Silicon wafer shipments flatten in Q3 2007
In total, wafer shipments seem to remain on track to see around 8% growth for the year.
"In line with the historic pattern, the pace of wafer area shipments has slowed slightly for the third quarter," said Dr. Volker Braetsch, Chairman SEMI SMG and Corporate Vice President of Siltronic AG. "This is the result of smaller area diameter wafer shipments declining while 300 mm wafer shipments continued to grow."
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.
This data is inclusive of polished silicon wafers, including virgin test wafers, epitaxial silicon wafers, and non-polished silicon wafers shipped by the wafer manufacturers to the end-users.
