It seems that the USB3.0 market is finally showing signs of taking off. Recently, the USB Design Forum (USB-IF) has certified nearly 120 products that conform to the USB3.0 specification (SuperSpeedUSB). The transfer rate of USB3.0 can be increased from 480Mb per second of the original USB2.0 to 5G per second. USB-IF said that this batch of certified products covers motherboards, notebook computers, storage controllers, hard drives, PCI Express, and individual chips. According to IDC, an international research organization, the demand for USB3.0 chips in 2010 was 12.45 million, and in 2011 there is a chance to jump to 100 million in one fell swoop. USB3.0 can be described as a "prosperous future", and people from all walks of life have begun to take turns to attack this new market of epoch-making transmission technology.
Intel Action Boosts Popularity
Recently, Intel announced in the Autumn Developer Forum (IDF) that in addition to the SandyBridge motherboard that will be launched next year, it has confirmed that USB3.0 will be included in the reference design. In the fourth quarter, the Westmere motherboard that will be mass-produced and shipped will also have a built-in USB3.0 stand-alone host. The host controls the chip, which will help accelerate the popularization of USB3.0.
Looking back at the development history of USB2.0, it can be found that the penetration rate of USB2.0 technology has exceeded 80% in just 4 years since its birth in 2000. The key to the rapid popularity of USB2.0 in the market lies in Intel's rapid introduction of USB2.0 into the South Bridge chip. Therefore, Intel's attitude is the key to the rapid detonation of USB3.0 business opportunities. Intel’s new processor SandyBridge, which will be launched early next year, has no built-in USB3.0 host-side controller in the CougarPoint chipset, which has made the industry quite criticized. And at present, many OEMs and notebook computer manufacturers have listed USB3.0 as standard equipment. At the same time, Intel’s biggest competitor AMD has also decided to launch the HudsON chipset with a built-in USB3.0 controller in the second quarter of next year, and will also cooperate with Renesas to introduce the USB3.0 controller into the motherboard. The USB3.0 interface was officially introduced in an all-round way. In this case, Intel's support for USB3.0 should be a move to take advantage of the trend.
It is worth noting that Intel's optical fiber transmission interface LightPeak has not yet completed the specification and the progress has been lagging behind. It may be delayed until early 2012. LightPeak will use the same connector as USB3.0. Intel also stated that LightPeak and USB3.0 will coexist in the future and will not be in a state of competition.
The chip market is making a comeback
The change of USB is imminent, attracting chip manufacturers to actively enter. The current USB3.0 control chip market is divided into three major segments, including host control chips, Hub (hub) and device control chips.
In the past, major Japanese manufacturers occupied the mainstream of host-side chips, while the American company FrescoLogic launched two host-side control chips for PCIExpressII transmission interface USB3.0 in early June, which narrowed the distance with Japanese manufacturers. In addition, many chip makers in Taiwan announced their aggressive entry, including Ruisi, which is authorized by Zhiyuan IP, Xiangshuo, a subsidiary of Asus, and Weifeng and Etron, which are subsidiaries of VIA. Judging from the current progress, Taiwanese companies will gradually ship small quantities after October at the earliest.
The hub is the focus of USB3.0 development. It is an important bridge between the Host side and the Device side. It is also extremely important for the development of technologies at both ends. The current market is still dominated by Japanese manufacturers.
In terms of device-side control chips, in addition to traditional Japanese and American manufacturers, IC design companies from Taiwan, such as Genesis Logic, Wangjiu, Anguo, and Phison, have also invested.
The market demand for device-side controllers lies in a single chip, low cost and small size, dual-channel high read and write performance, and can support as many types of flash memory as possible. Some Taiwanese companies have begun to switch their strategies, focusing on flash-related USB3.0 Device control chips, starting with the best U disk USB3.0 control chip. Among them, Yincan USB3.0 chip has led mass production, and Weifeng's new chip is also expected to be available in October. According to the industry, the current USB3.0 U disk solutions on the market use the USB3.0-SATAII bridge chip plus a SATA control chip, which makes the size larger and requires other components and therefore the cost is high. Yincan and Weifeng The introduction of a single-chip solution can reduce costs and make it easier to design.
And the bridge chip with large demand for USB3.0 has become the most competitive battlefield at present. Fujitsu of Japan and LucidPort of the United States have launched USB3.0-SATA bridge chips, and Faraday Electronics and PLX will also launch their own USB3.0-SATA bridge chips. Taiwanese manufacturers in my country, including Weifeng, Xiangshuo, Yincan, Zhiwei, and Genesys, are also actively preparing for the battle. According to reports, the bridge chip is mainly used in external storage devices or optical drives, and may appear in portable devices and hard disk players in the future.
Need to build a complete ecosystem
After all, USB3.0 is a brand-new specification and faces many challenges. Building a complete ecosystem is the top priority. From the Host side to the Hub to the Device side, all needs to be considered. In the Host side control chip, in order to achieve ten times the transmission speed of USB2.0, the USB3.0 control chip must use a more advanced manufacturing process. And, in addition to complex specifications and complete compatibility for USB1.0 and USB2.0, it also needs to meet the requirements of low power consumption and intelligent power management. Manufacturers should act cautiously.
In the hub link, because the USB3.0 device end will not be too much in the early stage, too many ports will not be used, and if the number of ports is large, the power consumption will be high, and the compatibility will be more difficult to design, so there are many designs. Challenges, especially the USB-IF compatibility test and the experience of future users are an important part.
USB3.0Device control chip development is relatively easy, but at present, facing the situation of "contending among a hundred schools of thought", everyone is either struggling for mass production speed or pushing down the price. Genesys Logic's senior marketing manager Wei Junxiong said that in addition to low power consumption, low temperature, and high performance, USB3.0 Device chip products also have compatibility with USB3.0 and USB2.0. However, due to the high price of Host-side chips and the unpopularity of the market, the development of Device-side chip companies has been delayed.
At the same time, in terms of important accessories including connectors, Hubs, etc., USB-IF has not yet formulated a plan on how to conduct certification tests, and the work progress of USB-IF is still slightly behind the market development. The creation of the ecosystem requires the concerted efforts of USB-IF, OEMs, equipment manufacturers, and chip manufacturers to achieve a win-win situation.