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

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

The semiconductor wafer polishing and grinding equipment market was valued at USD 368.31 million in 2020, and it is expected to reach 468.60 million by 2026, registering a CAGR of 4.1% during the forecast period 2021 to 2026. Due to the emergence of 5G and EV, the less than 200mm equipment market is expected to record the most robust growth through the majority of the companies operate in the 300mm segment.

• The increasing demand in MEMS, IC manufacturing, optics, and compound semiconductors will boost the planarization in semiconductor devices. In the current market scenario, as almost all the electronic devices, including laptops, smartphones, computers, etc., make use of Silicon ICs and other wafer dependent packages, the demand for advanced grinding and polishing machinery is always on the rise.
• In fact, according to the recent forecasts of Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI), silicon wafer shipments for semiconductor applications is expected to reach exceeded 17,600 Million Square Inches (MSI) by 2025, from 11,810 MSI in 2019. This market scenario is expected to open several opportunities for the polishing and grinding equipment market in the near future. The yearly data published by SEMI indicated that there had been a slight dip in the silicon wafer shipments for the year 2019 (11,810 MSI) following a continuous growth until 2018 (12,732 MSI) as a result of overall economic slowdown and ongoing geopolitical tensions that have negatively impacted silicon demand for the year.
• Further, the growing need for miniaturization in the electronics (due to the demand for thinner wafers that consume low power) is expected to drive some advancements in the semiconductor wafer polishing and grinding equipment market over the forecast period. However, the recent advancements in etching, which offer more advantages when compared to the polishing techniques, are affecting the demand for polishing machinery. Moreover, the removal of partial defects through polishing with traditional CMP (chemical-mechanical-polishing) technology preserves the surface profile, making it extremely difficult for manufacturers and service providers involved in wafer reclaim activities.
• Also, the recent Coronavirus pandemic is expected to have a significant effect on the silicon wafer market sales across the globe. A new quarterly report from SEMI laid out two market scenarios for the semiconductor wafer market in the second half of 2020. First, the sales could witness further dip amidst the uncertainty surrounding the impact of COVID-19 to the semiconductor industry. Second, the semiconductor industry could climb on the strength of rebounding chip sales.
• According to SEMI, the dip in silicon wafer sales in the second half of 2020 could have ripple effects on price negotiations in 2021. Wafer shipments, supply and demand shifts, suppliers' dynamics, and pricing trends are considered for the same. Owing to such a scenario, the sale of 300mm silicon wafer shipments might witness a slight decline, whereas the 200mm and 150mm shipments would drop by 5% and 13%, respectively, in the first half of 2020, according to SEMI.

• The technological advancements in consumer electronic devices, such as smartphones and tablets, and the development of smart home devices and wearables globally are driving the need for small integrated circuits. This, in turn, is fueling the demand for wafer polishing and grinding equipment, which plays a crucial role in the semiconductor wafer fabrication process.
• The overall demand for the semiconductor materials market is being driven by smartphones and other applications across consumer electronics, automotive applications, etc. These industries have been inspired by technology transitions such as wireless technologies (5G), Artificial intelligence, etc. Also, the trend of increasing numbers of Internet of Things (IoT) devices is expected to force the semiconductor industry to invest in this equipment, in a bid to attain intelligent products.
• Furthermore, in 2019, Apple announced a contribution of USD 350 billion to the US economy by 2023 and promised 2.4 million jobs, over the next five years, which comprises of the latest investments and its existing spending with domestic companies for supply and manufacturing. The company is one of the major players in the consumer electronics industry; hence, the announcement is expected to propel the demand for semiconductors.
• Every smartphone is comprised of a System On a Chip (SoC), which is an integrated circuit that integrates all or most components of a computer or other electronic system. SoC chips are typically fabricated using metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) technology and are sent to a wafer fabrication plant to create the SoC dice before packaging and testing where wafer polishing and grinding is done. According to Newzoo, the global smartphone users are of 3.2 billion in 2019 and are expected to grow to 3.8 billion by 2021, which in turn is expected to impact the market positively.

• United States is innovating in manufacturing, design, and research in the semiconductor industry, witnessing the sales worth USD 7.49 billion in 2019, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA). United States is also one of the major innovators in the semiconductor packaging, boasting of 80 wafer fabrication plants spread across 19 states. The major fabless companies in this region are Broadcom, Qualcomm, AMD, Apple, Marvell, Xilinx, and NVIDIA North America is playing a crucial role in enhanced semiconductor system design and manufacturing.
• The region is likely to remain one of the major revenue contributors to the market studied, over the forecast period, as fabless companies (indirect), integrated device manufacturers, and factories are increasing several activities for semiconductor wafer manufacturers.
• For instance, five leading firms formed the U.S. based consortium to pursue the transition to 450 mm wafers. The consortium includes some significant firms such as Intel, IBM, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, SAMSUNG, and Global Foundries. This consortium focuses on developing and manufacturing the required equipment to process 450 mm wafers. The increase in wafer sizes will be one of the key trends which will gain traction in the semiconductor wafer polishing and grinding equipment market over the forecast period.
• The demand for wafers is mainly due to the rise of power semiconductors I.C.s for automotive applications. Increasing investments in electric infrastructure and an increasing number of charging stations are boosting the growth of the semiconductor market in the U.S. The region is also home to some of the major automotive players in the world, which are investing in the electric car segment. For instance, electric vehicle policies helped United States to cross one million in total sales in the year 2018. Automakers, such as General Motors, plan to launch 20 new all-electric vehicles by 2023. This is expected to offer significant growth opportunities over the forecast period.
• As COVID-19 took hold in North America, utilization at wafer facilities began to falter. Although many countries have now restored their normal operations at all of their semiconductor wafer manufacturing sites, chipmakers have responded by diversifying their 200mm wafer supply lines in light of short term supply disruption.

The semiconductor wafer polishing and grinding equipment market is moderately consolidated and consists of certain major players. The market has gained a competitive edge over the past two decades. In terms of market share, few major players dominate the market, currently. For mass production, multiple Semiconductor Wafer Polishing and Grinding Equipment units must be installed and simultaneously operated in parallel due to the time needed to process the silicon wafers. Various vendors are continually updating their existing equipment for better efficiency.

• November 2019 - Applied Materials Inc. introduced the Materials Engineering Technology Accelerator (META Center), a facility aimed at speeding customer prototyping of new materials, process technologies, and devices. As chipmaking is becoming more challenging, the META Center has extended the company's ability to partner with customers to pioneer new ways of improving chip performance, power, and cost.
• November 2019 - DISCO Corporation has developed DAD3351, a Semi-Automatic Dicing Saw for ∅200 mm model with reduced processing time and footprint. Additionally, DAD3361 and DAD3431 have also been developed. Along with the development of these three models, DISCO has also completed a model change for all nine semi-automatic dicings saw models, with improved productivity and communication support in all models.

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