Semiconductor equipment market burgeons in China and Japan

Mountain View, CA — China`s semiconductor equipment market will reach U.S.

$700 million by the end of 1997, while Japan`s market could top one trillion yen in 1999, according to SEMI. Figures for the Japanese OEM market were obtained from a recent survey of SEMI`s member companies across North America, Europe and Asia regarding current market conditions and future trends. The survey netted responses from 85 semiconductor equipment companies representing 90 percent of the industry`s total sales — including a record 21 Japanese member company participants.SEMI senior market analyst Elizabeth Schumann says the growth is a phenomenon of the acceleration of 64-Mbit DRAM device production, sparked by the recent market overcapacity of lower-density memory devices, which will create demand for more equipment capable of producing 0.25-micron feature sizes. Schumann adds that the industry transition to 300-mm technology will also translate into new equipment buys. The Japanese semiconductor equipment market will increase 4.4 percent this year to 810.7 billion yen, dip nearly 6 percent in 1997 to 763.7 billion yen, then climb 14 percent to 870.5 billion yen in 1998. The association is projecting a 21.7 percent increase in market size between 1998 and 1999 to 1.05 trillion yen.