Silicon Wafer Shipments and Sales Hit Record Highs Last Year

Shipment Volume and Sales Increased by 14% and 13%, Respectively

▲Silicon Wafer

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Sun-mi] Both the shipment volume and sales of silicon wafers, the raw material for semiconductors, reached record highs last year.

According to the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) on the 9th, the global shipment volume of silicon wafers last year totaled 14.165 billion square inches, representing a 14% increase compared to the 2020 shipment volume. Strong demand was observed across all wafer sizes including 300mm, 200mm, and 150mm due to the surge in demand for various semiconductor devices. The global shipment volume of silicon wafers has shown a steady increase since the third quarter of 2020, reaching an all-time high.

Sales of silicon wafers also hit a record high. Last year’s sales amounted to $12.617 billion, a 13% increase from 2020, surpassing the previous record of $12.129 billion set in 2007.

Silicon wafers are the raw material used to manufacture semiconductor integrated circuits. They are thin, disc-shaped slices cut from silicon ingots. Through a special process, electronic circuits are etched onto the wafer, which is then cut into individual semiconductor chips.

Neil Weaver, Chairman of SEMI SMG, explained, "The increase in shipment volume and sales of silicon wafers reflects the high dependence of the modern economy on silicon wafers," adding, "Wafers are at the core of digital transformation (DT) and the new technologies that are changing our lives."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.