An IDM is a vertically integrated company that combines design and manufacturing.

Main characteristics:

・In-house circuit design

・Manufacturing in its own factories

・In-house quality assurance

Representative companies:

・Intel

・Texas Instruments

・Infineon

・Renesas

・STMicroelectronics

It is the traditional business model of the semiconductor industry.

In the early days of the semiconductor industry, almost every company was an IDM.

Reasons:

・Manufacturing technology was a trade secret

・Design and manufacturing were closely linked

・Capital investment was still small

For this reason, there was no idea of separating design and manufacturing.

The greatest strength of an IDM is the optimization of design and manufacturing.

Advantages:

・Design optimized for the manufacturing process

・Performance tuning

・Integrated quality control

・Supply stability

IDMs are particularly strong in

・Automotive

・Industrial equipment

・Power semiconductors.

On the other hand, there are also weaknesses.

・Enormous capital investment

・Heavy development burden

・Vulnerability to market changes

A leading-edge fab requires an investment of 2–3 trillion yen.

Not every company can bear this.

Here are some representative examples.

Intel

・CPUs

・Data centers

・AI chips

Once the king of leading-edge processes.

It has now also started a foundry business.

Texas Instruments

・Analog semiconductors

・Power ICs

・Automotive products

It has built a highly profitable model on mature nodes.

Infineon

・Automotive semiconductors

・Power semiconductors

・SiC devices

It is growing rapidly in the EV market.

The biggest difference is whether or not they own manufacturing.

Fabless

・Design only

・Manufacturing outsourced to foundries

IDM

・Design + manufacturing

・In-house optimization

Each has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Recently, the boundary has been becoming blurred.

Examples:

Intel

・Manufactures its own CPUs

・Has also started a foundry business

Samsung

・Its own products

・Foundry business

In other words, they are hybrids of IDM + foundry.

Areas where IDMs are particularly strong:

・Power semiconductors

・Analog semiconductors

・Automotive semiconductors

・Industrial applications

Reasons:

・Long-term reliability

・Quality assurance

・Close relationships with customers

The axis of competition differs from that of high-volume logic.

Many Japanese companies are IDM-type.

Examples:

・Renesas

・Sony Semiconductor

・Rohm

・Toshiba

They are especially strong in

・Automotive

・Sensors

・Power.

IDMs are not going to disappear.

On the contrary, the importance of IDMs is increasing in

・Automotive

・Power

・Industrial equipment.

Reasons:

・Quality requirements

・Long-term supply

・Safety

The keys going forward are

・SiC

・GaN

・Automotive semiconductors

・AI accelerators

Here, collaboration between design and manufacturing is important.

This is where the strengths of the IDM model come into play.

・IDM is a vertically integrated model of design + manufacturing

・It is the traditional form of the semiconductor industry

・Its strengths are optimized design and quality control

・The burden of capital investment is its weakness

・It is still mainstream in automotive and power semiconductors

1.What is the biggest characteristic of an IDM company?

2.Where do the strengths of the IDM model lie?

3.Why are IDMs strong in automotive semiconductors?

 

Column Supervisor: Koji Kakumoto (President, OTIS Co., Ltd.)

After studying abroad and working in planning and development at a trading company, he joined OTIS Co., Ltd. in 2011. While primarily working in the Corporate Planning Department, he has also served concurrently in manufacturing and technical divisions, and since 2018 has served as President, working to drive business growth and strengthen the organization.

 

This article is a general technical explanation intended for educational purposes and does not refer to any specific company, product, or technology.