Technavio Expects the Global Wafer Inspection Equipment Market to Post Close to USD 4 Billion by 2019, says Technavio

LONDON

Technavio analysts forecast the global wafer inspection equipment market to post a CAGR of over 11% by 2019, according to their latest report.

The research study covers the present scenario and growth prospects of the global wafer inspection equipment marketfor 2015-2019. To calculate the market size, the report considers revenue generated from the sales of the equipment to semiconductor foundries for detection on the following wafers: patterned wafer and unpatterned wafer.

Technavio’s report highlights four major factors that are influencing the growth of the global wafer inspection equipment market. They are:

• Increase in demand for semiconductor wafers
• Rise in complexity of semiconductor wafer designs
• Growing miniaturization of electronic devices
• Increase in usage for R&D

Increase in demand for semiconductor wafers

The report states the semiconductor market has been growing on a global level driven by the sales of mobile and consumer electronic devices. It is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 5% during the forecast period. New and emerging technologies such as Internet of things (IoT), machine-to-machine, ultra-high definition TVs, hybrid laptops, and vehicle automation are further driving the demand for semiconductor ICs, which will create demand for semiconductor wafers. This, in turn, will increase the need for wafer inspection equipment to keep a check on the process and quality of the wafers.

“The increasing demand for semiconductor wafers will have a high impact on semiconductor foundries, also known as fabs, as these foundries will invest in increasing the production capacity either by expansion of existing fabs or developing new fabs. This will increase the semiconductor capital equipment spending and the demand for wafer inspection equipment,” says Technavio’s lead semiconductor equipment research analyst Asif Gani.

Rise in complexity of semiconductor wafer designs

The need for increased functionalities in consumer electronic devices is leading to a more complex manufacturing of semiconductor wafers, as these devices require multi-function ICs. This has also resulted in the development of 3D ICs, which are compact, consume less power, and are more efficient. Therefore, the possibility of the density of defect states increases, thus creating the need for wafer inspection equipment.

“The increasing complexity of semiconductor wafer designs will have a moderately high impact on semiconductor foundries, as these foundries have to invest highly in manufacturing equipment, fab equipment, and assembly and test equipment, to develop advanced production system,” adds Asif.

Growing miniaturization of electronic devices

Technavio’s report indicates that the increasing demand for compact electronic devices used in different sectors, such as telecommunication, automotive, industrial manufacturing, and healthcare has led to the demand for miniaturization of semiconductor ICs. With technological advancements, such as 3D ICs and micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS), electronic equipment is becoming compact and user-friendly. This involves changes in the design of the ICs such as finer patterning.

As ICs get miniaturized, maintaining the quality of the semiconductor devices becomes high. Thus to counter this problem, wafer inspection equipment are employed in the foundries to detect defects in the wafers.

Increase in usage for R&D

Due to increasing technical developments in electronic devices and semiconductor devices, wafer manufacturers are investing heavily to meet the growing demand of customers. Since, e-Beam wafer inspection equipment involves high quality of inspection with a resolution of 3 nm, it is preferred for R&D.

The increase in usage for R&D will have a moderately high impact on semiconductor foundries as e-beam wafer inspection equipment works with a high level of magnification. Moreover, the charge variation defects can only be inspected using e-beam equipment; thereby, providing the R&D staff with better information on the smallest of defects.

Browse Related Reports:

• Global Wafer-level Packaging Equipment Market 2015-2019
• Global Semiconductor Silicon Wafer Market 2015-2019
• Global Optical Patterned Wafer Inspection Equipment Market 2015-2019

Purchase these three reports for the price of one by becoming a Technavio subscriber. Subscribing to Technavio’s reports allows you to download any three reports per month for the price of one. Contact enquiry@technavio.com with your requirements and a link to our subscription platform.

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. The company develops over 2000 pieces of research every year, covering more than 500 technologies across 80 countries. Technavio has about 300 analysts globally who specialize in customized consulting and business research assignments across the latest leading edge technologies.

Technavio analysts employ primary as well as secondary research techniques to ascertain the size and vendor landscape in a range of markets. Analysts obtain information using a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches, besides using in-house market modeling tools and proprietary databases. They corroborate this data with the data obtained from various market participants and stakeholders across the value chain, including vendors, service providers, distributors, re-sellers, and end-users.

If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at media@technavio.com.

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Technavio Research
Jesse Maida
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