SEMI: Global Q1 silicon wafer shipments hit a record high, and supply will continue to be tight

According to the report data released by SEMI, global silicon wafer shipments in the first quarter of 2022 surpassed the record high set in the third quarter of 2021, increasing by 1% month-on-month to 3.679 billion square inches.

In its quarterly analysis of the silicon wafer industry, SEMI Silicon Manufacturers Group (SMG) noted that silicon wafer shipments in the first quarter of 2022 increased by 10% from the 3.337 billion square inches reported in the same period last year.

Semiconductor silicon wafers are an indispensable material for chip manufacturing. They are mainly composed of five types of products: polished wafers, annealed wafers, epitaxial wafers, node spacers and silicon-on-insulator wafers. Among them, polished wafers are the most used product, and other silicon wafers are Wafer products are also produced by secondary processing on the basis of polished wafers. And semiconductor chips made from silicon wafers are widely used in electronic products including computers, telecommunication products and consumer devices.

“This new silicon wafer shipment milestone demonstrates continued growth in all segments of the semiconductor market,” said Anna-Riikka Vuorikari-Antikainen, Chairman of SEMI SMG and Chief Commercial Officer of Okmetic. “Silicon wafer supply remains tight and will likely be affected by many new Announced restrictions on semiconductor fab investment. "