According to the Analysis Report on China's PCB Industry in 2021 - Discussion on the Status Quo of Industrial Operation and Development Planning released by Guanyan Report Network, PCB is mainly divided into hard boards (including single-layer boards, double-layer boards and multilayer boards), HDI boards, IC carrier boards, flexible boards and rigid flex separation boards, with different materials, functions and applications. In recent years, with the continuous development of intelligent terminals, intelligent wearable devices, 5G and cloud computing industries, the market demand for flexible boards, rigid flex separation boards, HDI boards, and IC carrier boards continues to grow.

In terms of subdivided product structure, ordinary multilayer boards accounted for 44.77% of the PCB industry market share, HDI boards accounted for 21.23% of the market share, and flexible boards accounted for 22.62% of the PCB industry market share.

1. IC carrier plate

According to the materials released by Guanyan Report.com, the IC carrier board is based on HDI board, which has the characteristics of high density, high performance and light and thin. It is a promotion to the traditional integrated circuit packaging lead frame and is used in various chip packaging links. In recent years, as the integrated circuit industry is moving towards small size and high integration, IC packaging is also moving towards ultra multi pin, ultra miniaturization and narrow pitch. According to relevant data, the global IC carrier plate output value will reach US $10.188 billion in 2020, mainly due to the rapid growth of global integrated circuit sales in 2020, and the rapid growth of downstream industries, the demand for IC carrier plates will increase significantly.

In the Chinese market, with the accelerated investment and production expansion of Chinese wafer factories and the national strategy of the semiconductor industry, the demand for domestic IC carrier plates will grow at a high speed. It is estimated that the growth rate of China's IC carrier plate output will be significantly higher than the international level in the future. According to the data, the total revenue of China's IC carrier plate industry in 2020 will be about 4.035 billion yuan, with a year-on-year growth of 6.07%.

2. Hard board

Hardboards can be divided into single-layer boards, double-layer boards and multilayer boards. As the most fundamental PCB product, single-layer boards are mainly used for network printing. Copper foil and wire only exist on one side and cannot be inserted between wires. They can only be used for electronic products with simple structure, and have been gradually eliminated; The double-layer board has wires on both sides, which can stop double-sided wiring and welding. The insulating layer is in the middle. Its function and stability are stronger than that of the single panel. It is widely used in electronic equipment that does not need signal sources, such as white goods, and its market demand is relatively stable. According to the data, in 2019, the total output value of the global single and double deck board industry was US $8.093 billion, estimated to reach US $9.34 billion in 2025.

In addition, the multilayer board adds an internal power layer on the basis of the single-layer board and the double-layer board, which has larger wiring space, can significantly optimize the circuit planning and reduce the dense and complex circuit connection space, so as to achieve the integrated effect. At present, multilayer boards are mainly used in various electronic devices with complex structures and large wiring space requirements, such as 5G base stations, servers, automotive electronics, desktop computers, etc. Therefore, driven by 5G, cloud computing and new energy vehicles, the market demand for multilayer boards has grown from time to time in recent years. According to Prismark's prediction, the global multilayer board market will reach 31.683 billion dollars in 2025.

3. Flexible plate and rigid flexible separation plate

Flexible board, also known as flexible board, is a printed circuit board made of flexible insulating substrate such as polyimide or polyester film. The flexible board has the characteristics of bending, winding, folding, light and thin. It can stop the layout according to the space planning request, move and expand in three-dimensional space, so as to achieve the integration of component assembly and wire connection. At present, it is mainly used in heavy consumer electronic products such as smart phones, tablets and wearable devices. Therefore, in recent years, due to the constant upgrading of smart phones and the development of bulky consumer electronics and intelligence, the market scope of the flexible board industry will further expand.

However, the manufacturing cost of rigid flexible separation plate is higher than that of flexible plate, and its market share is relatively small. It is mainly used in 5G data communication network and fixed network broadband link, medical equipment, digital equipment, etc. In recent years, with the continuous development of 5G communication and the continuous improvement of the degree of medical equipment autonomy, the rigid flex separation board has a broad market space. According to Prismark's prediction, the global output value of flexible plates and rigid flexible separation plates will reach 15.364 billion dollars in 2025.

4. HDI board

HDI board, namely high-density interconnection board, is a kind of circuit board with relatively high line dispersion density using micro blind buried hole technology. It is characterized by "light, thin, short and small". While meeting the trend of electronic product facilitation and lightweight, it can increase the circuit density, greatly improve the quality of signal output, and thus meet the requirements of electronic product function and performance progress from time to time. At present, HDI boards are mainly used in light and convenient scenarios such as intelligent terminals and in scenarios requiring high-speed and high-frequency transmission such as 5G base stations and smart cities.

In recent years, benefiting from the function expansion of smart terminals, the demand for smart phones, tablets, VR and smart wearables continues to grow, bringing about incremental demand for HDI boards, with a large market space. According to Prismark's prediction, the global HDI board output value will reach US $13.741 billion in 2025.