Market Overview

The semiconductor etch equipment market is expected to register a CAGR of 3.90% over the forecast period (2020 - 2025). The etching is one of the essential processes in the semiconductor fabrication cycle. The etching process removes the material from the surface of the semiconductor to create patterns according to its applications.

  • The semiconductor manufacturing market is growing due to its rapidly growing applications in smartphones and other consumer goods. The manufacturers are also increasing their spendings on the process equipment for gaining the competitive edge over others. This is one of the major driving force for the growth of the semiconductor etching equipment market.
  • Moreover, the continuous advancements in the consumer electronics, industrial automation, and use of sensors in automotive are proliferating the applications of semiconductors and its demand across almost all the industry sectors.
  • Many major players are investing in its fabrication expansions plans. For instance, Intel inc has invested USD 11 billion for the new fabrication plant in Israel. Such expansion plans are fueling the growth for the semiconductor etching equipment market.
  • However, the semiconductor memory market began to slow down causing DRAM and NAND trading uncertainties in the semiconductor market for the vendors are limiting the adoption of etching equipments to an extent.



Scope of the Report

The scope of the study for semiconductor etch equipment market is limited to both low-density and high-density etching types with the use of different kind of etching films and their respective applications globally.

Key Market Trends

Foundries Segment to Hold the Largest Market Share

  • New foundry establishments for the production of MEMS, power devices, etc., have contributed to the sale of new equipment. Owing to the strong demand of sensors from the automotive industry, Murata Manufacturing expanded its MEMS sensor manufacturing by building a new factory in Vantaa, Finland, in 2018. The investment, which is worth around JPY 5 billion, is expected to be completed by the end of 2019. In June 2019, Silicon Sensing Systems also announced plans to expand Its MEMS foundry in Japan.
  • However, according to the report by TRI, global wafer foundry revenue fell by 16% in the first quarter of 2019 compared to the same period in 2018. This result is because of the weakness of 12-inch wafer foundry demand.
  • The top ten rankings of the wafer foundries remained unchanged compared to the previous year, but the revenue fell by double digits for almost all the listings. Also, with the above decline in the revenues, the market share of Samsung increased.
  • Samsung and TSMC are ramping up 7nm with a growing number of tape-outs in the fabrications; also, 200mm foundry capacity remains in demand. Moreover, the global spending for new semiconductor equipment is estimated to reach USD 62 billion in 2018.



Asia-Pacific Region to Witness Fastest Growth

  • The innovations, investments, development, and number of company activities account for the growth of semiconductor etch equipment market in the Asia-Pacific region.
  • China is one of the largest mobile device producers. With the boost of the internet, the Chinese mobile devices have witnessed substantial growth. The number of mobile internet users in China grew from 720.1 million in 2017 to 757.2 in 2018.
  • Also,the advanced packaging market in the region is mainly driven by the policy framework released by the State Council of the People’s Republic of China on June 2014. This policy aims to make advanced packaging a technology priority across the semiconductor industry.
  • Further, the increasing population and demand for smart devices, including smartphones, tablets, computers, smart televisions, and smart refrigerators are fueling the growth of semiconductor etch equipment market in the region.



Competitive Landscape

The trend of semiconductor etch equipment market is consolidated with the presence of few players dominating in the market. As the barrier for the new entrants is high in the market due to high capital is incorporated, major players are adopting mergers and acquisition strategies to gain more market share.

  • June 2019 - Applied Materials Inc. announced the plan for acquiring the semiconductor equipment maker Kokusai Electric for $2.2 billion from KKR & Co. The company leveraged the backdrop of a glut in the memory chip market due to a decline in demand from smartphone makers that squeezed prices and weighed on sales of chipmaking equipment.
  • September 2018 - Plasma-Therm LLC acquired CORIAL, a French plasma processing equipment supplier. With this acquisition, the company is expected to produce significant cost savings from operational synergies, while increasing the group’s top-line revenue by leveraging the combined sales and service network.



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