Global Substrate Market - Growth, Trends, Covid-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)

Global Substrate Market - Growth, Trends, Covid-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)

The FHE Market among the global Substrate Market is expected to reach a CAGR of 55.3% during the forecast period (2021 - 2026). Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, there was a disruption in the electronics industry's supply chain challenging market growth. With reduced disposable incomes and depressed consumer sentiment, consumers chose to buy necessities, like food and cleaning products, and avoid non-essential, big-ticket purchases, like wearable devices.

• According to IPC International Inc., as per data from surveys carried in out in March and April 2020, the data suggests that 43% of the global electronics manufacturers and suppliers surveyed were extremely concerned about the impacts COVID-19 may have on their businesses. Furthermore, due to COVID-19, the demand for healthcare monitoring devices increased significantly, and various partnerships lead to market growth.
• Flexible hybrid electronics (FHE) is a novel approach to electronic circuit manufacturing, aiming to combine the best printed and conventional electronics. This combination of flexibility and processing capability is much desirable since it reduces weight and enables new form factors, along with maintaining desirable functionality, such as data logging and Bluetooth connectivity.
• The printed circuit board (PCB) industry has experienced significant growth in the last few years, primarily owing to the continuous development of consumer electronics devices and THE increasing demand for PCBs in all electronics and electrical equipment.
• Consumer electronics have been demanding new and different PCB functions. The development is related to the shape of the PCB, or the accessory attached to it. For instance, PCB board cameras have developed significantly, with photo and video imaging, along with durability being the primary areas of improvement. These small cameras could take high-resolution images and videos with ease. Board cameras are poised to develop even further in the next few years, creating robust industry and consumer electronics solutions.
• Geographically, Asia-Pacific countries, such as Taiwan, Japan, and China, occupy a significant share in the global PCB landscape. However, the PCB production in Taiwan has witnessed a declining trend since 2017. According to Taiwan National Statistics published in October 2020, the PCB production in 2019 decreased by 99.4 million square feet or 13.6% compared to 2017. China is expected to reach Taiwan in the future, as massive efforts and investments have been ongoing in parallel with environmental regulations China put in place to regulate and consolidate its PCB manufacturing.

• Also, FHE-enabled soft robots have found applications in the Industry 4.0 era. Robotic exoskeletons designed to give mobility back to those who have lost it and assist with moving and lifting objects (e.g., crates, cartons, and boxes) to reduce workplace injury are examples of early soft robotic applications.
• In February 2020, SEMI-FlexTech launched six projects to expedite sensor system innovations for new applications in the industrial sector. One of the projects is the development of 500 FHE ultra-thin, lightweight, and configurable sensor systems with wireless capability for environmental sensing applications, which are expected to be done by American Semiconductor Inc., Boise State University, DuPont, HD Microsystems, and ITN Energy Systems.
• Another application area for FHE is precision agriculture in the environmental landscape. Researchers printed a flexible strain sensor directly on the fruits using a chitosan-based ink. These sensors provided good adhesion to the fruits and identified mechanical injuries in them. A graphene-on-tape flexible sensor can measure water flow through plants. The sensor is developed by using drop-casting a graphene film on pre-patterned polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surface and then transferring the patterned graphene surface onto a target tape.
• Another research area is developing a flexible and stretchable device with multiple sensing capabilities for plant health monitoring. The reported plant wearable is designed by integrating temperature, humidity, and strain sensors. The strain sensors were developed by depositing a thin gold metal film on top of the PDMS substrate. The temperature and humidity sensors were fabricated on the same flexible and PI/PDMS platform.
• A multifunctional agricultural monitoring sensor is being developed to measure strain, impedance, temperature, and light intensity. The sensor is fabricated by combining CMOS, printable electronics, and transfer printing techniques, leading to hydration, temperature, strain, and light illuminance sensing capabilities on leaves. Unlike other reported sensors, these stretchable sensors can grow with the leaves, making them compatible for long-term monitoring.

• Consumer electronics mostly include smartphones, smart bands, fitness bands, wearables, and others. An increasing demand for consumer electronics is expected to provide prospects to players in the SLP market. Due to the increasing power consumption in consumer electronics applications, batteries need to get bigger, while boards need to get smaller.
• Smartphones would not exist without the compact, thin IC packaging substrates Compact, thin IC packaging substrates enable multiple electronic devices to function, as well as the multilayer, thin PCB that connects all the devices. The advancement of smartphone functions and battery capacity require higher density, smaller, and lighter motherboards. According to IBIDEN, it has achieved a micro-wiring technology employing Modified Semi-Adaptive Process (MSAP), in addition to a technique using the filled-via stack up structure that they have been offering in conventional Full Via Stacked up Structures (FVSS). ​
• Fan-out wafer-level packaging is for high-end application processors going into premium products, the flagship smartphone models for handset vendors, according to Yoon. SLP is meant for the motherboard of phones, reducing the space needed for such assemblies. Ball grid arrays or flip-chip packages are more typically used for fine-pitch slots in a phone.
• For instance, Apple released iPhone 8, iPhone 8 plus, and iPhone X, whose main processors, A11, relies on FOWLP (fan-out wafer-level packaging) technology, whose motherboard takes advantage of SLP (substrate-like PCB) and whose trace first depends on mSAP (modified semi-additive process) technology.​
• In July 2020., SLP (substrate-like PCBs) makers in the supply chain of Apple devices ended their first wave of competition, with Taiwan's Zhen Ding Technology and Austria's AT&S each absorbing 30% of orders for the iPhone and Apple Watch applications.
• Furthermore, Zhen Ding Technology, reportedly among the suppliers of Apple, has discussed their vision of SLP demand for smartphones, wearable, and other mobile devices requiring an ultra-thin and lightweight profile. The use of SLP enables them compact design without sacrificing the computing performance. Zhen Ding is planning to build additional new SLP production lines at its factory site in China.​

The global substrate market is highly fragmented. Manufacturers, globally, have been depending on designs, such as high-density interconnect (HDI) PCBs, to place more hardware in limited space. HDI PCBs use high-performance and coreless construction. Compared to traditional PCBs, they sport more densely packed wiring, miniaturized laser vias, and capture pads, as well as other features. The industry's established players are leveraging their manufacturing capabilities and Research and Development to drive innovation and sustain their competitive position in the market.

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