As one of the three fundamental pillars of information technology, sensor technology has become a high-tech field that developed countries are vying to advance. In the past two years, the rapid development of the information industry has brought sensor research and development technologies and related industries, represented by Japan and Europe and the United States, to the forefront.
In contrast, my country began its sensor manufacturing industry as early as the 1960s. After 30 years of reform and opening up, my country's sensor technology and industry have made significant progress. Especially with the national "Made in China 2025" plan, the next-generation information technology industry has been elevated to a top priority in national development. As the foundation of this industry, the development of China's sensor sector has also attracted widespread attention.
However, it must be acknowledged that there is still a significant gap between domestic sensors and those of some developed countries. This gap is not only reflected in the lag in sensor information perception but also in the technological backwardness of sensors in terms of intelligence and networking.
Currently, my country has formed a relatively complete sensor industry chain from materials, devices, systems to networks. However, the industry is characterized by low-level development, small enterprise scale, weak technological innovation capabilities, and serious homogenization. In addition, the backwardness of production equipment and the instability of technology and processes have also resulted in defects such as scattered product indicators and poor stability.
For example, my country currently offers approximately 6,000 types of sensor products, while foreign countries offer over 20,000. This quantity alone cannot meet domestic market demand, making the import of sensor products/technology the quickest solution. According to incomplete statistics, the domestic production rate of sensor chips in my country is less than 10%, with imports accounting for 80% of mid-to-high-end sensors and a staggering 90% of sensor chips.
In addition, domestic sensor products are mainly based on imitation and secondary development, and the core technologies and production processes of sensitive components such as chips are particularly worrying, which poses a huge challenge to the domestic industry in terms of quality.
Fortunately, under the major trends of smart living and intelligent manufacturing, my country's sensor industry is expected to usher in new development opportunities. You Zheng, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Vice President of Tsinghua University, stated that my country's sensor industry layout has basically taken shape and has achieved certain results. Overall, the domestic sensor industry is in a positive state in terms of both its current situation and future prospects, with significant room for development.
In terms of application sectors, industrial, automotive electronics, communication electronics, and consumer electronics are currently the largest application markets for sensors. In China, sensors in the industrial and automotive electronics sectors account for approximately 41% of the market, with the automotive and communication electronics markets showing the fastest growth. This convergence of market segments suggests that my country holds an advantage in the future development of the sensor market.
How to maximize this advantage, break through the constraints of the domestic industry, and achieve a leapfrog development is a key issue that domestic sensor manufacturers need to consider next.
To promote the healthy development of China's domestic sensor industry, experts point out that the future development of my country's sensor industry can proceed in the following directions:
One key area for market expansion is industrial control, automotive, telecommunications and information technology, and environmental protection.
Secondly, through technological research and development and product innovation, we will develop original technologies and products with independent intellectual property rights, with a focus on sensors, elastic elements, optical elements, and dedicated circuits.
Third, under the general trend of intelligentization, we will rely on integrated, intelligent and networked technologies to strengthen the development of manufacturing processes and new sensors and instrument components, so that our leading products can reach or approach the advanced level of similar foreign products.
