News on November 10, it was reported that the supply of essential masks for wafer production has been tight and prices have risen recently, and related companies such as American Photronics, Japanese Toppan, Great Japan Printing (DNP), and Taiwan masks are full of orders. The industry predicts that the price of masks will increase by another 10%-25% in 2023 compared with the 2022 high.
It is understood that the soaring demand for photomasks comes from system semiconductors, especially high-performance chips, automotive semiconductors and autonomous driving chips. In the past, the shipping time of high specification photomasks was 7 days, but now it is lengthened 4-7 times to 30-50 days. The current tight supply of photomasks will hurt semiconductor production, and it is reported that chip design manufacturers are expanding their orders in response. The industry is worried that increased orders from chip designers will tighten production and driven up foundry prices, and the automotive chip shortage, which has only recently eased, may worsen again.
“Chips” comments
Driven by the rapid growth of 5G, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things and other industries, the global semiconductor market is booming and the demand for photomasks is strong. In the second quarter of 2021, Toppan Japan’s net profit reached 9.1 billion yen, 14 times that of the same period of the previous year. It can be seen that the global photomask market is developing extremely strongly. As an important part of the semiconductor lithography process, the industry will also usher in development opportunities.
Post time: Nov-16-2022