Worldwide silicon wafer area shipments increased during the first quarter 2015 when compared to fourth quarter 2014 area shipments according to the SEMI Silicon Manufacturers Group (SMG) in its quarterly analysis of the silicon wafer industry.

Total silicon wafer area shipments were 2,637 million square inches during the most recent quarter, a 3.4 percent increase from the 2,550 million square inches shipped during the previous quarter, resulting in a new quarterly volume shipment record. New quarterly total area shipments are 11.6 percent higher than first quarter 2014 shipments.

“Total silicon shipment volumes for the first quarter of this year surpassed the record high reached in the third quarter of last year,” said Ginji Yada, chairman of SEMI SMG and general manager, International Sales & Marketing Department of SUMCO Corporation. “Silicon shipments for the most recent quarter benefited from the strong market momentum the semiconductor market enjoyed last year.”

Quarterly Silicon Area Shipment Trends

*Shipments are for semiconductor applications only and do not include solar applications

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 one inch to 12 inches) and serve as the substrate material on which most semiconductor devices or “chips” are fabricated.

All data cited in this release is inclusive of polished silicon wafers, including virgin test wafers, epitaxial silicon wafers, as well as non-polished silicon wafers shipped by the wafer manufacturers to the end-users.

The Silicon Manufacturers Group acts as an independent special interest group within the SEMI structure and is open to SEMI members involved in manufacturing polycrystalline silicon, monocrystalline silicon or silicon wafers (e.g., as cut, polished, epi, etc.). The purpose of the group is to facilitate collective efforts on issues related to the silicon industry including the development of market information and statistics about the silicon industry and the semiconductor market.

SEMI is the global industry association serving the nano- and micro-electronic manufacturing supply chains. SEMI maintains offices in Bangalore, Beijing, Berlin, Brussels, Grenoble, Hsinchu, Moscow, San Jose, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, and Washington, D.C.   For more information, visit www.semi.org.