Original title: Why should we attach importance to the development of high-end sensor technology
From the vast starry sky, to the vast ocean, and then to the vast land, as the source of information acquisition, sensors are the bridge connecting the physical world and the digital world, and have become one of the most important cornerstones of the information society. The main function of sensors is to convert various physical quantities, chemical quantities, or biological characteristics into detectable and digitized electrical signals, which are our primary tools for perceiving the world. Sensors play a crucial role in various aspects of modern society, such as scientific research, industrial production, national defense and security, and medical health, playing an indispensable role. At present, sensors have evolved from early discrete devices consisting of sensitive components and processing circuits to intelligent sensing microsystems that integrate information acquisition, processing, transmission, power supply, and other functions, commonly known as high-end sensors. Their digital, miniaturized, and intelligent features are very prominent. However, it is precisely because of the high-precision nature of high-end sensors that it has become a core "bottleneck" technology we are currently facing.
High end sensors are a crucial 'bottleneck' technology
So, why is high-end sensors a crucial 'bottleneck' technology? What can high-end sensors bring us? How far is China from becoming a strong sensor country?
Firstly, the characteristics of sensors are very distinct: firstly, sensors involve many new principles, materials, and devices, so they are closely related to innovation in many basic sciences and technologies. Moreover, sensors are directly applied to complete equipment or serve end users, and are closely related to various industries and fields. For example, many high-end sensors in integrated circuit (IC) equipment are listed as key core technologies. Secondly, sensors often gather cutting-edge technologies from various disciplines such as physics, chemistry, electronics,
mechanics, design, manufacturing, and testing, with a clear characteristic of interdisciplinary integration; At the same time, the investment in the sensor industry is also very large. The sensitive structures of high-end sensors are mostly manufactured using MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) technology, and the dual intensive characteristics of technology and capital are particularly prominent in high-end sensors. Thirdly, due to the widespread application of sensors, the technological categories of sensors are very diverse, and the corresponding products and industries are widely distributed. For example, just one pressure sensor has thousands of solutions in many industries such as water conservancy and hydropower, transportation, industrial production, automatic control, aerospace, power electronics, petroleum, chemical, exploration, etc., and each solution has its own special requirements.
Secondly, the positioning of sensors in the industrial technology system is "basic components and parts", because sensors are the source of information acquisition and the interface between the physical world and the digital world. Their significance is reflected in their role as the "cornerstone of industry" and the foundation for the survival and development of various modern industries; It is also a 'performance key' that directly determines the performance and quality of major equipment and complete machine products. It is precisely because of the fundamental and critical nature of sensors that bottleneck problems and dependencies have arisen: high dependence on foreign technology or products, which have a serious impact on China's industries and even threaten national security and strategic interests. High end sensors, which are crucial for China's key industries, economic development, and national defense security, but also have significant technological bottlenecks or rely on imports, have become a "bottleneck" technology that urgently needs to be overcome.
What can high-end sensors bring us
In the forefront of technological innovation, sensors are the "pioneers". Throughout the history of technological development, the formation of world science centers has benefited from breakthroughs in core sensor technology and the birth of important scientific instruments based on it. Statistics show that 72% of Nobel Prize winners in physics, 81% in chemistry, and 95% in physiology or medicine are achieved through the use of cutting-edge sensors and instruments. Additionally, 38 awards and over 60 individuals have been directly recognized for inventing scientific instruments based on new principles. The key to detecting and characterizing things with scientific instruments and obtaining scientific data is high-end sensors, such as photodetectors, electron detectors, temperature sensors in X-ray diffractometers, X-ray tomography scanners, super-resolution fluorescence microscopes, electron microscopes, displacement sensors, force sensors in mass spectrometers, scanning tunneling microscopes, and so on. In modern scientific instruments, high-end sensors are decisive and directly represent the level of analysis, detection, and characterization.
In the main battlefield of the national economy, sensors are "multipliers". The application fields of sensors are very extensive, almost penetrating into every aspect of social production and life. For example, in traditional mobile phones that only have communication functions, a large number of sensors are integrated, including image sensors, gyroscopes, accelerometers, distance sensors, ambient light sensors, magnetometers, capacitance sensors, temperature sensors, humidity sensors, pressure sensors, etc., turning traditional mobile phones into intelligent terminals. The functions and performance of mobile phones have been greatly enhanced, especially the ability to interact with people. The development of the mobile phone industry has not only doubled, but also entered a new era.
Of course, the sensor industry itself also has a market size that cannot be underestimated. According to the data analysis company Statista in Germany, the global sensor market size in 2022 is $251.29 billion (approximately RMB 1.79 trillion). The size of China's sensor market is 309.69 billion yuan, with a compound annual growth rate of 12.26% from 2019 to 2022. Although the growth rate of China's sensor market is relatively stable, global leading companies such as Emerson, Siemens, Bosch, STMicroelectronics, Honeywell and other multinational corporations occupy about 60% of the domestic sensor market share, especially in the high-end sensor market, where about 80% of China's sensors rely on imports. It should be noted that in addition to its own trillion level market, research has shown that the output value created by the upstream and downstream industrial chain driven by sensors is about six times that of the sensor industry.
Sensors are the "winners and losers" in national strategic projects
The performance and quality of sensors directly determine the performance and quality of major equipment and strategic products. High speed rail has become a business card of China, and sensors play an indispensable role. High end sensors have six major application scenarios on high-speed rail: first, train monitoring and maintenance; second, track health monitoring; third, train safety protection; fourth, passenger information exchange; fifth, energy management; sixth, comprehensive environmental monitoring. Taking the Harmony 380AL high-speed railway train as an example, the number of sensors in a train exceeds 1000, with an average of one sensor in every 40 components. They are responsible for status monitoring, fault alarm, onboard equipment control and other functions, and are considered as a key technology for ensuring the safety of rail transit operation and continuous upgrading of equipment. In the future, emerging technologies such as sensors and artificial intelligence will achieve deep integration, and China's high-speed rail will be smarter and safer.
In healthcare, sensors are like "diamond drills". Modern medicine cannot do without various tests. Various medical instruments obtain various medical data related to the patient's pathology through various sensors, providing a basis for doctors' diagnosis and treatment. For example, it is used to measure various physiological parameters such as vascular diameter, blood flow velocity, blood pressure, intracardiac
pressure, body temperature, etc. Various displacement, velocity, vibration (acceleration), force, flow rate, pressure, and temperature sensors; Chemical sensors used to detect the concentration of ions (such as K+, Na+, Ca2+, etc.) and gases (such as O2, CO2) in blood; Enzyme sensors, microbial sensors, immunosensors, tissue sensors, and DNA sensors that use selective recognition to determine biochemical substances; Biological electrical sensors such as electrocardiogram (EKG), electroencephalography (EEG), electromyography (EMG), etc., which monitor physiological states by measuring changes in weak electrical signals of cells or tissues, are very important in diagnosing heart diseases and muscle function status. Sensors are indispensable technologies in the medical field, playing a crucial role in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases.
In national defense and security, sensors are the 'combat power'.To some extent, modern warfare is about sensors. In the recent Ukrainian crisis, statistics have shown that 80% of the destructive effects were caused by precision guided munitions, which account for 20% of the total ammunition, such as missiles and guided bombs. In these high-precision inertial, wireless, laser, electro-optical, infrared, satellite and other precision guidance technologies, various high-end sensors such as inertial measurement units (IMUs), laser sensors, infrared sensors, millimeter wave sensors, electro-optical sensors, radar, etc. play a decisive and critical role. In addition, weapons and equipment such as stealth fighter jets, aircraft carrier fleets, and satellite constellations require an information perception network composed of various high-end sensors to provide data for various actions such as situational awareness, target strikes, and system operations. Unmanned systems equipped with various high-end sensors have begun to emerge on the modern battlefield. In the future, weapons and equipment such as drones, unmanned vehicles, and robot systems on the battlefield will become more normalized. The long-range eyes and smooth ears of these "machine warriors" will rely entirely on high-end sensors. Moreover, with the rapid development and further empowerment of advanced technologies such as sensors, various new concept weapons and equipment will emerge, and sensor technology will play a greater role in national defense and security.
How far is China from becoming a strong sensor country
Sensors are so important and the market size is also large. China must develop high-end sensors. However, the current development status of high-end sensors in China is not optimistic. China's high-end sensors, especially MEMS chips for mid to high end sensors, still heavily rely on imports and are being "choked". In addition, there are still gaps in the innovation ecosystem, design tools and R&D platforms, advanced materials and core components, high-end chips and process equipment, system integration and transformation applications of China's high-end sensor industry.
To become a strong sensor country, China needs to continue to make efforts in the following areas. The first is to pay attention to the integration of industry and education, which means the deep correlation and integration of talent cultivation and industrial development. As mentioned earlier, sensors are a multidisciplinary, technology intensive field closely related to applications, and the importance of high-end talent and technological innovation is self-evident. The integration of industry and education, which combines the cultivation of innovative talents and the development of original technologies, is the primary condition for developing sensors and becoming a strong sensor country. The second is to strengthen collaborative innovation. As mentioned earlier, the sensor industry is an investment intensive industry with a wide range of product applications but dispersed industries. Therefore, various innovative elements such as government, enterprises, universities, research institutes, users, and financial institutions must be planned, reasonably laid out, and collaboratively innovated. Through the construction of public research and development platforms and the development and sharing mechanism of common technologies, the efficient operation, sustained, healthy, and rapid development of the entire sensor industry can be achieved. The third is to increase demonstration applications, which can be organized to carry out innovation around major national engineering tasks, important strategic equipment urgently needed by the country, and representative social and economic needs, reflecting the advantages of the new national system. Through sensor empowerment, new quality production capacity can be formed, promoting industrial agglomeration, and forming an ecological chain of the sensor industry.
Source: Shangguan News