Market Trends of Semiconductor Wafer Polishing and Grinding Equipment Industry
This section covers the major market trends shaping the Semiconductor Wafer Polishing & Grinding Equipment Market according to our research experts:
Growing Consumption of Consumer Electronics is Expected to Positively Impact the Market
- 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.
- 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. As such, the growing penetration of smartphones is expected to have a positive impact on the market.
- Further, microelectronic devices have significantly permeated consumer electronics. The application of microelectronics has helped in the design of devices that are attached to the human body. Owing to this implementation, wristbands, wearable displays, and wearable healthcare products have been designed to monitor an individual's well-being. Chemical-mechanical polishing, as a key technology in the production and processing of silicon wafers, has helped in the realization of state-of-the-art microelectronic devices and micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS).
- Moreover, there is an emergence of electronic innovations that are becoming more powerful in performance yet lighter in weight than their predecessor. As such, for more components to fit into such devices, the semiconductors have to be smaller, tightly packed, and lighter in weight to reserve space for other elements to fit in as well. Thus, wafer grinding is a critical process for the manufacturing of semiconductors.
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North America is Expected to Hold Significant Share
- Over the years, the United States semiconductor industry has maintained its leadership position in terms of the global sales market share. The country is also one of the major innovators in semiconductor packaging, boasting many wafer fabrication plants spread across different states. Some major fabless companies in this region include Broadcom, AMD, Qualcomm, Apple, Marvell, Xilinx, and NVIDIA.
- 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.
- Moreover, the proliferating consumer electronics industry in the region is also an important factor driving the growth of the market. For instance, according to CTA, the consumer electronics industry in the region is projected to generate over USD 505 billion in retail sales revenue in 2022, representing a 2.8% revenue increase from 2021's impressive 9.6% growth over 2020.
- The demand for wafers is also due to the rise of power semiconductors ICs 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 US. The region is also home to some of the major automotive players in the world, which are investing in the electric car segment.
- As per the US DoE, EV sales grew by 85% from 2020 to 2021, while sales of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) more than doubled in 2021, with an increase of 138% over the previous year. Semiconductors form a core element of the EV landscape for electrified powertrain components like chargers, DC to DC inverters, and traction drive inverters.
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