Mask inspection equipment: Key market research findings
- Demand for SoC technology drives market growth
- APAC dominates the market geographically
- Key vendors – include KLA-Tencor, Applied Materials, and Lasertech
Technavio’s market research analysts predict the global mask inspection equipment market to grow at a CAGR of more than 10% between 2016 and 2020. The recent rise in the demand for SoC technology is the fundamental driving force behind the growth of this market. Smart electronic devices are the outcome of advances in device technology and integration of billions of transistors on a particular chip called the system on chip (SoC). The high processing capability that these chips possess fulfill the need for embedded graphics and multicore technologies. During 2015, APAC accounted for almost 71% of the overall market space and will dominate the global mask inspection equipment market in terms of geography. Favorable government policies and the presence of several prominent vendors in the region is expected to boost growth in the mask inspection equipment market in APAC during the forecast period.
The new market research report from Technavio presents a breakdown and analysis of the mask inspection equipment segments based on end users.
“The constant decline in lithography wavelength is an ongoing trend in the market. The ever-decreasing feature size and an increase in chip density are resulting in the steady reduction of lithography wavelength from 365nm to 193nm. A rise in the number of chips on a wafer along with the growing design complexity is expected to reflect positively on the growth of the mask inspection equipment market across the globe in the coming years,” says Sunil Kumar Singh, Lead Analyst, Hardware & Semiconductor, Technavio Research.
The captive mask shops dominated the global mask inspection equipment market in 2015 by occupying around 58% of the overall market share. Captive mask shops are the in-house manufacturing units of large semiconductor companies such as GlobalFoundries, IBM, Intel, Micron, Samsung, TSMC, and UMC. High capital expenditures by large semiconductor companies and the weakening of the Japanese yen are some of the factors that will further fuel growth in the captive mask shops segment in the coming years.
The key vendors in the market include KLA-Tencor, Applied Materials, and Lasertech. The global mask inspection equipment market is highly fragmented due to the presence of several local and regional vendors offering similar products. Intense market competition, rapid technological advances, and the cyclical nature of the semiconductor industry pose significant challenges to the market vendors. The market also has significant entry barriers such as the need for high capital investments, which challenge the entry of new players in the market. The competition among the vendors is expected to intensify due to the emergence of new technology milestones like IoT and wearable technology.
A more detailed analysis is available in the Technavio report, Global Mask Inspection Equipment Market 2016-2020.
We can customize reports by other regions and specific segments upon request.
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