The SEMI Silicon Manufacturers Group (SMG), an innovator in materials, design, equipment, software, devices, and services that enable affordable electronic products, has done a quarterly analysis of the silicon wafer industry. According to this analysis, the worldwide silicon wafer area shipments rose 2.7 percent to 2,920 million square inches in the first quarter of 2020, compared with fourth-quarter 2019 shipments of 2,844 million square inches, but dropped 4.3 percent year-over-year.
Global silicon wafer shipments rebounded slightly in the first quarter of 2020 after declining for one year. However, with the disruptions caused by the coronavirus, market uncertainty will prevail in the upcoming quarters. The analysis is based on the polished silicon wafers such as virgin test wafers and epitaxial silicon wafers, as well as non-polished silicon wafers shipped to end-users. Silicon wafers are the fundamental building material for semiconductors, which, in turn, are vital components of virtually all electronics goods, including computers, telecommunications products, and consumer electronics. The highly engineered thin, round disks are produced in various diameters – from one inch to 12 inches – and serve as the substrate material on which most semiconductor devices, or chips, are fabricated.
Silicon Area Shipment Trends – Semiconductor Applications Only
| 4Q 2018 | 1Q 2019 | 2Q 2019 | 3Q 2019 | 4Q 2019 | 1Q 2020 |
TOTAL
(Millions of Square Inches ) | 3234 | 3051 | 2983 | 2932 | 2844 | 2920 |
A sub-committee of the SEMI Electronic Materials Group (EMG), the SMG is open to SEMI members involved in manufacturing polycrystalline silicon, monocrystalline silicon, or silicon wafers (e.g., as cut, polished, epi). The purpose of the SMG is to facilitate collective efforts on issues related to the silicon industry including the development of market information and statistics about the silicon industry and the semiconductor market.
Click here for more information on SEMI’s worldwide silicon wafer area shipments.
