Probe Card Market Size (2024 - 2029)

Probe Card Market Analysis

The Probe Card Market size is estimated at USD 2.05 billion in 2024, and is expected to reach USD 3.74 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 10.60% during the forecast period (2024-2029).

• Increased semiconductor production and continuous government and key vendor investment in establishing semiconductor foundries are driving the growth of the market.
• The advancement in packaging technology further boosts the demand for highly efficient probe cards to test semiconductor chips. MEMS technology gained traction in the probe card market due to the benefits and accuracy it offers during testing. The augmented use of semiconductor chips in several industry verticals, including automotive, communication, consumer electronics, and healthcare, is also increasing the growth of the market.
• However, the high cost associated with the probe cards restricts the growth of the market. An increase in the prices of raw materials enhances the production cost of probe cards, which, in turn, restricts the growth of the market.
• The increased demand for semiconductor memory chips, mainly DRAM and Foundry and Logic ICs, across consumer electronics, automotive and robotics, and other applications creates a huge demand for probe cards to test the chips' functionality. Due to growing consumer demand, exponential growth in semiconductor manufacturing drives the DRAM, foundry, and logic IC market.
• The high cost associated with probe cards presents multiple challenges that are restricting the growth of the market. Significant initial investment requirements, increased production and maintenance costs, reduced scalability and flexibility, slower adoption of new technologies, and barriers to entry for smaller players are some of the factors that result in higher costs for probe cards.
• The ongoing trade tensions between China and the United States have significantly impacted the growth of the memory market. From a Chinese standpoint, the commercial restrictions imposed by the US Department of Commerce in October 2022 created uncertainty regarding the expansion of memory production. As a result, the combined wafer capacities of the top memory companies, YMTC and CXMT, are expected to be limited to approximately 180kWpm over the next five years.

Probe Card Industry Segmentation

A probe card is used in the electrical testing of a wafer's large-scale integrated (LSI) circuit chip during the wafer test phase in LSI manufacturing. It is connected to a wafer probe, enabling the connection of the LSI chip electrodes, while an LSI tester functions as the measuring device. The probe card's needles establish contact with the LSI chip electrodes to conduct electrical testing for the go/no-go test.

The probe card market is segmented by technology (MEMS, vertical, cantilever, specialty, other technologies), by application (DRAM, flash, foundry and logic, parametric, other applications), by type (standard probe card, advanced probe card), by geography (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Rest of the World). The market sizes and forecasts are provided in terms of value (USD) for all the above segments.