It’s Only Common Sense: If You’re Not Differentiated, You’re Dead
Alpha Insights, Performance by Design: The Future of PCB Manufacturing in the Midwest
Happy’s Tech Talk #43: Engineering Statistics Training With Free Software
Worldwide Silicon Wafer Shipments Increase 2% Year-on-Year in Q1 2025
April 30, 2025 | SEMIEstimated reading time: 1 minute
Worldwide silicon wafer shipments increased 2.2% year-on-year (YoY) to 2,896 million square inches (MSI) from the 2,834 MSI recorded during the same quarter of 2024, the SEMI Silicon Manufacturers Group (SMG) reported in its quarterly analysis of the silicon wafer industry. Sequentially, shipments contracted 9.0% quarter-over-quarter from the 3,182 MSI recorded during the fourth quarter of last year impacted, primarily, by seasonality and accumulated inventory levels throughout the supply chain.
Q1 2025 silicon shipments indicated a 6% YoY growth in 300mm but showed a decline in 200mm and below wafer sizes,” said Lee Chungwei (李崇偉), Chairman of SEMI SMG and Vice President and Chief Auditor at GlobalWafers. “Despite an incremental increase in 300mm wafer shipments, demand for legacy devices remains weak, with inventory adjustments also contributing to a slowdown in shipments.”
Data cited in this release include polished silicon wafers, including those used as virgin test wafers, as well as epitaxial silicon wafers, and non-polished silicon wafers shipped by the wafer manufacturers to end users.
Silicon wafers are the fundamental building material for the majority of semiconductors, which are vital components of all electronic devices. The highly engineered thin disks are produced in diameters of up to 300mm and serve as the substrate material on which most semiconductors are fabricated.
The SMG is a sub-committee of the SEMI Electronic Materials Group (EMG) and is open to SEMI members involved in manufacturing polycrystalline silicon, monocrystalline silicon or silicon wafers (e.g., as cut, polished, epi). The SMG facilitates 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.
Share on:
Testimonial
"We’re proud to call I-Connect007 a trusted partner. Their innovative approach and industry insight made our podcast collaboration a success by connecting us with the right audience and delivering real results."
Julia McCaffrey - NCAB GroupSuggested Items
Beyond Thermal Conductivity: Exploring Polymer-based TIM Strategies for High-power-density Electronics
10/13/2025 | Padmanabha Shakthivelu and Nico Bruijnis, MacDermid Alpha Electronics SolutionsAs power density and thermal loads continue to increase, effective thermal management becomes increasingly important. Rapid and efficient heat transfer from power semiconductor chip packages is essential for achieving optimal performance and ensuring long-term reliability of temperature-sensitive components. This is particularly crucial in power systems that support advanced applications such as green energy generation, electric vehicles, aerospace, and defense, along with high-speed computing for data centers and artificial intelligence (AI).
Is Glass Finally Coming of Age?
10/13/2025 | Nolan Johnson, I-Connect007Substrates, by definition, form the base of all electronic devices. Whether discussing silicon wafers for semiconductors, glass-and-epoxy materials in printed circuits, or the base of choice for interposers, all these materials function as substrates. While other substrates have come and gone, silicon and FR-4 have remained the de facto standards for the industry.
Interposers, Substrates, and Advanced Manufacturing
10/13/2025 | Marcy LaRont, I-Connect007I attend a lot of industry trade shows and conferences. Lately, during conversations with technologists, I’ve noticed that there is some confusion about what exactly constitutes an interposer. One question I hear every so often is, “Are all interposers substrates?” The short answer to that question is no. But some interposers are, in fact, full substrates.
Si2 Names NVIDIA, Synopsys Technologists to Lead New LLM Benchmarking Coalition
10/10/2025 | BUSINESS WIREThe Silicon Integration Initiative today announced the chair and vice chair of the Si2 Large Language Model Benchmarking Coalition (LBC), a collaborative industry initiative and standards body advancing AI for silicon design and verification that will expedite the development of high-quality large language models for semiconductor design problems.
Mercedes-Benz Shapes Future of Autonomous Computing as Co-Creator of Next-Generation Chip Standards with Athos Silicon
10/09/2025 | Mercedes-BenzMercedes-Benz announced a reference design collaboration with Athos Silicon, a specialized semiconductor company established by former engineers at Mercedes-Benz Research & Development North America, Inc. (MBRDNA).