台灣消費性IC設計產業成功因素之研究

Abstract

台灣的IC設計業早期由低階消費性產品IC開始切入，由於政府大力扶植半導體產業，台灣建立起強大的晶圓代工實力和高效率的IC設計能力，使得台灣 IC設計公司數居全球第二，而消費性IC設計產業也成為台灣的明星產業之一。近來由於PC成長速度趨緩，高階消費性電子市場快速成長，因此全球許多IC設計業者紛紛將目標市場鎖定於消費性電子產品，尤其在系統單晶片（SOC）技術帶領下，消費性IC的應用潛力無窮，產業競爭也將更加激烈，台灣業者所擁有的競爭優勢將面臨考驗。 本文首先將介紹SOC的發展趨勢，並以LCD晶片組、光碟機晶片組和數位相機IC三項消費性產品為研究範圍，針對台灣消費性IC設計業的現況與未來發展趨勢進行分析。透過與台灣消費性IC設計業者深入訪談，了解廠商因應全球IC設計產業分工與SOC趨勢，最後整理相關結果並歸納出台灣消費性IC設計產業應努力之方向。 研究結果顯示，業者應注意IP的取得與應用，與同業、晶圓廠和系統廠商發展合作關係，並利用併購和策略聯盟來發展核心技術。在政府方面，應加強設計人才的培育，鼓勵業者投入研發與創新，並提高半導體政策的開放程度，以厚植台灣消費性IC設計產業的競爭能力。

Taiwan IC design industry first started with low-end consumer products. Due to long-term government policy support, Taiwan semiconductor industry has established first-class foundry companies and the second largest number of IC design companies in the world. Recently, worldwide PC growth is slowing down while the consumer products sector, e.g.cell phones and DVDs etc.,is picking up rapidly.The advancement in SOC（System-on-Chip）technology promises consumer product Ics even smaller in size and richer in functionality. This research investigated the current status of consumer IC products, and the competition/cooperation among existing consumer IC designers. The development trend of SOC, and its impact on consumer IC designers were also analyzed. In order to acquire first-hand information, several consumer IC design company executives were interviewed to understand the trend of vertical dis-integration and the new IP trading business model following the trend of SOC. This research has concluded with the following observation： 1.Taiwan consumer IC design houses should acquire and make the best use of IP. 2.Design houses should collaborate with foundry providers and system vendors to secure manufacturing capacity on the supply side and IC product sales on the demand side. 3.The government should support cultivation of innovation and allow IC industry more freedom in competing globally.