300-mm spending to reach $8.2 billion in 2000, says report
Semiconductor Business News
(02/23/00, 02:07:59 PM EDT)
NEW TRIPOLI, Pa.--Worldwide revenues for 300-mm wafer processing equipment will reach $8.2 billion this year--about eight times the amount spent on 300-mm systems in 1999, according to a new report from The Information Network here.
The research firm said a half dozen chip makers are now rushing to build 300-mm fabs for first silicon in 2001. That race will cause spending on 300-mm tools to skyrocket in 2000 and 2001, concluded the report, "300-mm/Copper/Low-K Convergence: Timing, Trends, Issues, Market Analysis."
"A host of IC manufacturers announcing first silicon plans for 2001 -- Intel, Samsung, STMicroelectronics, TSMC, UMC, and UMC/Hitachi -- will translate to explosive orders for 300mm processing equipment, with shipments beginning in 2000," said Robert N. Castellano, president of The Information Network.
A second wave of 300-mm investments will come from the likes of IBM, Intel, Hyundai, NEC, TSMC, and Semiconductor 300 (the joint venture between Infineon Technologies and Motorola), said the New Tripoli research firm.
"The rash of capacity driven 300-mm fab production in 2001 and 2002 will probably lead to an over wafer capacity condition in 2003, which will spell trouble for equipment manufacturers in 2002," Castellano cautioned. He added that semiconductor maker "will not realize they had been in an over capacity situation until 2004, giving equipment manufacturers a relatively strong 2002."
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