TSMC chairman Mark Liu took part in a White House-hosted online meeting of the world's semiconductor powerhouses on Tuesday. After the meeting, Liu reiterated the Taiwan-based foundry house's commitment to building a wafer fab in the US state of Arizona. The semiconductor supply chain has been troubled by shortages for months, with major Taiwanese IC vendors set for another wave of price hikes in second-quarter 2021. Development of microLED applications have been gaining momentum, and commercialized products may be available as early as year-end 2021.TSMC reiterates commitment to US fab project: TSMC chairman Mark Liu, who participated in a virtual summit hosted by the Biden administration to discuss global chip shortages and the US plan to rebuild its semiconductor manufacturing edge, has reiterated the Taiwan-based foundry house's commitment to building an advanced wafer fab in the US.Major Taiwan IC design houses to hike prices in 2Q21: MediaTek and Elan Microelectronics both plan to raise their chip prices by 10-20% to reflect rising foundry costs starting May 1, while fellow IC design company Realtek Semiconductor will also hike its chip prices by over 20% later in the second quarter, according to industry sources.MicroLED may start taking off at year-end 2021, says PlayNitride executive: Development of microLED applications has been gaining momentum, with commercialization of the technology likely to begin at year-end-2021 at the earliest, according to Falcon Liu, marketing director for Taiwan-based PlayNitride.

Shortages, which were originally attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, have continued to worsen in 2021. Continuous demand growth in various sectors like 5G, automotive and IoT, ongoing raw material shortages and catastrophes are the primary culprits.2021 Q1 in reviewThe year opened with renewed concerns over legacy case size MLCCs used in the industrial sector, 5G smartphones and the automotive sector due to a fire outbreak at the Walsin production plant in China. And, it's getting worse as supply of high-capacitance MLCCs, in particular, has been exacerbated since January, largely caused by a sharp rise in 5G mobile phones after the Chinese New Year.In February, a winter storm in Texas caused widespread power shortages and blackouts. Because Texas is a US hub for chip manufacturing and electronic production, major chip manufacturers were impacted including Samsung, NXP and Infineon.In the same month, an earthquake resulted in a blackout at Renesas's Naka factory, and production was temporarily suspended. The impact on supply chains from this event was limited. However, in mid-March, the same plant caught fire, and damaged 23 machines, including plating machines used for wiring. The components most affected include a variety of automotive and non-automotive MCUs as well as power management and MOSFETs.Unexpected events, such as the Nittobo and Renesas factory fires, have also worsened the supply of already short raw materials like silicone and glass substrate, wafers and crystal oscillators. Production for a variety of components has been impacted as a result, causing shortages of ICs, CPUs and memory. Memory module pricing, for example, increased 5-10% above official pricing.The shortages have hindered the automotive industry especially. The lack of MLCCs and automotive chips forced automakers like Volkswagen, Ford and Toyota to cut production early in the year despite growing consumer demand. As a result, the US, German and Taiwanese governments were pressured to convince IC leaders like TSMC and UMC to reallocate production to support struggling automotive manufacturers. Unfortunately, the Renesas plant fire will only increase the obstacles the automotive industry continues to encounter.The rollout of 5G technology has also been hindered by the IC and CPU shortages. Chipmakers are currently struggling to meet demand for processor chips used in smartphones, which has affected production lines of Samsung and Apple. The shortage of ICs has also led to supply constraints for SSDs, which have been in high demand from the rollout of 5G, IoT and new gaming activity.A look into Q2In Q2 we are sure to fully realize the impacts of these unpredictable disruptions while facing additional shortages on the horizon.Raw materials worsenAs seen throughout 2020 and in 2021, raw material shortages have intensified, and it doesn't appear to be ending any time soon.The ABF substrate shortage has been the biggest contributor to the CPU, GPU and IC shortages, and is currently predicted to last until 2023. Because ABF manufacturing equipment has a lead time of 12 months, ABF makers are focusing on increasing yield rather than capacity. With no supply relief in sight, prices will continue to rise over the next 6 months, leaving customers to pay the price.Semiconductor production continues to be disrupted by the 8-inch wafer shortage with dim prospects for recovery as the substrate shortage continues. The 8-inch wafer is needed for CMOS sensors, power supply controller, MCU, RF component, MEMS, etc., which is why numerous industries are competing for this resource. As TSMC moves to focus its production on automotive chips, the production of other industries will suffer as a result.Certain crystal oscillators, including TCXOs are seeing supply issues fostered by the Asahi Kasei Microdevices (AKM) fire that occurred in October 2020. Despite AKM starting to ship out stock through its subcontractors, there is extremely limited supply and customers are being urged to find products from other manufacturers until alternative production is available. AKM's production lines will not be fully operational until March 2022.Other raw material shortages are starting to appear, such as with glass and precious metals. Palladium, used in electronics and a key component in vehicle pollution-control devices, is experiencing rising prices as usage grows. Price increases currently paid by automakers may be passed off to customers if output falls short of demand as predicted.Growing component shortagesThere is growing demand for ICs related to five key areas: energy efficiency, mobility, security, IoT (internet of things) and server/cloud services, which is putting pressure on supply. As such, overall IC shortages are expected to continue to be widespread across all brands throughout Q2.Rising automotive demand has worsened the chip shortage, causing a chain reaction across different industries. Because some chip makers are shifting production to focus on automotive products, supply for industrial products will likely take a hit and pricing will continue in the quarter.Pricing for automotive ICs, generally, is rising by about 30% while current lead times are around 28 weeks - and could grow up to 40 weeks. Lead times for industrial application MCUs are currently facing extending lead times due to automotive demand as the industry continues to see many shortages.Demand from the automotive market, in addition to high demand for PCs and smartphones, has put a strain on MLCCs, which has resulted in price increases. Analysts have predicted that the MLCC shortage is expected to worsen through Q3, and prices are believed to increase in Q2. With limited foundry capacity and many manufacturers competing for these necessary products, the automotive industry won't see supply relief until the second half of the year.The mobile phone market is also being affected by IC shortages, as well as heightened memory pricing from little supply and growing demand. Mobile phone memory products are seeing price increases and a supply gap from customers pulling in extra stock as a buffer against these prices.If demand for memory strengthens as predicted, contract prices for memory will rise further in Q2 and gaps in supply will worsen. Samsung has already announced a pricing increase of 10% in April, and Intel and Micron prices are to rise by 5% as well.Furthermore, implementation of 5G coupled with rising consumer demand for smarter technology in mobile phones, automobiles, wireless applications, and appliances will cause enterprise and cloud storage companies to have increasing need for larger and faster SSDs, which requires more NAND flash. Since NAND flash demand will likely outpace supply in Q3 as new mobile devices and CPUs hit the market, SSD pricing will rise anywhere between 5-15% as a result and continue through the year.Ramification of natural disastersThe Texas storm is sure to cause supply issues for memory, automotive MCUs, storage and more for weeks to come. Plant interruptions from the rolling blackouts in February have decreased overall production at a time when chip demand is already higher than capacity can met.NXP is one company that reports it experienced a month's loss of chip production due to the event and lead times for its products will extend by 8-12 weeks as a result. Infineon's production of MCUs and NOR flash memory chips have also been heavily affected, especially since its NOR flash supply had been facing shortages. Because of this, memory pricing is predicted to rise as much as another 10% in Q2.Comparatively, Renesas's fire has had a much worse effect on its production of MCUs and MOSFETs, which will require at least 100-120 days to recover according to the company. It will take 6 months for the company to recoup its losses, and automakers, especially, will feel its effects in April.The continued drought in Taiwan will only exacerbate the effects of these shortages, especially since Taiwanese plants and foundries produce approximately 53% of global semiconductors. Because water is key in processing silicon and chip production, shortages through May could be a major blow to semiconductor production.A tumultuous road ahead for global markets

TSMC is scheduled to hold its investors' conference later this week. Market observers speculate that the foundry house may disclose plans to revise upward its capex budget for 2021, judging from the fact TSMC has recently vowed to spend US$100 billion on capacity expansions in the next three years. ODMs Quanta Computer and Compal Electronics are optimistic about their notebook shipment growths in second-quarter 2021, but remain wary of components shortages undermining their shipments for full-year 2021. Shortages of audio+LAN chips from Realtek have been described as one of the major factors stalling production for many end-market devices, including Chromebooks.TSMC likely to raise 2021 capex target: TSMC is likely to provide a revision to its capex target for 2021 at its upcoming earnings conference call scheduled for April 15, according to market observers.Quanta, Compal expect shipment growth in 2Q21, but cautious about 2H21: Quanta Computer and Compal Electronics expect their notebook shipments to see double-digit sequential growths in the second quarter of 2021, but remain cautious about the second half of the year.Realtek facing delivery pressure for audio+LAN chips: Network and communication IC supplier Realtek Semiconductor reportedly is currently unable to fulfill its orders for audio+LAN chips from a number of clients, affecting the production of end-market devices such as Chromebooks, according to industry sources.

The notebook market has been robust in recent months thanks to stay-at-home needs. Chromebook shipments are expected to rise sharply in 2021. Apart from Intel, some other chip vendors, such as MediaTek and Elan, are poised to see robust growths in reenues from the Chromebook segment. ODM Wistron saw its notebook shipments spiked 52% on year in first-quarter 2021. The smatphone market is also recovering, and Apple is expected to adopt teh more power-efficient LTPO backplane technology for OLED displays in the premium models of its next-generation iPhone lineup.Strong Chromebook shipments to buoy chip suppliers in 2Q21: Taiwan-based IC design houses including MediaTek, Elan Microelectronics and Integrated Technology Express (ITE) continue to enjoy a strong pull-in of orders for Chromebooks, which will boost their respective revenues to record highs in the second quarter, according to industry sources.Wistron sees over 50% surge in notebook shipments in 1Q21: Wistron shipped a total of 5.4 million notebooks in the first quarter of 2021, up 52.1% from a year earlier, while revenues grew by a slight 2% on year to NT$177.14 billion (US$6.23 billion).Apple reportedly to adopt LTPO display technology for new iPhones: Apple reportedly will adopt LTPO (low-temperature polycrystalline oxide) backplane technology for OLED displays in its premium iPhones to be launched later in 2021, according to industry sources.

In recent years, a wave of cross-industry partnerships has emerged in the industry to target trends in AIoT and 5G. The cross-industry partnerships are expected to form comprehensive capabilities to seize opportunities in diversified intelligence applications. To date, there have been more and more cases of partnerships. 5G Drones for highway hillsides, and reservoirs watershed survey combining "perceptive AI" and "fully autonomous AI" to enact disaster prevention, environment protection is one of the examples.Since its establishment in 1992, Coretronic Corporation has positioned itself as an "innovative display system integrated solution provider." For more than 20 years, Coretronic Corporation demonstrated its technical capabilities in displays, optics, thermal management, materials and precision molds. It actively branched out from its core capabilities to smart robotics, MEMS sensor components, AR/MR, and cloud services in four subsidiaries. Coretronic Corporation CTO and AI Application Research Center Vice President Robert Hsueh stated that the mission of the 4 subsidiaries is to manage various smart application solutions and develop critical, related upstream components, in order to seize the massive opportunities in AIoT and 5G.Robert Hsueh also emphasized that there are already many companies offering AIoT and 5G related products and solutions today. To build competitive edge over increasingly fierce competition, Coretronic must secure the sources of the technologies. Coretronic not only develops solutions, but also secures critical components and modules upstream, thereby strengthens its competitiveness in the market. Taking the LiDAR sensor as an example, Coretronic develops the state-of-the-art MEMS-based LiDAR sensor which integrates optical machines, system, and signal processing algorithms. Compared to mechanical LiDARs consisting of laser scanning structure currently available in the market, MEMS LiDARs are more compact and lighter, less power consuming, and more reliable. If the cost of these modules fall to an acceptable price in the market, it will explode onto the market.Coretronic Corporation has been investing in drone development since 2014. From the beginning, the focus has been on "full autonomy". The many years of development is now starting to bear fruit and the company is starting to enter the Japanese market. Besides airborne robots, Coretronic Corporation is also developing land based robots for smart factories, smart logistics, and other specific applications, which includes fully autonomous forklifts/AMR. The selling point of these robots is the integration of image recognition technologies, autonomous navigation, and high-precision motion control. This allows the robots to move stably on uneven surfaces or in narrow corridors. Based on the SLAM-based 3D model, the forklift understands its surroundings and its position, uses AI to identify different pallet types, and connects to the backend assignment system to deliver the goods from point A to point B. The key technologies involved in this process are all related to the four subsidiaries.CP Wang, senior director of the Coretronic Intelligent Robotics Corporation Career Development Center, stated that when the company started to develop drones in 2014, the company utilized the innovative energy of Silicon Valley to successfully create fully autonomous movement and replace traditional remote control methods. The new system reduces the need for manpower, improves efficiency, and captures data. At the same time, the company discovered that the communication structure is also an important part of the system. Drones do not only need to integrate Edge and AI and incorporate environmental data, they also need to connect to the safety monitoring system of the site, in order to fulfill their roles within a specified range, such as safety maintenance, basic equipment testing, patrols of energy facilities, and 3D project mapping. Therefore, the robots are very reliant on the communication system.Creating the value of innovative services for users as a verticals expertIt is worth mentioning that as video recording technologies improve exponentially, resolutions have gone from 2K to 4K and now 8K. In addition, cameras are now equipped on airborne drones instead of being stationary on the ground. These improvements in technology allows for the recording of video from a wider range of angles. It is evident that the combination of the vast amount of video data with AI analysis will provide significant benefits to operators of large-scale sites. People are no longer required to inspect every corner of the site and operators can clearly monitor and detect any environmental changes at any time. However, to reach this goal, the reasoning response time of AI must be improved. The use of AIoT smart terminals is not enough. The system must be integrated with 5G to maximize the value of its application.With regard to smart cloud services, verticals such as smart advertising and smart retail have been introduced at this stage. Starting in 2016, the first smart projection advertising wall was introduced in Taipei MRT, and more precise advertising services were provided through the cloud and crowd analysis technology. More than 20,000 smart advertising billboards have been introduced around Taiwan. In the future, the higher bandwidth, lower latency, and greater number of connections provided by 5G technology will facilitate real-time streaming and two-way interactions, further improve the visual experience. In terms of smart manufacturing, the 5G network is used to construct a digitized manufacturing information platform to achieve real-time transmission and storage safety. Combined with Coretronic Corporation MEMS sensor components and predictive diagnostic AI, real-time monitoring of the equipment can be achieved. In addition, the integration of industrial Internet of Things, autonomous mobile robots, and the Coretronic Corporation smart cloud platform will realize the smart and automated production model of Industry 4.0.In the future, Coretronic Corporation expects that as the 5G era approaches, the rules of the market will change and form a new business model of B2B2X. The first "B" represents the telecommunications industry; the second "B" represents the verticals expert; and the "X" represents anyone. It could be a person, institution, site, or various smart terminals such as webcams, sensors, robots, AGV, or self-driving cars.In past B2B2X projects, generally the telecommunications company played the role of SI and the verticals expert would assist. This is because the telecommunications company was in control of the communication resources. However, in the 5G era, network configurations have become more diversified. Communications is no longer the key element that influences the value of projects. Following this, experts in a field and system solution providers who possess key technologies for different industries gain a bigger say and more control than they had in the past. Through their collaboration with telecom companies, they will advance from the supporting role and assume the main role, creating more innovative service value for end users. This is the role Coretronic Corporation wishes to play in the future.Coretronic Corporation CTO and AI Application Research Center Vice President Robert Hsueh

MediaTek and Qualcomm may be the dominant players in the 5G smartphone SoC sector, but Chinese phone vendors Oppo and Xiaomi are mounting a challenge by developing their own chips. Shortages plaguing the semidoncutor industry are sending firms scrambling for supply. NOR flash chipmakers say that more of their clients are now willing to strike long-term supply contracts. For backend firms, demand from MCU clients remains robust.Unisoc, Oppo, Xiaomi gearing up for new 5G mobile chips roll-outs: Oppo and Xiaomi will introduce their in-house-developed sub-6GHz 5G chip solutions between late 2021 and early 2022, joining fabless chipmaker Unisoc in competing against chip vendors such as Qualcomm and MediaTek, according to industry sources in Taiwan.NOR flash chipmakers see more customers eager for long-term deals: Taiwan-based NOR flash chipmakers have seen more of their clients eager to strike long-term supply agreements, according to industry sources.Backend firms see persistently strong demand for MCUs: Backend firms including ASE Technology, Greatek Electronics, Lingsen Precision Industries and Orient Semiconductor Electronics (OSE) continue to enjoy strong packaging demand for MCUs used in diverse applications ranging from consumer electronics, medical care to automotive electronics, according to industry sources.

With the automotive electronics market undergoing considerable changes over the past few years, the sector consisting primarily of electric vehicles has in particular become a major battleground where existing leaders and emerging competitors are all vying for a head start in the field. As an enduring brand, Conquer Electronics has continued to seek innovation and change in the past few years by not only updating its corporate visual identity system but also magnifying its presence in the automotive market in its bid to unveil whole new dimensions of business development with a solid foundation."It has been more than 40 years since the establishment of Conquer Electronics, but we are still operating with the spirit of seeking innovation and change," said Ms. Yu-hui Chiu, Manager of the Marketing Department at Conquer Electronics. "Now, in addition to ensuring our core business continues to thrive, we have taken the initiative to build our brand and promote our new corporate image. As such, we have not only updated our corporate identity system, but also introduced new elements to signify the perpetuation of our existing advantages while unveiling a whole new outlook here at Conquer Electronics."Managing a brand is no easy feat, but casting away past practices of serving only as the OEM of reputable brands and focusing on R&D, thereby promoting the proprietary brand name and improving the visibility of products developed in-house, is what will ensure Conquer Electronics remains a formidable player in the field. This is a crucial reason that spurred Conquer Electronics on in the creation of an all-new corporate identity.Apart from updating its corporate identity, Conquer Electronics has furthermore adopted a number of approaches that contribute to corporate reorganization, such as lean production, patent research and product development, so as to break away from past practices of being just an OEM for other brands. These changes have not only refreshed and revitalized the company, but also laid the cornerstone for entering new markets.The automotive electronics industry is an area that Conquer Electronics has recently turned its focus to. Entering the electric vehicle industry in as early as 2016, the company's strength currently lies in charging pile-related products. Compared with Taiwan's EV market which is still in the preliminary stages of development, there are already more than 600 electric vehicle manufacturers in Mainland China that each require charging piles or chargers of various specifications and styles, presenting huge difficulties for those seeking to tap into this alluring market."The charging pile itself is an amplified power supply, which is something Conquer Electronics is already quite familiar with," says Yu-hui Chiu. "However, as charging piles for vehicle use require relatively high voltage and current and must conform to special specifications derived from their design, this has presented us with certain challenges as we seek to enter the market."To adequately respond to China's volatile market changes, Conquer Electronics must diversify its product line and equip itself with rapid response capabilities, both of which require the cooperation of its R&D units and production units, to meet market demands. Moreover, to meet consumer demand for fast charging and to ensure safe use, the circuit breaker value of each product must also be carefully designed and tested, resulting in extra effort in R&D and production for Conquer Electronics.Compared with the Chinese market, the European and American markets are relatively mature and stable systems in which, in addition to price advantages, quality and brand name are also highly valued. By remaining committed to quality and production capacity, over the past five years sales volumes have been increasing annually, signifying the affirmation of major buyers at home and abroad. For instance, five series of Conquer Electronics' SMD products, the 0603 and 1206 with LTCC technology, are not only winners of the Taiwan Excellence Award but also patented in 5 countries. A rigorous manufacturing process and outstanding product quality are moreover major bonuses for international buyers."The application environment for automotive products is actually more stringent. High temperature, vibration, humidity and safety all entail higher requirements." Yu-hui Chiu believes that, "Although it is not as easy to enter this market as you think, thanks to the concerted efforts of our colleagues here at Conquer Electronics, we have gradually gained a foothold."In the automotive electronics market, it is quite difficult to go it alone; therefore, Conquer Electronics also seeks strategic alliances in hopes of developing the market together aided by integrated power. As such, it has joined the MIH EV open platform to obtain more support and assistance, which is additionally a good opportunity for development. On the open platform, some members are existing customers with long-established cooperation foundations while others are future partners. With the joining of abilities and advantages, members who form alliances are poised to obtain a strong voice and outstanding performance in the automotive market."The automotive industry is a fairly complete and mature industry, with certain standards and thresholds in every aspect of the business," said Yu-hui Chiu. "Collaborating with partners in other related fields can give full play to the power of integration as this enables us to each achieve better quality and enhance our brand awareness, thereby realizing mutual benefit."In addition to expanding the scope of cooperation projects and products, Conquer Electronics also attaches great importance to the most fundamental aspects of business - materials and design. Not only has Conquer Electronics enhanced its own R&D energy, it has also cooperated with the Industrial Technology Research Institute and many other research institutions to identify more suitable materials and develop exclusive patented products. These patented products have not only successfully increased brand awareness, but also become powerful weapons for acquiring a share in the global market.In addition to communicating directly with customers, Conquer Electronics also takes full advantage of various trade shows to increase exposure and opportunities for dialogue with potential customers. As Yu-hui Chiu explains, in the past, the company's brand image was manifested only in products that actually reach the consumer market. Therefore, participation in foreign trade shows can increase the company's visibility in the field of automotive electronics, and while demos cannot be made in a face-to-face manner at this time due to the epidemic, online meetings are still conducive to raising brand image and awareness.As markets change, corporate business strategies must be adjusted accordingly. In particular, it takes considerable time and effort to build a corporate brand. Having achieved some of the targets it has set in terms of in-house R&D as well as product quality, the future focus of Conquer Electronics will be to become an integral part of the automotive electronics ecosystem through strategic cooperation, highlighting brand value with integrated energy, and showcasing other dimensions of Taiwan's vibrant industries to the world on top of the best-known ICT sector."In addition to automotive electronics, Conquer Electronics is also actively working on 5G, energy storage, and etc.," said Yu-hui Chiu. "With products that excel in quality, it is our goal to ensure that wherever electricity is used, Conquer Electronics will be there to help you harness this energy."Vehicle-standard, ISO 8820-8 compliant, ampere rating: 10A-50A, voltage rating: 500VdcVehicle-grade, ampere rating: 10A-30A, voltage rating: 48/63Vdc

Despite recent speculation about decreasing demand from Apple for semiconductor manufacturing services, the latest news from the supply chain has indicated TSMC will start shipping chips for the next-generation iPhones by the end of May ahead of schedule, with the foundry set to see major increases in output from its advanced processes. The Taiwanese foundry has also recently obtained rush orders from Qualcomm for making the US client's high-end 5G chips. For wireless connectivity, Digitimes recently interviewed Ignion CEO Carles Puente to learn more about the company's Virtual Antenna - a small off-the-shelf antenna booster that he says simplies the design of devices and shorten their time-to-market. TSMC to kick off production for new iPhone chips ahead of schedule: TSMC will kick off volume shipments for Apple's next-generation iPhone processor dubbed A15 at the end of May ahead of schedule, according to industry sources.TSMC lands rush 5G chip orders from Qualcomm: TSMC and Qualcomm reportedly are moving to further cement their ties, with the pure-play foundry agreeing to fabricate a batch of rush orders of high-end 5G chips for the US chipmaker, according to industry sources.Virtual Antenna: Q&A with Ignion CEO Carles Puente: Fractus Antennas, formed by engineers who invented the technology allowing smartphone antennas to automatically switch between different bandwidth networks and launched mini-antennas for the Internet of Things (IoT) era, has recently rebranded itself as Ignion. Digitimes recently spoke with Ignion CEO Carles Puente to learn about the new company's innovative product - Virutal Antenna - and growth potential in the IoT era.

Fractus Antennas, formed by engineers who invented the technology allowing smartphone antennas to automatically switch between different bandwidth networks and launched mini-antennas for the Internet of Things (IoT) era, has recently rebranded itself as Ignion.Digitimes recently spoke with Ignion VP of innovation Carles Puente to learn about the new company's innovative product - Virutal Antenna - and growth potential in the IoT era.Q: Please give us a brief introduction to Ignion. When was it founded and how big is the team now?A: This company is actually a spin-off from a company called Fractus which we founded in 1999. Why have we decided to split the company into two independent entities? Because we had a new revolutionary technology, which will be applied on the Internet of Things in general, and that will be competing with that of Fractus once developed.In the former company, Fractus, I am one of the leading inventors of the previous technology, which is fractal-based antennas. This is why the name "Fractus." This company was founded on the grounds of fractal antenna technology. The technology was fast adopted by a vast majority of mobile phone and smartphone makers around the world. In the year 2000-2015 about 99% of mobile phones and smartphones featured our technology based on fractal antenna. For several reasons, Fractus decided to become a licensing company, licensing its technologies and patents to the entire industry, so that everyone could use this technology that we created. Fractus got licensing agreements with most of the cellphone makers worlwide, including for instance Samsung, LG, HTC, Motorola, Blackberry, Sharp, Kyocera, ZTE and many other companies.In that company my team created another new technology called generically antennaless technology (i.e., wireless without antennas) and branded it as Virtual Antenna, which is completely unrelated to fractals and different from the previous generation. And it has many advantages. In order to launch the new technology, we need to have a product, so we decided to spin off this new business into a new independent company in 2015.The new company, originally named Fractus Antennas and now rebranded as Ignion, is the supplier of this new generation of virtual antenna chip components. Ignion owns the patent portfolio of virtual antenna technology and distributes and sells the new product for the IoT markets all around the world.On March 25 2021, the new company will be rebranded with the new name, Ignion. The meaning behind the name? The new name is related to physics of the new generation of the Virtual Antenna chips, which generically are called antenna boosters. Instead of radiating on their own, those tiny antenna boosters "ignite" the radiation from a ground metal layer on the printed circuit board of the wireless device. This way, these tiny chips transfer all the RF energy to the ground which effectively radiates as a much larger antenna, so that a little component ignites a powerful radiation process that enables connectivity for any IoT device and any frequency band and wireless protocol.We are rebranding our company because Virtual Antenna is a radical innovation unrelated to former fractal antennas and we need a new name that speaks for the innovative character and culture of the company as well. Also, we need a new brand that engages our ecosystem of partners and clients in the IoT market in this revolution we are making together. Ignion is here to let IoT solutions develop faster and easier with a technology that makes IoT engineering fast and simple in a traditional space, embedded antenna design, where technology was complex and slow to design.Q: Please tell us more about yourself and your team.A: I am a telecom engineer, I got my bachelors degree at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC) in Barcelona. Then I went to the US and got my master's degree from University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. I was awarded my PhD by doing a research in the field of fractal antennas back in 1999 again from UPC, where I have been teaching since 1994. We were also the ones to file the very first patent in the world on fractal antennas in May 1995, and went on to found our previous company in 1999. In essence, we are leaders of antenna research and have been developing antenna technologies and products for the wireless and mobile communications market over the past 20 years.We have about 35 people in this new company. And we also have offices in the US, China and India.Q: What differentiates your Virtual Antenna from other regular antenna module products?A: Our Virtual Antenna chips are unique and different from competitors in three aspects. First, they are 10 times smaller than conventional SMT antennas or the same multiband cellular performance. People would thought it is impossible to get down to this size, but we have proven that even from such a small size we obtain an efficient radiation performance, as much as needed for a wireless device. And the advantage of being so small is that a Virtual Antenna chip can fit inside almost any device, so no specific antenna design for each product is needed.We keep the component as small and simple as possible. We put all the intelligence on the circuit board by designing a clever electronic circuit, which is a bit like a filter, which will select the frequency bands to connect providing a great flexibility and freedom to designers.Secondly, they are frequency neutral: the frequency bands of operation are not predetermined by the chip antenna component but they are selected by the electronics engineer through a simple matching circuit. This means that a Virtual Atenna chip can be used virtually for everything: from 5G, celluar IoT to LoRa, Sigfox, but also WiFi-6E, GNSS and Bluetooth, to name a few examples. One antenna for all. One antenna for any band and for any device. While competitors need more than 100 references to cover the market, we cover everything with just seven flagship parts. Conventional antennas were fixed on certain frequencies; Virtual Antenna chips can be used for any frequency band.Traditional antennas are frequency-restricted to specific bandwidths. Our technology is completely different. We are frequency-neutral, meaning they are agnostic to frequencies. The circuits in the chip will select the matching band to be connected - that's quite unique.Finally, they are off-the-shelf: no need for any product customization. Antenna performance optimization is done for any band and for any device with a simple matching circuit. This is why antenna design becomes "electronics as usual." Any electronics engineer can learn easily how to embed an antenna without antenna design expertise.Q: In what ways do you shorten clients' time-to-market?A: We help clients save time and cost and increase the predictability of design cycle results. Design cycle becomes shorter and predictable because any iteration in the design is just a change on the matching circuit. This can be done in hours as opposed to weeks.First of all, design cycle becomes much shorter because the product is off-the-shelf: no need for creating a new antenna part every time, even for cellular. No need for prototyping, mechanical design, production tooling specific for a custom antenna.Secondly, design cycle becomes much shorter because there are less steps in the design process. It is just as easy as ABC: A - placing the antenna in the right place (as opposed to antenna design); B - designing the matching circuit; C - testing. Also, you can use the same component for versatile applications. That makes design and logistics much simpler.You don't need to make specific design for each device. It is cost effective and have economic scale in large volumes.Q: Your product portfolio caters to the needs of various applications markets, such as IoT and 5G. In your view, what is the most promising application in the next 5-10 years for your products?A: IoT is certainly a very high-growth area. This technology is booming, and it is difficult to highlight one vertical, because many of them need connectivity within a small device, and through multiple communications standards, such as multiple 5G bands, LTE, or multiple LoRa or Sigfox frequency bands.Applications such as smart home, smart meters, healthcare, or anything that need small antennas are also markets that we enjoy strong growth, but it is the multi-band applications market that we have a leadership position.Asset tracking is one market that our technology has been enjoying exponential growth. When you need to track assets that move around the world, no matter it's on your smart watch that you wear when you ride bikes in the mountain or medical device to track the patients, you need small component to deliver the connectivity for your device in different networks, using different standards and different frequency bands. This is exactly what our technology is doing to address the problem. It provides connectivity through a tiny component, that connects either way of those global communications standards with the same antenna. Also, with our technology we can make products where a single chip antenna uses multiple different radios for: a) connecting through cellular/LPWAN to the cloud; b) connecting to the GNSS satellite to get the position of the IoT device; c) connecting via Bluetooth or Wifi to a local computer or smartphone to easily configure and operate the IoT device. This is an ideal solution for trackers that need to combine cloud connectivity, geopositioning and short range wireless operation in a single device.Market analysts predict that there will be 25 billion IoT devices by 2025 all over the world, five billion of which will be cellular. New applications are developed to connect everything to the networks every day. So we believe the prediction by market analysts are in line with our expectation.Q: About your business model. Licensing IP can also be a very profitable business. Why did you decide to spin off and sell manufactured products instead? Do you have EMS partners to manufacture them for you?A: Yes we do. We are actually a fabless company. We have several partners in Asia to manufacture products as well as partners like Richardson RFPD or Digikey to distribute them all over the world for us. Our manufacturing technology is based on printed circuit board (PCB). So it is not dependent on any specific supplier nor sensitive to volatility of pricing or availability of raw materials.We are expecting a 100%+ growth this year despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Our technology is rapidly becoming a trend in IoT. Many manufacturers, OEMs, can use the modules which use our antenna to build a whole range of IoT products all over the world. Given the high CAGR in IOT, in the next 5 years some 20 billion new devices will be shipped, we expect to be able to capture a substantial market share in the off-the-shelf (OTS) internal antennas. And as with any dominant technology our Technology Partner Program provides attractive commercial and licensing options to drive market penetration whilst eliminating single source risks. So our go-to market in fact is a dual model. We sell Virtual Antennas to maintain customer relationships and meet their requirements, enabling us to keep driving antenna innovation as we have done for the past 20 years, whilst partners can complete their solution portfolio through our licensing programs.So far we have sold 25 million antenna chips since the founding of the company and we expect in 4-5 years, we would be selling at least 100 million antennas a year. And the actual market is much bigger than that. That is why we are exploring to license IP to partners who will supply Virtual Antenna compliant products to clients all around the world. We are foreseeing this as a dual model: we sell products under our brand name, because we want to be close to the market and maintain customer relationships to make sure that we keep up with innovation, but in terms of global reach, we are also ready to reach licensing agreements with other companies which would like to manufacture and supply similar products for the benefit of accelerating IoT deployment. Our goal is to contribute to a fast deployment of IoT worlwide with this technology.And in order to extend our global reach, and given the importance of the Asia-based OEMS, we very much welcome Taiwanese manufacturers and IoT module makers to establish partnerships with us.Q: Do you see any competitors in the market? And could you name some of your customers?A: Given the uniqueness of Virtual Antennas we see other suppliers more as partners than competitors, because this technology has huge potential to revolutionize the industry. We believe other component manufacturers would also like to get off-the-shelf antennas for multiple frequencies and applications. In that case, we offer attractive Technology Partner licensing options providing access to our technology for other antenna suppliers under reasonable and transparent conditions. So other companies can enter into agreements with us and supply Virtual Antenna-centric solutions to the market and thus help accelerate the deployment of 20 billion IoT edge devices over the next five years. And as this strategy is now starting to become a reality, we see competitors more as partners and it provides benefits for everyone.We already have shipped over 25 million solutions to clients in the tracking, smart metering and wearable markets, whereas more recently we see an uptake in Virtual Antenna use in gateways, medical and smart home segments. Another important aspect is the ever-changing wireless landscape, for example with the introduction of 5G and WiFi 6E, which is why we work closely with module makers such as Nordic Semiconductor, Sierra Wireless, Sequans and Cavli Wireless, or with unlicensed band focused partners such as Semtech and The Things Industry in the LoRa domain. For the first time, the antenna is embedded in many full-wireless IoT reference designs, because our antenna chips are so small that they fit in almost every edge device and more importantly they are compatible with all wireless protocols. The module makers want to provide a complete wireless solution to their customers, our technology allows them to do that as simple and as fast as possible.Q: Any plans for this year? Fund raising or expansion?A: We are not in need of external funding resources so far, despite growing 100% each year.At this point in time our focus indeed is on expansion and growing our topline revenue, which explains why we are growing the team rapidly. In the meantime, we have further technology extensions on our roadmap to make Virtual Antennas more easy to use than any other antenna and penetrate new domains such as energy harvesting, machine learning and AI. Depending on the speed at which we can capture a substantial market share and penetrate new markets new funding might be required, and certainly an IPO is one of the options we do not exclude.Ignion VP of innovation Carles PuentePhoto: Company

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