MLCC is the abbreviation of chip multilayer ceramic capacitor. Because of its small size, high stability, long life, low loss, and easy automatic placement, it is widely used in various electronic products and has developed into a global demand. One of the largest and fastest growing passive components.
From the perspective of specifications, there are many types of MLCCs, and there are tens of thousands of models with different sizes, capacities, precisions, and pressure resistance. Generally speaking, 0402, 0603, 0805, 1206 medium and large size packages, high capacitance, high withstand voltage MLCCs are widely used and are more commonly used sizes; 0201 and 01005 packages are small size, usually used in smart phones, Watches, headphones and other miniaturized electronic products; and super-sized package capacitors of 1808, 2220 and above are generally used in the fields of ultra-high capacitance and ultra-high voltage.
Strong demand for 5G base stations and new energy vehicles drives the development of MLCC
At present, the demand for MLCC mainly comes from 5G smart terminals, base station construction, automotive electronics, industrial control and other fields.
In terms of 5G terminals, with the development of communication technology from 2G to 5G, the transmission speed and available functions are constantly being upgraded, the frequency bands used are also increasing, and the number of MLCCs required by each device is also increasing. From the perspective of specific usage, 500-1000 MLCCs are currently used in ordinary 5G mobile phones, and more advanced models generally use more than 1000 MLCCs. The higher the configuration, the more MLCCs will be used.
According to statistics, the total global smartphone shipments in 2021 will be 1.35 billion units, a year-on-year increase of 7%, of which about 530 million 5G mobile phones will be shipped, a year-on-year increase of 75%, accounting for about 40% of the total shipments . In the future, with the continuous increase in the penetration rate of 5G mobile phones and the high-end development of smartphones, the demand for MLCC is expected to continue to increase.
Since the second half of last year, the demand for consumer MLCCs has been lower than expected in the short term due to factors such as the epidemic, rising raw materials, and transportation prices. However, 5G base stations and automotive MLCCs have become new growth points outside 5G terminals, and their share is gradually increasing. big.
Based on the large-scale construction of 5G base stations, the demand for MLCCs for a single base station has also increased due to the increase in the number of antennas and channels. Moreover, the frequency converter and electronic devices supporting the base station will also drive the further growth of MLCC demand. The average consumption of MLCCs for 4G base stations is about 3,750, while the average consumption of MLCCs for 5G base stations will exceed 10,000.
In addition to the 5G field, with the continuous development of new energy vehicles and automotive electronics, the automotive MLCC market will also usher in rapid development and will be the largest incremental market for MLCCs in the future.
In new energy vehicles, MLCC has been applied to various modules of automotive intelligent cockpit, intelligent driving and three-electric system. Since it is related to the life safety of users, automotive MLCCs must be able to adapt to harsh environments such as high temperature, strong vibration, and shock, so the reliability of MLCCs is higher.
Industry insiders pointed out: "In the past, a fuel vehicle used about 3,000 MLCCs, and a hybrid vehicle used about 6,000 MLCCs. Electric vehicles use a lot of MLCCs in the three-electric system, so the consumption will be about 10,000. More than 10 times the mobile phone market usage.”
