Worldwide silicon wafer area shipments increased 6% to 3,534 million square inches in the second quarter of 2021, surpassing the historical high set in the first quarter, the SEMI Silicon Manufacturers Group (SMG) reported in its quarterly analysis of the silicon wafer industry. Second quarter 2021 silicon wafer shipments grew 12% from the 3,152 million square inches recorded during the same quarter last year.
“Demand for silicon continues to see strong growth driven by multiple end-applications,” said Neil Weaver, chairman SEMI SMG and Vice President, Product Development and Applications Engineering at Shin Etsu Handotai America. “The supply of silicon for both 300mm and 200mm applications is tightening as demand continues to outstrip supply.”
Silicon Area Shipment Trends – Semiconductor Applications Only
| Millions of Square Inches | ||||||
| 1Q 2020 | 2Q 2020 | 3Q 2020 | 4Q 2020 | 1Q 2021 | 2Q 2021 | |
| Total | 2,920 | 3,152 | 3,135 | 3,200 | 3,337 | 3,534 |
Source: SEMI (www.semi.org), July 2021
Data cited in this release include polished silicon wafers such as virgin test and epitaxial silicon wafers, as well as non-polished silicon wafers shipped to end users.
Silicon wafers are the fundamental building material for the majority of semiconductors, which are vital components of all electronics including computers, telecommunications products, and consumer devices. The highly engineered thin disks are produced in diameters of up 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 on the silicon industry and the semiconductor market.