Plasma Etching Equipment Market

Global Plasma Etching Equipment Market Forecast

The Plasma Etching Equipment Market is expected to grow from USD 14.5 billion in 2026 to USD 22.8 billion by 2033, reflecting strong industry expansion and registering a CAGR of 6.7% during the forecast period from 2026 to 2033.

Advent of Technology in Intelligent Gadgets Will Directly Influence Progress of Plasma Etching Equipment Market

The overall demand for plasma etching in consumer electronics, automotive, and other industries is also being driven by smartphones and other applications that require semiconductor ICs, as technological advancements like wireless technologies (5G), and Artificial Intelligence (AI) have had a significant impact on the trend of these sectors. Additionally, the semiconductor sector is anticipated to invest in this machinery to produce intelligent products due to the growing number of Internet of Things (IoT) devices. In its quarterly evaluation of the silicon wafer market, the SEMI Silicon Manufacturers Group (SMG) reported that worldwide silicon wafer shipments increased by 3.3% to 3,649 million square inches in the third quarter of 2021, setting a new industry high. The third quarter of 2021 saw a rise in silicon wafer shipments of 16.4% over the same quarter the year prior, reaching 3,135 million square inches. In the semiconductor and microelectromechanical systems sectors, plasma etching is widely employed, which will continue to drive the growth of plasma etching equipment market.

For instance, isotropic etching is used to clean plasma circuits after machining and electroplating to produce printed circuit boards (PCBs). Wafers are formed into circuit designs using anisotropic etching. Reactive ion etching refers to this energetic anisotropic plasma etching (RIE). Additionally, it is anticipated that the significant technical advancements in the IoT application to provide technologically sophisticated intelligent gadgets to various consumers worldwide will speed up the need for advanced semiconductors, favorably influencing the growth of plasma etching equipment market. The demand for plasma etches equipment is also greatly influenced by the government authorities' shifting attention to the semiconductor sector. For instance, the Chinese government assists the chip industry and has budgeted over US$150 Bn investments by 2030 to kick-start semiconductor production. The plasma market of etching systems has experienced consistent expansion due to the rising need for tiny semiconductors. The semiconductor industry favors plasma etch because it uses less energy and does not use water, protecting wafers that are sensitive to moisture.

Plasma Etching Equipment Market: COVID-19 Impact

With the unusual temporary suspension of production of single wafers and micro semiconductor ICs, it is projected that the plasma etching equipment market revenue will significantly decline. After then, there is a brief decline in end-user demand for semiconductor devices or other electronic products, linked to a slowdown in business operations backed by travel limitations. Lockdown measures decreased the consumer electronics market, affecting the semiconductor industry globally. The market was negatively impacted by the ongoing drop in global demand and export shipments for autos, reducing demand for semiconductor production equipment. However, as industrial activity returns to its pre-pandemic level, it is anticipated that demand will gradually increase.

Increasing Automotive and Industrial Applications to Propel Plasma Etching Equipment Market Revenue

In the pre-treatment stage of the automobile production process, plasma cleaning is used to remove silicon residues. High-performance polymers are plasma etched in this process, and the plasma coat is applied as an adhesion enhancer. These machines are also employed to make ICs and MEMS devices used in tires-inflation monitoring and absolute-manifold pressure sensing systems to increase passenger safety during car collisions. To address fundamental challenges in the gallium nitride (GaN) power device industry, Oxford Instruments, a manufacturing and research company with headquarters in the UK, introduced Atomfab in June 2019. Atomfab is a Plasma Atomic Layer Deposition (PALD) high-volume manufacturing solution (HVL).

Rapidly Expanding Semiconductor Industry to Support Plasma Etching Equipment Market Growth

Semiconductors have impacted everything from AI, dependent smartphones, adoption of the IoT, and 5G. Technologies that improve consumer lives and enable smarter, faster, and more effective commercial operations are powered by semiconductors. The expanding use of consumer electronics products worldwide is credited with driving this market expansion. Additionally, new potentials for market expansion are being presented by the development of AI, IoT, and machine learning technologies. Thanks to these innovations, memory chips can process vast volumes of data more quickly. The expansion of plasma etching equipment market will be driven by the rising need for faster and more sophisticated memory chips in industrial applications throughout the projected period.

Volatile Nature of Semiconductor Industry to Hamper Plasma Etching Equipment Market Growth

The fluctuating nature of the semiconductor equipment sector is expected to result in a slow development rate for the worldwide plasma etching equipment market. The world's suppliers provide semiconductor businesses with the necessary parts and machinery, with a few corporations controlling the market for specific goods, and services. With these trends, supply chain disruptions are a risk for semiconductor companies. Many times, the production of equipment exceeds the demand from various end-user segments, which leads to a massive build-up of inventory. Resulting in less income coming in and causing the equipment manufacturers to cut the price for clearing the stock. This will likely prevent numerous semiconductor equipment manufacturers from entering the market, which will hurt the market.

Conductor Etching to Dominate Plasma Etching Equipment Market as Demand for Customizable Circuit Boards Soars

The electrically active materials used in various semiconductor device areas are shaped using equipment for conductor etching. These tiny semiconductor structures are so microscopic that even the slightest difference can result in an electrical defect that affects how well the device works. During the expected period, it is anticipated that the rising demand for semiconductor circuit miniaturization will stimulate an increase in the need for various types of conductor etching equipment as well as a high volume of multi-film stacks with minor faults. In the upcoming years, there will be a considerable increase in the need for aluminum etch tools due to the dynamic RAM in flash and other forms of memory devices. In addition, the increasing need for conductor etching in metal insulator metal (MIM) capacitors represents another potential opportunity.

With Growing Miniaturization of Devices, Dry Etching Equipment to Dominate Plasma Etching Equipment Market

The expansion of the global semiconductor sector is the main factor driving the dry etching machines. With the unlimited technical progress occurring in integrated circuit manufacturing procedures over the globe, the worldwide dry engraving machine sector is anticipated to rise steadily during the forecast period. Rising demand for compact, energy-efficient, and electronic devices with enhanced performance is anticipated to force the development of small semiconductor integrated circuits. To be miniaturized, an integrated circuit must go through an outstanding circuit fabrication process with compact geometries, necessitating flawless pattern transfer. This is also anticipated to push the prospects of dry etching equipment in the plasma etching equipment market throughout the projection period.

Plasma Etching Equipment Market of Asia Pacific Benefits from an Exploding Consumer Electronics Industry

Asia Pacific is one of the major markets for plasma etching equipment due to the presence of some of the top semiconductor manufacturers, rising demand for cutting-edge technologies across various end-user industries, rapid growth in the consumer electronics sector, and favorable government policies for the semiconductor industry in the area. The plasma etching equipment market is predicted to experience rapid growth due to the rising need for smart and portable gadgets, which is also anticipated to increase demand for small integrated circuits (ICs). China has one of the highest rates of unique mobile subscribers worldwide, according to GSMA. It is anticipated to increase from 1.22 billion in 2020 to 1.26 billion in 2026, or around 85% of the population. Many regional governments support the semiconductor industry. As an illustration, China has consistently enacted regulations to encourage the localization of the semiconductor sector. The Made in China 2025 plan has given producers of semiconductor equipment a clear road map. Similarly, after the government launched many PLI programs, several semiconductor manufacturing companies increased their investment to open production facilities in India. For instance, Polymatech, a manufacturer of semiconductor chips with headquarters in Tamil Nadu, stated in August 2022 that it would invest US$1 Bn to increase the size of its manufacturing facilities.

Global Plasma Etching Equipment Market: Competitive Landscape

In March 2022, Samco, an etching, deposition, and surface treatment processing equipment maker, announced the "Cluster H" plasma etching cluster tool. Cluster H delivers full-scale production capability for compound semiconductor devices such as SiC/GaN power devices, high-frequency filters, GaAs VCSELs, CMOS image sensors, micro-OLED/LED, and advanced packaging by using its cutting-edge plasma technology. In February 2022, Lam Research Corporation, a developer of plasma etch and deposition tools, introduced the Syndion GP, a new product aimed to help chipmakers construct next-generation power management integrated circuits and power devices using deep silicon etch technology. Syndion GP, according to the business, can provide good plasma control across the wafer by managing the distribution of ions and radicals for the deep silicon etch (DRIE) process.

A few of the players in the global plasma etching equipment Market are:

• Applied Materials, Inc.
• Lam Research Corporation
• Tokyo Electron Limited (TEL)
• ASM International N.V.
• Hitachi High-Tech Corporation
• Oxford Instruments plc
• Plasma-Therm LLC
• SPTS Technologies Ltd. (KLA Corporation)
• ULVAC, Inc.
• Samco Inc.
• Veeco Instruments Inc.
• NAURA Technology Group Co., Ltd.
• Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc. (AMEC)
• GigaLane Co., Ltd.
• Corial SAS

The Global Plasma Etching Equipment Market is Segmented as Below:

By Type
• Reactive Ion Etching (RIE)
• Inductively Coupled Plasma Etching (ICP)
• Deep Reactive Ion Etching (DRIE)
• High Density Plasma Etching (HDPE)
• Other

By Wafer Size
• Below 150 mm
• 200 mm
• 300 mm
• Above 450 mm

By Material
• Silicon
• Compound Semiconductors
• Glass and Polymers
• Other

By Application
• Consumer Electronics
• Industrial
• Medical Devices
• Automotive Electronics
• Aerospace and Defense
• Other

By End User
• Foundries
• Integrated Device Manufacturers (IDMs)
• Research and Academic Institutions
• Other

By Geography
• North America
• Latin America
• Europe
• Asia-Pacific
• Middle East and Africa