Semiconductor Lithography Equipment Market - Growth, Trends, Covid-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)

Semiconductor Lithography Equipment Market - Growth, Trends, Covid-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)

The Global Semiconductor Lithography Equipment Market was valued at USD 15.84 billion in 2020, and it is projected to be worth USD 28.87 billion by 2026, registering a CAGR of 9.54% during the forecast period (2021-2026). The outbreak of the COVID-19 across the globe has significantly disrupted the supply chain and production of the studied market in the initial phase of 2020. For semiconductor manufacturers, the impact was more severe. Due to labor shortages, many of the players in the semiconductor supply chain across the world have reduced or even suspended operations. This has created a bottleneck for end-product companies that depend on semiconductors.​

• The market had witnessed increased demand and delayed shipments of conventional deep-UV (DUV) lithography equipment to various semiconductor manufacturing hubs. Besides, the buyers of this equipment were increasingly concerned if there would be a change in the ability to ship these systems amidst pandemic circumstances. Expedited deliveries of EUV systems were also requested, even before normal factory acceptance tests were completed.
• Furthermore, as Integrated Circuits (IC) are incorporated into more products, the demand for lower costs and high-performance devices increases. According to the Semiconductor Industry Association, in 2020, semiconductors' expected market size will be USD 433.03 billion.
• With the continuous transitions, such as miniaturization of nodes and wafer sizes, the growth in demand for increasing wafer sizes for ultra-large-scale integration fabrication technology has fostered the growth of the lithography metrology equipment. Moreover, the fab manufacturers are shifting process monitors from bare wafers to production wafers due to higher cost and inspection challenges faced by wafers' miniaturization.
• Usually, a critical dimension scanning electron microscope (CD-SEM) is used for measuring the dimensions of the patterns formed on the wafer. The device is used as part of the manufacturing lines of electronic devices. Presently, CD-SEM has been witnessing a significant demand, owing to the semiconductor production process.
• Vendors have been increasingly developing advanced CD measurement techniques to cater to the growing demand from the industry to move toward the miniaturization requirements. For instance, Hitachi High Technologies Corporation had earlier announced a new advanced CD Measurement SEM CG7300, which provides an enhanced high-precision measurement and improved throughput performance. The new equipment has been geared for mass production of 5nm generation devices and the development of 3nm generation devices for EUV lithography.

• The adoption of LED is increasing across the globe as they are energy efficient, and governments have been promoting such technologies. With increasing number of applications for high brightness LEDs, manufacturers are looking for better strategies to increase yield and enhance performance. Nikon lithography systems span the range of resolutions required by modern manufacturing facilities. The Nikon portfolio includes specially developed g/h/i-line steppers used in LED and other packaging processes, ultra-high productivity i-line steppers, and ig KrF/ArF and immersion scanners utilized for the most demanding semiconductor applications.
• Nanoimprint lithography is proposed as a technique for high-volume manufacture of photonic LEDs as it promises to combine sufficient resolution with high throughput. Some manufacturers have also adopted this technique, and all main Nanoimprint tool providers today advertise equipment specially targeting this application. However, the NIL approach faces challenges like process difficulty, cost, and throughput. These difficulties are partly caused by the non-flatness of LED wafers and the particulate contamination commonly found on their surfaces. There are ways to avoid this problem, but they add to process complexity, which ultimately increases cost.
• Meanwhile, deep UV lithography (DUV lithography), as used by the IC industry, is not considered to be a viable option owing to its prohibitively high cost. Additionally, there are depth of focus problems associated with printing high-resolution patterns onto the non-flat LED wafers.

• Chinese semiconductor makers are utilizing used chipmaking machines as they rush to produce homegrown products amid US-Sino trade tensions, driving up equipment prices in Japan's secondary market. Japanese used equipment dealers say prices are up by 20% from last year. Older-generation machines are not restricted by US sanctions on China, giving Chinese players unfettered access.
• The stay-at-home trend spurred by the coronavirus pandemic is also a factor. As chip demand rises worldwide, even equipment that is not the most up-to-date is selling at a brisk pace. This, in turn, could prolong the shortage of semiconductors used in automobiles.
• However, one of the biggest vendors in the market, ASML Holding NV, opened a new state-of-the-art training facility in Tainan in August 2020, Taiwanese Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). The Dutch brand’s employees will teach the chipmaker’s engineers how to use its extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines.

The market is concentrated in nature due to few of the vendors such as ASML, Veeco and Nikon occupying the majority share of the market. The key equipment for semiconductor manufacturing is basically monopolized by American and Japanese companies. With growing consolidation and technological advancement and geopolitical scenarios, the studied market is witnessing fluctuation. In addition to this, with increasing vertical integration, the intensity of competition in the studied market is expected to continue to rise, considering their ability to invest, which results from their revenues.

• June 2020 - Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment (Group) Co (SMEE) announced to deliver the first domestic 28 nm lithography machine between 2021 to 2022, helping narrowing the gap with the world's chip-making technology.

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