This month’s big trade show for semiconductor equipment-makers was full of good news. Not only is the $25.5 billion industry poised for at least two more years of strong growth, but it is also making the long-awaited move to selling equipment for larger, 300mm silicon wafers.
Those wafers should allow chipmakers like Intel Corp. to produce 2.5 more chips for each wafer, slashing costs and boosting profits. Spearheading the launch, Applied Materials Inc. unveiled 21 new machines that will cover three-fourths of the production for the larger wafers.
“This is finally the beginning of the transition to 300 millimeter,” said Stan Myers, president of the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International.
The San Jose-based SEMI released a bullish forecast that total equipment revenues should grow by 37 percent to $34.5 billion in 2000, and by 23 percent to revenues of $43 billion in 2001. It shows the ongoing recovery from two years ago when the industry suffered its worst downturn.
The current surge is being fueled by across-the-board demand for semiconductors, ranging from networking and communications equipment andhandheld devices to cell phones.
Semiconductors comprise almost 50 percent of a handheld device, compared with 25 percent for personal computers.