CHANGCHUN, CHINA, February. 5, 2019 /PVTIME/ - Worldwide silicon wafer area
shipments in 2019 declined 7 percent from the 2018 record high while revenue
remained above the $11 billion mark despite a global silicon revenue slip of 2
percent over the same period, the SEMI Silicon Manufacturers Group (SMG)
reported in its year-end analysis of the silicon wafer industry.
Silicon wafer area shipments in 2019
totaled 11,810 million square inches (MSI), while the industry logged shipments
of 12,732 million square inches in 2018. Revenues in 2019 totaled $11.15
billion, edging down from the $11.38 billion posted in 2018.
"The 2019 decline in worldwide
semiconductor silicon volume shipments resulted from memory market softness and
inventory normalization," said Neil Weaver, Vice President of SEMI SMG,
and Director, Product Development and Applications Engineering, at Shin-Etsu
Handotai America. "Despite the volume dip, silicon revenue remained
resilient."
All data cited in this release
includes polished silicon wafers, such as virgin test wafers and epitaxial
silicon wafers, as well as non-polished silicon wafers shipped to end users.
Silicon wafers are the fundamental
building material for semiconductors, which, in turn, are vital components of
virtually all electronics goods, including computers, telecommunications
products, and consumer electronics. The highly engineered thin, round disks are
produced in various diameters – from one inch to 12 inches – and serve as the
substrate material on which most semiconductor devices, or chips, are
fabricated.
The Silicon Manufacturing Group
(SMG) is a sub-committee of the SEMI Electronic Materials Group (EMG) and is
open to SEMI members involved in manufacturing polycrystalline silicon,
monocrystalline silicon or silicon wafers such as cut, polished and epi. The
group facilitates collective efforts on issues related to the silicon industry
including the development of market information and statistics about the
silicon industry and the semiconductor market.
SOURCE: SEMI
