Korea

One of the surprising side effects that came out of the COVID-19 pandemic is the acceleration of the digital transformation of global economies, which has driven a structural shift and propelled the already mature semiconductor industry to record highs.

Vacuum pumps, pressure gauges, and vacuum valves combined make up the biggest expense on the bill of materials for semiconductor OEMs. The semiconductor industry consumed almost $2.7 billion worth of vacuum subsystems in 2020, with over 60% supplied by vendors based in Europe.

In 2020, the global semiconductor materials market expanded 5% to reach $55.3 billion in revenue to set a new industry record. The momentum in growth is expected to continue throughout 2021 despite the lingering pandemic.

The global semiconductor industry is on track to register a rare three consecutive years of record highs in fab equipment spending with a 16% increase in 2020 followed by forecast gains of 15.5% this year and 12% in 2022, SEMI highlighted in its quarterly World Fab Forecast report.

Back in 2012, China ranked fifth among seven regions worldwide in IC wafer capacity but surged past the Americas and Japan in 2018 and 2019 to claim the number three position (figure 1). That’s a big deal given that ICs account for the largest share of wafer capacity excluding discrete, opto, MEMS...

The global economy has started down a gradual path to recovery from COVID-19 in recent months as the world continues to combat the virus. Yet one sector – semiconductors – has shown impressive growth powered by a transformation hastened by the pandemic across industries ranging from education and...

Despite recent global economic uncertainties and a downbeat memory market outlook for the second half of 2019, new 300mm fab construction in Korea is still going strong.

Christian G. Dieseldorff, Industry Research & Statistics Group, SEMI (June 12, 2018)The semiconductor industry is nearing a third consecutive year of record equipment spending with projected growth of 14 percent (YOY) in 2018 and 9 percent in 2019, a mark that would extend the streak to a...