Memory Spending Buoys Semiconductor Equipment Sales

Buoyed by strong spending in Memory, semiconductor equipment sales rose 14% in 1Q15.

2014 proved a strong year for Wafer Fab Equipment, Assembly, and Test Equipment. WFE Continues to be dominated by the Few. Top 11 WFE suppliers held almost 90% share of WFE sales. TEL and AMAT showed significant share gains. All suppliers benefitted from strong demand in memory.

WFE Market Share Highlights:

•       TEL staged roaring comeback in Etch

•       TEL gained in wet processing

•       CVD shares are stable, AMAT is leading

•       Strong growth continues in ALD

•       KLA-Tencor is holding steady in wafer inspection

•       VLSI’s take on 2014 market shares

All etch segments had strong demand throughout 2014. TEL gained share in silicon etch and in wet processing. Overall wet processing equipment demand was weak — only 5% growth in 2014. SCREEN experienced weak demand from foundries. Overall CVD grew 30% in 2014. CVD shares were stable. AMAT continues its solid leadership. All suppliers had healthy growth. Strong growth continues in ALD. ASM has commanding lead in ALD. Overall ALD Demand grew almost 30%. KLA-Tencor is holding steady in wafer inspection. KLA’s share steady around 50%. Hitachi High Technologies was driven by single customer

Assembly Equipment Market Share Highlights:

•       Strong Year for Assembly Equipment Suppliers

•       BE Semiconductor had stellar 2014

       Assembly market share summary

Broad expansion in IC packaging capacity resulted in almost a 30% increase in assembly equipment sales. There are still multiple suppliers in most segments. Top 11 suppliers hold over 70% of Assembly Equipment sales. BE Semiconductor had a stellar 2014. BE Semiconductor’s strategy at advanced manufacturing is paying off with two point share gain. Share shift is driven by aggressive mobile ramp in 2H 2014. ASMPT continues to maintain strong presence in China HB-LED, Discrete, and Power Device manufacturing.

Test Equipment Market Share Highlights:

•       Strong Test Recovery in 2014

•       Teradyne shows gain in both SOC and Memory

•       Test market share summary

Broad ATE recovery resulted in more than 20% sales growth. Teradyne reached over a 50% share in SOC Test. Teradyne benefited from a broad IC recovery as well as strong position in mobile device test. Memory and SOC Test are divided between Advantest and Teradyne. Top 3 suppliers have over 80% share of all Test.

VLSI’s Take on 2014 Market Shares:

• Tokyo Electron staged roaring come-back from a difficult 2013
• Etch continues to be hotly contested segment
• AMAT gained share in silicon etch
• Etch grew ~40% in 2014
• CVD also had great year with close to 30% growth
• Market shares are stable
• ALD continues to be hot deposition market with over $1B
• ASMI solidly in lead
• Despite weaker demand in process diagnostics, KLA-Tencor is easily maintaining its leadership
• Top 11 WFE suppliers continue to perform strongly
• They command 89% of WFE sales
• Market shares are stabilizing for the leading companies
• Over 80% share becomes unassailable barrier
• •Assembly equipment markets continue to be highly competitive
• Four clear leading suppliers:
• ASM Pacific
• Disco
• Kulicke & Soffa
• BE Semiconductor
• Assembly equipment business grew well in 2014
• 29% growth
• Both advanced and conventional packaging performed well
• ATE is clearly divided between Teradyne and Advantest
• Teradyne’s focus on productivity and cost of test continues to drive market share gains
• Teradyne had particularly good year in Memory Test
• “Other” suppliers are typically up-coming Korean suppliers

Source: VLSIresearch

VLSIresearch’s 1Q15P Market Share databases have been uploaded. 2014 Market Share databases for yearly & quarterly are also available. Subscribers can access the information shown above by clicking the link below. You will be directed to the Version/Module Access Page and then redirected to a login page. This process allows for direct access to the databases.

Equipment Database Module:

➢  Equipment Total

➢  Microlithography

➢  CMP & Ion Implant

➢  Process Diagnostics

➢  Deposition

➢  Etch & Clean

➢  Other Wafer Fab Equipment

➢  Test

➢  Material Handling

➢  Assembly

If you have questions or comments regarding the data or any other questions, do not hesitate to contact us.

More information about this report, the Equipment Database, is available here:

      https://www.vlsiresearch.com/services/chip-market-research

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