Worldwide silicon wafer area shipments rose 8 percent to 3,152 million square inches in the second quarter of 2020 compared to the 2,920 million square inches shipped in the first quarter of the year and surpassed second quarter 2019 shipments by 6 percent, according to the SEMI Silicon Manufacturers Group (SMG) in its quarterly analysis of the silicon wafer industry.
“While the short-term outlook remains uncertain due to coronavirus and geopolitical challenges impacting the broader industry, global silicon wafer shipments accelerated in the second quarter,” said Neil Weaver, chairman SEMI SMG and vice president, Product Development and Applications Engineering at Shin Etsu Handotai America. “The strong first half of 2020 trended slightly higher than the first half of 2019.”
Silicon Area Shipment Trends – Semiconductor Applications Only
| Millions of Square Inches | ||||||
| 1Q 2019 | 2Q 2019 | 3Q 2019 | 4Q 2019 | 1Q 2020 | 2Q 2020 | |
| Total | 3,051 | 2,983 | 2,932 | 2,844 | 2,920 | 3,152 |
Source: SEMI (www.semi.org), July 2020
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 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 (e.g., as cut, polished, epi). The purpose of the SMG is to facilitate 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.