Survey predicts photomask growth
Results of 13th annual Luminaries presented at SPIE Photomask Technology + EUV Lithography Conference.
The eBeam Initiative has completed its 13th annual eBeam Initiative Luminaries survey. Industry luminaries representing 49 companies from across the semiconductor ecosystem—including photomasks, electronic design automation (EDA), chip design, equipment, materials, manufacturing and research—participated in this year’s survey.
100 percent of survey respondents predict that mask revenues in 2024 will increase (74 percent) or stay the same (26 percent) compared to 2023. Luminaries were also positive on future equipment purchases over the next three years, with increases predicted for multi-beam mask writers (93%), mask inspection (85%) and laser mask writers (48%). In addition, the percentage of luminaries that believe that fabs without EUV can reach 5nm within 7 years has increased from 12 percent last year to 19 percent this year.
New questions were added to the Luminaries survey this year to gauge perceptions on EUV pellicles and high-NA stitching. 81 percent think that stitching for high-NA EUV masks will require designers to be aware of the stitching boundaries during design. 33 percent believe that EUV mask lifetime is at least 3x longer with pellicles than without.
