Worldwide Si wafer Q1 shipments climb 1.3% QoQ

The Semiconductor Equipment Manufacturers Industry (SEMI) has revealed that the global silicon wafer area shipments increased 1.3% from 2,504 million square in² shipped in 4Q15 to 2,538 million square inches in 1Q16. Shipments are for semiconductor applications only and do not include solar application.

"However, new quarterly total area shipments are 3.8% lower than 1Q15 shipments (of 2,637 million in²," said the SEMI Silicon Manufacturers Group (SMG) in its quarterly analysis of the silicon wafer industry.

"After two quarters of negative silicon shipment volume growth, the increase in silicon volume shipments in the most recent quarter is encouraging," said Volker Braetsch, chair SEMI SMG and SVP of Siltronic AG.

"It remains to be seen if silicon shipment volumes will exceed the record amount shipped last year," he said.

Figure 1: SEMI said that global silicon wafer area shipments rose 1.3% from 2,504 million square in² shipped in 4Q15 to 2,538 million square inches in 1Q16.

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 1in to 12in) and serve as the substrate material on which most semiconductor devices or chips are fabricated.