The expansion of the electronics industry, driven by the burgeoning demand for consumer electronics, the growing gaming industry, and increasing proclivity towards electric and hybrid vehicles, has created enormous lucrative opportunities for the semiconductor manufacturing equipment market. This can be attributed to the elevating demand for various semiconductor manufacturing tools for producing memory ICs, sensors, PMIC, microprocessors, system-on-chips, etc.

The industry landscape is being further enhanced by ongoing business expansion moves initiated by major semiconductor companies. A prominent example of such an initiative is the commencement of the construction of two new factories in the U.S. by the leading chipmaker Intel in 2021. These facilities will house the company’s highly advanced chipmaking technology.

According to the recent report by Global Market Insights, Inc., the semiconductor manufacturing equipment market size is projected to surpass USD 90 billion by 2027, in light of the following trends:

New product launches by key companies

Major companies operating in the industry are focusing on the development of innovative semiconductor manufacturing devices to effectively meet consumer demand and gain a competitive edge in the market. Quoting an instance, in 2020, Advantest Corporation launched two general-purpose hardware equipment, digital, and power supply modules to support the capabilities of the T2000 test platform. They are designed for use in the volume manufacturing of SoC chips, power management ICs, CMOS image sensors, and automotive sensors.

Heightened adoption of polishing & grinding equipment

Polishing & grinding processes are largely adopted for manufacturing MEMS sensors, integrated circuits (ICs), chipsets, optics, and compound semiconductors. The growing preference for miniaturized ICs in electronics requires frequent polishing & grinding for reducing subsurface damage and maintaining wafer flexibility. The rising demand for the process is encouraging the market players to focus on new product development which is positively influencing the business growth. To illustrate, in 2020, ACM Research, Inc. introduced the Ultra-Stress-Free Polishing tool for advanced semiconductor packaging and wafer processing. Reportedly, polishing & grinding equipment is projected to exhibit a robust CAGR of over 5.0% through 2027.

Mounting popularity of 2D technology

The growing popularity of 2D technology can be credited to the associated benefits such as robust built, less power consumption, and minimum cost of operations. It is being extensively used in the manufacturing of 2D-planar memory devices. Various companies and research institutes are forming strategic alliances to develop ICs based on 2D material. For instance, in 2021, TSMC partnered with the National Institute of Taiwan and MIT for developing 1nm chips using two-dimensional material. With increased adoption, 2D technology segment is expected to observe a lucrative CAGR of 6.0% through 2027.

Rising adoption of foundry supply chain process

Rising demand for power electronics and high-performance computing devices is prompting the foundry providers to improve their IC manufacturing through new technology nodes. Various companies are inclined on technical enhancements like application of laser-plasma as a light source in extreme ultraviolet printing devices to generate high-quality wavelengths. For instance, in 2021, Micron announced its plans of deploying extreme ultraviolet equipment in its manufacturing foundries. Considering these factors, the foundry supply chain process segment had captured over 25% share in 2020 and is expected to register a significant CAGR of over 6.0% through 2027.

Growing semiconductor-based projects in Europe

The increasing government initiatives and investments towards semiconductor-based projects in Europe are driving the expansion of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment industry in the region. To illustrate, in 2021, the European Union unveiled its plans of increasing the chip production capacity by 20% by 2030. The EU also declared investing USD 160 billion towards technological development involving semiconductor manufacturing and supply chain infrastructure. In addition, regional chipmakers are collaborating with diverse industry experts which, in turn, is favoring industrial growth. According to the report, the industry is anticipated to register a robust CAGR of 4.5% through 2027.

Briefly, the semiconductor manufacturing equipment market is gaining traction with the increasing investments in chip manufacturing facilities coupled with the emergence of technologically advanced solutions.

Source: Global Market Insights Inc.