Silicon Wafer Shipments Slip in Third Quarter 2020 but Strong for Year

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Worldwide silicon wafer area shipments contracted 0.5% to 3,135 million square inches in the third quarter of 2020 compared to the second quarter of the year but registered a 6.9% increase from the 2,932 million square inches shipped one year ago during the same quarter, according to the SEMI Silicon Manufacturers Group (SMG) in its quarterly analysis of the silicon wafer industry.

"After a strong rebound in the first half of 2020, global silicon wafer shipments in the third quarter were flat to the previous quarter,” said Neil Weaver, chairman of SEMI SMG and vice president of Product Development and Applications Engineering at Shin Etsu Handotai America. 

All data cited 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.