Front end of the line semiconductor equipment: Key market research findings
- APAC dominates the market geographically
- Foundry segment accounts for a majority of the market’s revenue
- Key vendors – Applied Materials, ASML, KLA-Tencor, Lam Research, and Tokyo Electron
According to the market research analysts at Technavio, the global front end of the line semiconductor equipment market will grow at a CAGR of around 2% between 2016 and 2020. The market’s growth is driven by the advent of 3D ICs. In such circuits, multiple chips are stacked into a single stack, which leads to less space usage, reduction in power consumption, and improvement in transmission speed. 3D ICs are being manufactured by the chip manufacturers to meet the high demands of electronic product manufacturers who are looking for improved performance and space minimization. During 2015, the global front end of the line semiconductor equipment market was dominated by APAC with a market share of around 72%. The presence of several major semiconductor foundries and the resultant demand for FEOL semiconductor equipment in this region is responsible for the growth of the front end of the line semiconductor equipment market in APAC.
The new market research report from Technavio presents a breakdown and analysis of the front end of the line semiconductor equipment segments based on the end user.
“The market is currently witnessing an increase in investments made in memory capacity. Semiconductor device manufacturers are shifting their attention from logic, analog, and discrete devices to memory devices such as 3D NAND and DRAM. The primary reason for this change is that the growth potential of semiconductor memory devices market is considerably higher than that of other semiconductor devices. This increasing need is complemented by the market dynamics of consumer electronics, which offers sufficient new opportunities to vendors,” says Sunil Kumar Singh, Lead Analyst, Hardware & Semiconductor, Technavio Research.
By 2020, the foundry segment will continue its market dominance by accounting for more than 63% of the overall market revenue. The recent increase in the number of fab construction is responsible for the growth of the foundry segment. The increased capital expenditure by foundries is spurred by the demand for advanced mobile chips. Furthermore, spending on semiconductor production equipment such as FEOL semiconductor equipment works in tandem with the number of technological functionalities in mobile devices.
The key vendors in the market comprise of Applied Materials, ASML, KLA-Tencor, Lam Research, and Tokyo Electron. The semiconductor industry is seeing a lot of technology transitions like the manufacturing process shift to smaller nodes, emerging multi-patterning technology, and the growth of MEMS. MEMS technology needs the adoption of dielectrics, ceramic materials, and other new metals for the manufacturing process. The use of piezoelectric ceramic materials such as lead zirconate titanate in the new devices is also anticipate during the estimated period. This technology needs reliable manufacturing solutions. For instance, Applied Materials is developing a new 200 mm RF PVD chamber capable of both RF and pulsed DC deposition. Besides MEMS, the PVD chamber will serve applications related to power devices and LEDs.
A more detailed analysis is available in the Technavio report, Global Front End of the Line Semiconductor Equipment Market 2016-2020.
We can customize reports by other regions and specific segments upon request.
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