Research Report on China's Semiconductor Thin-film Deposition Equipment Import 2023-2032
The series of processes in semiconductor processes to add the desired thin-film of molecular or atomic units to a wafer is called deposition. Thin films are films that cannot be achieved by mechanical processing alone and are less than 1 micron thick and are used to produce conductive or insulating layers, to produce antireflective films to improve light absorption, to temporarily block etching, and other effects. Thin-film deposition methods can be broadly divided into Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) and Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) methods.
Since the technology level of semiconductor equipment produced by local Chinese companies is limited and cannot cover the needs of China's semiconductor industry, China needs to import a large amount of semiconductor equipment including thin-film deposition equipment every year.
In 2021, China imported 2,959 units of thin-film deposition equipment (including chemical vapor deposition devices for manufacturing semiconductor devices or ICs, physical vapor deposition devices for manufacturing semiconductor devices or ICs and other thin-film deposition equipment for making semiconductor parts or integrated circuits, the same below), up 46.12% year-on-year, and imported US$5.502 billion, up 71.95% year-on-year. From January to October 2022, China imported 2,231 units of thin-film deposition equipment, down 7.54% year-on-year, and imported US$4.444 billion, down 0.91% year-on-year.
CRI analysis, in 2018-2022, the average import price of thin-film deposition equipment in China generally shows a change trend of first decrease and then increase. In 2019, the average import price of thin-film deposition equipment in China is US$1,409,100 per unit, down 12.51% year-on-year. In 2019-2022, the average import price of thin-film deposition equipment in China increases continuously. In 2021, the average import price of thin-film deposition equipment in China is US$1,859,300 per unit, up 17.67% y-o-y. From January to October 2022, the average price of thin film deposition equipment imports in China is US$1,991,900 per unit, up 7.18% y-o-y.
Among various types of thin-film deposition equipment, CVD equipment is the main import type in China. In 2021, China imported 1,969 units of CVD equipment, accounting for 66.54% of the total imports of thin-film deposition equipment in that year, and the import value of US$4.235 billion, accounting for 76.97% of the total imports.
In 2021, China imported thin-film deposition equipment from a total of 18 countries and regions. Among them, CRI analyzes that the U.S., Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Germany are the major importers of thin-film deposition equipment in China by import volume. The U.S. is the largest importer of thin-film deposition equipment in China. 2021, China imported 622 units of thin-film deposition equipment from the U.S., accounting for 21.02% of the total import volume and US$1.099 billion, accounting for 19.98% of the total import value.
CRI expects that in the short term it will be difficult for China's locally manufactured semiconductor equipment such as semiconductor thin-film deposition equipment to cover all the needs of Chinese chip companies, and therefore China's imports of semiconductor thin-film deposition equipment are expected to continue to rise from 2023-2032.
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