has been further developed and become a time and money saver for many manufacturers.

The purpose of a digital twin is to mimic a physical system exactly. It gives those using it the ability to simulate what they want to do, and the twin predicts the outcome.

These twins are not to be confused with a simple simulation or a digital thread. A simulation can only replicate the outcome of one process, while digital twins can run multiple simulations for different processes. A digital thread, although similar, is more a record of everything occurring in a product or system over time.

There are several varieties of digital twins, all with different use cases. The purposes range from basic, with component twins, to more complex process twins which can represent an entire production facility.

The timeline

Semiconductors can take around 3 months to manufacture from a silicon wafer to multilayer semiconductors. Not only that, but semiconductor fabs themselves take years, and millions in funding, to build. Because of this, it is hugely time-consuming to open any new facilities and start production there.

The issue that arises, then, is there would be time between demand increasing and when it can be met. Alongside this, any new facility will need trained staff and assurances any new equipment is working.

Digital twins give manufacturers the ability to test the workings of a facility before production begins. This may not seem like a big deal but it means that any mistakes or issues can be detected much earlier, and won’t affect the real production.

Even in a working fab, a digital twin can conceptualise new processes, without interrupting production. Finding working systems before changing the physical process can save time and money too.

And if you need skilled employees? No problem. By combining digital twins with training software or VR, you can train new staff before they touch the real equipment. Employees can then be qualified to work in a facility with no prior experience and no disruptions to production.

Sustainability

An alternative concept is using digital twins to become more environmentally friendly. Users can test ways to cut emissions and energy use to reach sustainable goals. Any problems or errors can be discovered before implementing them in real time. One study found that 57% of organisations agree digital twins are pivotal to improving sustainability.

Something to be mindful of is that it needs to be up-to-date to mirror the conditions of the physical version. This is especially important with system twins and process twins, where several interlocking systems work together.

Advantages

With the huge amounts of data that can be collected through a digital twin, products can be developed much further. Since digital twins offer so much insight into potential outcomes, it can boost a company’s research and development much faster.

Once a product has been developed, a digital twin can monitor the manufacturing process, overall increasing efficiency. Once a product reaches the end of its life a twin can help decide the best outcome for it too.

A safe prediction

Digital twins can simulate processes and products to help manufacturers make assured choices. For those looking for electronic components, Cyclops Electronics is the best choice. We have an extensive stocklist of day-to-day, obsolete and hard-to-find components, and a dedicated sales team to source every component you need. Contact Cyclops at sales@cyclops-electronics.com or call us on +44 (0) 1904 415 415.

 

Image Source: SumitAwinash

Categories
Electronic Components Uncategorized

Improvements to smart materials in the works

A team of scientists and engineers has developed a new way of producing thin film perovskite semiconductors.

This ‘smart material’ can adapt depending on stimuli like light, magnetic fields or electric fields.

This could lead to the material being combined with other nano-scale materials to produce sensors, smart textiles and flexible electronics.

Thin films are usually made via epitaxy: atoms are placed on a substrate one layer at a time.

However, with this method the films stay attached to the host substrate and are less easily utilised. If it can be separated from the substrate it is much more useful.

The team, based at the University of Minnesota, has found a way to create a strontium titanate membrane without several of the usual freestanding membrane issues.

Making freestanding ‘smart’ oxide material membranes comes with certain challenges. Unlike 2D substances like graphene, smart oxide materials are bonded in 3 dimensions.

The method

One way to make them is using remote epitaxy. Graphene is used as an intermediary between the substrate and the membrane. This allows the thin film material to be peeled off the substrate. One issue with this is when using the technique with metal oxides the graphene becomes oxidised and ruins the sample.

A new technique pioneered by the University of Minnesota is hybrid molecular beam epitaxy. This stops the oxidation process by using titanium that is already bonded to oxygen. The team has also been able to introduce automatic stoichiometric control, which no one else has been able to do.

The hope is in future to combine these thin film membranes to create more advanced smart materials. There are certain products already using thin films like gallium-oxide. Other alternatives to thin film include carbon nanotubes, which can be used in layers of only 0.06nm thickness.

A ‘smart’ choice

Cyclops Electronics can provide a huge range of specialist, day-to-day, and hard to find electronic components. We work with our customers to make sure we find what they need and deliver in the quickest time possible.

Contact Cyclops for all your electronic component needs. Call us on +44 (0) 1904 415 415, or email us at sales@cyclops-electronics.com.

Categories
Component Shortage COVID-19 Electronic Components Electronica Supply Chain

Cyclops Electronics – Looking back on 2022

Cyclops Electronics has had a monumental year. With a hugely successful Electronica, an exciting business acquisition, and plenty of special team moments to remember. 2022 has made its mark in style.

 

Team wide fun and games

This year we have initiated a weekly delivery of fresh fruit for all of the office to enjoy. It has proved to be a big hit and a great boost of natural goodness into the working day. It’s the perfect antidote to our regular pizza days.

For Stress awareness month in April, we organised picnic lunches for everyone and raffled off a wellness hamper.

At Halloween we stirred up a right cauldron of treats, a quiz curated by a staff member, and a Mummy wrapping game to get everyone in the spooky spirit.

We also celebrated Valentine’s Day, Wimbledon, and most recently the World Cup with full office decoration and goodies on tap. To mark the festive period hot chocolate and mince pies are now a permanent fixture in our kitchen.

Christmas fundraising has been great fun, supporting ‘Save the Children’ with Christmas jumper day and producing a sizeable contribution to a worthy cause.

 

Halfin

In April the Cyclops Group officially announced the acquisition of Belgium-based company Halfin Electronics. Shared values of collaboration, family values and dedicated professionalism made it a natural fit for the Group.

Halfin has enabled Cyclops to add Belgium to its list of international offices, including USA, China, Canada, Italy and Portugal.

The business was established in 1946, and has since built a global clientele and a speciality in vacuum tubes and other niche electronic products. It has been a wonderful addition to the Cyclops family.

Electronica

Electronica was the event of the year for all of us here at Cyclops. A team of nine staff from a range of departments attended the event. Aside from meeting a plethora of new customers, we also caught up with a lot of returning customers. The event was very important to us, since there hasn’t been an in-person Electronica since 2018. We were eager to reconnect with clients and businesses.

Not only did the team make lasting connections with businesses there, but were able to bond as a team and successfully run a trade fair stand. We’re so proud of them for continuing a Cyclops tradition that has been in place for decades.

And finally… 

A few words from our Sales and Marketing Manager, Ros Shaw:

“2022, what a year it has been… looking back at heatwaves, weather extremes, component shortages, supply chain disruption, political turmoil, economic uncertainties and more shortages, it’s been another eventful one. But one constant remains and that is that the Cyclops Team have delivered, day in and day out.

It was a real highlight of our year to chat with many of our appreciative customers at Electronica in Munich. Sharing plans for the New Year, developing strategies for sourcing in 2023 and discussing upcoming projects has enabled us to prepare. And that’s what it’s always been about, preparing and equipping the business to best serve the needs of our customers. Now more than ever we strive to adapt, evolve and innovate to keep stride with this fast-paced world.

We look forward to ranking highly on your ‘most useful’ list this time next year. Thank you for including us in your team. Here’s to 2023 and all of its adventures.”

 

Categories
Electronic Components Semiconductor

Should we be investing in GaN fabs?

The wide bandgap semiconductor Gallium Nitride (GaN) has many advantageous properties, but it has been difficult to scale up production.  

During such an invigorating period in the industry, silicon semiconductors have been in massive demand. And in short supply. It has not been the best time to consider switching to a new wafer material. Not that there ever will be a quiet moment in this sector.

Where it all beGaN

GaN has only really been in the picture since the mid-90s, when its top uses were military. Since then it has seen growth, with a revenue of $1 billion in 2020 according to Strategy Analytics. Silicon wafer revenue, in comparison, was $11.2 billion. GaN is still a small fry.

Despite GaN production being a much smaller endeavour currently, there are several companies currently manufacturing GaN devices. GaN is currently used for power electronic devices thanks to their high electron mobility and high breakdown voltages.

A survey was undertaken by Microwave Journal, wherein they contacted major GaN suppliers around the world. Of the 8 that responded, there were 36 variants available, with gate lengths ranging between 0.5ɥm to 40nm. The GaN variants included GaN-on-SiC, GaN on Si and GaN on diamond substrates.

The potential future of semiconductors

We’ve talked before about how GaN could be a future replacement for the aging silicon semiconductors. This would not only benefit consumers because of its fast performance, but would also benefit the environment.

The first and most obvious factor, is that with more efficient semiconductors less of them would be required. GaN requires less raw material and because of the reduced size there can be more units per wafer.

Aside from this, the actual manufacturing emissions for GaN are much lower. Gallium metal is a by-product of aluminium smelting, and nitrogen is readily available in the atmosphere. GaN, then, has a minimal carbon footprint and is easily sourced.

If GaN could be used globally, it could make a difference against climate change, more than silicon or silicon carbide. It is also non-toxic and includes no conflict materials. GaN power IC devices can also be manufactured using already-established CMOS processing equipment.

So GaN could well be a great alternative for silicon in years to come, however the problem comes with up-scaling production and transitioning. Changing the semiconductor material would undoubtedly incur several design and logistical changes, and would cause disruptions and delays.

Some industry experts have suggested investing in mega-fabs to produce GaN-on-Si wafers for manufacturers. This would help even out the disparity between GaN and silicon stock, and encourage more manufacturers to produce GaN devices.

It’s estimated that the GaN-based power IC management market will grow by about 70% each year from 2020 to 2026. This is just one use of GaN, but demonstrates how profitable the material may be in the future.

It’s not GaNna be easy…

Cyclops has a huge range of stock which includes both brand new electronic components and obsolescent stock. Whatever you may need Cyclops can provide it. Get in touch with us today to see what we can do for you! Contact us on sales@cyclops-electronics.com, or call us on +44 (0) 1904 415 415.

Categories
Active Components Electronic Components Semiconductor Technology

Thermal management of semiconductors

Too hot to handle

Every electronic device or circuit will create heat when in use, and it’s important to manage this. If the thermal output isn’t carefully controlled it can end up damaging, or even destroying the circuit.

This is especially an issue in the area of power electronics, where circuits reaching high temperatures are inevitable.

Passive thermal dissipation can only do so much. Devices called heat sinks can be used in circuits to safely and efficiently dissipate the heat created. Fans or air and water-cooling devices can be used also.

Feelin’ hot, hot, hot!

Using thermistors can help reliably track the temperature limits of components. When used correctly, they can also trigger a cooling device at a designated temperature.

When it comes to choosing a thermistor, there is the choice between negative temperature coefficient (NTC) thermistors, and positive temperature coefficient (PTC) thermistors. PTCs are the most suitable, as their resistance will increase as the temperature does.

Thermistors can be connected in a series and can monitor several potential hotspots simultaneously. If a specified temperature is reached or exceeded, the circuit will switch into a high ohmic state.

I got the power!

Power electronics can suffer from mechanical damage and different components can have different coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE). If components like these are stacked and expand at different rates, the solder joints can get damaged.

After enough temperature changes, caused by thermal cycling, degradation will start to be visible.

If there are only short bursts of power applied, there will be more thermal damage in the wiring. The wire will expand and contract with the temperature, and since both ends of the wire are fixed in place this will eventually cause them to detach.

The heat is on

So we’ve established that temperature changes can cause some pretty severe damage, but how do we stop them? Well, you can’t really, but you can use components like heat sinks to dissipate the heat more efficiently.

Heat sinks work by effectively taking the heat away from critical components and spreading it across a larger surface area. They usually contain lots of strips of metal, called fins, which help to distribute heat. Some even utilise a fan or cooling fluid to cool the components at a quicker speed.

The disadvantage to using heat sinks is the amount of space they need. If you are trying to keep a circuit small, adding a heat sink will compromise this. To reduce the risk of this as much as possible,  identify the temperature limits of devices and choose the size of heat sink accordingly.

Most designers should provide the temperature limits of devices, so hopefully matching them to a heat sink will be easy.

Hot ‘n’ cold

When putting together a circuit or device, the temperature limits should be identified, and measures put in place to avoid unnecessary damage.

Heat sinks may not be the best choice for everyone, so make sure to examine your options carefully. There are also options like fan or liquid-based cooling systems.

Cyclops Electronics can supply both electronic components and the heat sinks to protect them. If you’re looking for everyday or obsolete components, contact Cyclops today and see what we can do for you.

Categories
Active Components Electronic Components Passive Components Semiconductor

Superconductivity

Superconductivity is the absence of any electrical resistance of some materials at specific low temperatures. As a starting point this is pretty vague, so let’s define it a bit more clearly.

The benefits of a superconductor is that it can sustain a current indefinitely, without the drawback of resistance. This means it won’t lose any energy over time, as long as the material stays in a superconducting state.

Uses

Superconductors are used in some magnetic devices, like medical imaging devices and energy-storage systems. They can also be used in motors, generators and transformers, or devices for measuring magnetic fields, voltages, or currents.

The low power dissipation, high-speed operation and high sensitivity make superconductors an attractive prospect. However, due to the cool temperatures required to keep the material in a superconducting state, it’s not widely utilised.

Effect of temperature

The most common temperature that triggers the superconductor effect is -253⁰C (20 Kelvin). High-temperature superconductors also exist and have a transition temperature of around -193⁰C (80K).

This so-called transition temperature is not easily achieved under normal circumstances, hence why you don’t hear about superconductors that often. Currently superconductors are mostly used in industrial applications so they can be kept at low temperatures more efficiently.

Type I and Type II

You can sort superconductors into two types depending on their magnetic behaviour. Type I materials are only in their superconducting state until a threshold is reached, at which point they will no longer be superconducting.

Type II superconducting materials have two critical magnetic fields. After the first critical magnetic field the superconductor moves into a ‘mixed state’. In this state some of the superconductor reverts to normal conducting behaviour, which takes pressure off another part of the material and allows it to continue as a superconductor. At some point the material will hit its second critical magnetic field, and the entire material will revert to regular conducting behaviour.

This mixed state of type II superconductors has made it possible to develop magnets for use in high magnetic fields, like in particle accelerators.

The materials

There are 27 metal-based elements that are superconductors in their usual crystallographic forms at low temperatures and low atmospheric pressure. These include well-known materials such as aluminium, tin and lead.

Another 11 elements that are metals, semimetals or semiconductors can also be superconductors at low temperatures but high atmospheric pressure. There are also elements that are not usually superconducting, but can be made to be if prepared in a highly disordered form.

Categories
Active Components Electronic Components Technology

Electronic Components of a hearing aid

Hearing aids are an essential device that can help those with hearing loss to experience sound. The gadget comes in an analogue or digital format, with both using electronic components to amplify sound for the user.

Main components

Both types of hearing aid, analogue and digital, contain semiconductors for the conversion of sound waves to a different medium, and then back to amplified sound waves.

The main components of a hearing aid are the battery, microphone, amplifier, receiver, and digital signal processor or mini-chip.

The battery, unsurprisingly, is the power source of the device. Depending on the type of hearing aid it can be a disposable one or a rechargeable one.

The microphone can be directional, which means it can only pick up sound from a certain direction, which is in front of the hearing aid user. The alternative, omnidirectional microphones, can detect sound coming from all angles.

The amplifier receives signals from the microphone and amplifies it to different levels depending on the user’s hearing.

The receiver gets signals from the amplifier and converts them back into sound signals.

The digital signal processor, also called a mini-chip, is what’s responsible for all of the processes within the hearing aid. The heart of your hearing, if you will.

Chip shortages

As with all industries, hearing aids were affected by the chip shortages caused by the pandemic and increased demand for chips.

US manufacturers were also negatively impacted by Storm Ida in 2021, and other manufacturers globally reported that orders would take longer to fulfil than in previous years.

However, despite the obstacles the hearing aid industry faced thanks to covid, it has done a remarkable job of recovering compared to some industries, which are still struggling to meet demand even now.

Digital hearing aid advantages

As technology has improved over the years, traditional analogue hearing aids have slowly been replaced by digital versions. Analogue devices would convert the sound waves into electrical signals,  that would then be amplified and transmitted to the user. This type of hearing aid, while great for its time, was not the most authentic hearing experience for its users.

The newer digital hearing aid instead converts the signals into numerical codes before amplifying them to different levels and to different pitches depending on the information attached to the numerical signals.

Digital aids can be adjusted more closely to a user’s needs, too, because there is more flexibility within the components within. They often have Bluetooth capabilities too, being able to connect to phones and TVs. There will, however, be an additional cost that comes with the increased complexity and range of abilities.

Categories
Electronic Components Future Semiconductor Technology Transistors

The Angstrom Era of Electronics

Angstrom is a unit of measurement that is most commonly used for extremely small particles or atoms in the fields of physics and chemistry.

However, nanometres are almost too big for new electronic components, and in the not-so-distant future angstrom may be used to measure the size of semiconductors.

It could happen soon

Some large firms have already announced their future plans to move to angstrom within the next decade, which is a huge step in terms of technological advancement.

The most advanced components at the moment are already below 10nm in size, with an average chip being around 14nm. Seeing as 1nm is equal to 10Å it is the logical next step to move to the angstrom.

The size of an atom

The unit (Å) is used to measure atoms, and ionic radius. 1Å is roughly equal to the diameter of one atom. There are certain elements, namely chlorine, sulfur and phosphorus, that have a covalent radius of 1Å, and hydrogen’s size is approximately 0.5Å.

As such, angstrom is mostly used in solid-state physics, chemistry and crystallography.

The origin of the Angstrom

The name of the unit came courtesy of Anders Jonas Ångström, who used the measurement in 1868 to chart the wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation in sunlight.

Using this new unit meant that the wavelengths of light could be measured without the decimals or fractions, and the chart was used by people in the fields of solar physics and atomic spectroscopy after its creation.

Will silicon survive?

It’s been quite a while since Moore’s Law was accurate. The methodology worked on the theory that every two years the number of transistors in an integrated circuit (IC) would double, and the manufacturing and consumer cost would decrease. Despite this principle being relatively accurate in 1965, it does not take into account the shrinking size of electronic components.

Silicon, the material used for most semiconductors, has an atomic size of approximately 2nm (20Å) and current transistors are around 14nm. Even as some firms promise to increase the capabilities of silicon semiconductors, you have to wonder if the material will soon need a successor.

Graphene, silicon carbide and gallium nitride have all been thrown into the ring as potential replacements for silicon, but none are developed enough at this stage for production to be widespread. That said, all three of these and several others have received research and development funding in recent years.

How it all measures up

The conversion of nanometres to angstrom may not seem noteworthy in itself, but the change and advancement it signals is phenomenal. It’s exciting to think about what kind of technology could be developed with electronics this size. So, let’s size up the angstrom era and see what the future holds.

Categories
Electronic Components Future Semiconductor

What are GaN and SiC?

Silicon will eventually go out of fashion, and companies are currently heavily investing in finding its protégé. Gallium Nitride (GaN) and Silicon Carbide (SiC) are two semiconductors that are marked as being possible replacements.

Compound semiconductors

Both materials contain more than one element, so they are given the name compound semiconductors. They are also both wide bandgap semiconductors, which means they are more durable and capable of higher performance than their predecessor Silicon (Si).

Could they replace Silicon?

SiC and GaN both have some properties that are superior to Si, and they’re more durable when it comes to higher voltages.

The bandgap of GaN is 3.2eV and SiC has a bandgap of 3.4eV, compared to Si which has a bandgap of only 1.1eV. This gives the two compounds an advantage but would be a downside when it comes to lower voltages.

Again, both GaN and SiC have a greater breakdown field strength than the current semiconductor staple, ten times better than Si. Electron mobility of the two materials, however, is drastically different from each other and from Silicon.

Main advantages of GaN

GaN can be grown by spraying a gaseous raw material onto a substrate, and one such substrate is silicon. This bypasses the need for any specialist manufacturing equipment being produced as the technology is already in place to produce Si.

The electron mobility of GaN is higher than both SiC and Si and can be manufactured at a lower cost than Si, and so produces transistors and integrated circuits with a faster switching speed and lower resistance.

There is always a downside, though, and GaN’s is the low thermal conductivity. GaN can only reach around 60% of SiC’s thermal conductivity which, although still excellent, could end up being a problem for designers.

Is SiC better?

As we’ve just mentioned, SiC has a higher thermal conductivity than its counterpart, which means it would outlast GaN at a higher heat.

SiC also has more versatility than GaN in what type of semiconductor it can become. The doping of SiC can be performed with phosphorous or nitrogen for an N-type semiconductor, or aluminium for a P-type semiconductor.

SiC is considered to be superior in terms of material quality progress, and the wafers have been produced to a bigger size than that of GaN. SiC on SiC wafers beat GaN on SiC wafers in terms of cost too.

SiC is mainly used for Schottky diodes and FET or MOSFET transistors to make converters, inverters, power supplies, battery chargers and motor control systems.

en_GBEnglish