Semiconductor Laser Equipment Market Size

Semiconductor Laser Equipment Market Analysis

The semiconductor laser equipment market is expected to register an approximate CAGR of 5.6% throughout the forecast period. Increasing demand for semiconductors from end-use sectors such as machine tools, microelectronics, automotive, and industrial is expected to drive the semiconductor laser equipment market.

• The semiconductor manufacturing process has a wide range of laser applications. Several laser technologies have begun integrating into main semiconductor operations, such as laser cutting, welding, bonding, drilling, debonding, marking, patterning, measuring, and deposition. These are utilized in fabricating semiconductor devices, modular and high-capacity interconnect printed circuit boards, and especially in packaging integrated circuits (ICs).
• as different semiconductors have different applications. Lasers are widely used during the manufacturing process for marking the wafers, indicating which item is suitable for which application. Furthermore, lasers not only cut into a wafer's surface but also re-arrange the surface particles, creating marks that are easily readable despite being minutely shallow.
• Semiconductor lasers have become more important in modern life, with several uses in industry, communication, and the military. Furthermore, the emergence of new use cases is driving further investments in the studied market. For instance, in February 2022, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) submitted proposals for scalable, high-energy laser (HEL) technologies to develop a novel era of laser combat systems. The planned five-year, USD 60 million Modular Efficient Laser Technology (MELT) effort removes all current technology development. It also plans to leverage cutting-edge semiconductor manufacturing processes, coherent beam combining, photonic integration, and three-dimensional (3D) connectivity and packaging. Such investments are expected to increase semiconductor demand across military and defense applications, contributing to market development.
• Increasing demand for semiconductor chips is also driving investments in manufacturing equipment worldwide, which in turn is creating a favorable market scenario for the growth of the studied market during the forecast period. For instance, according to Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI), the spending on semiconductor equipment in South Korea amounted to USD 24.98 billion, in Taiwan, to USD 24.94 billion, and in China, to USD 29.62 billion in 2021.
• However, high initial investment, complex procedures, technical knowledge, and skills are among the major factors expected to restrain the semiconductor laser equipment market's growth over the forecast period.
• The COVID-19 pandemic had a notable impact on the growth of the studied market as the widespread lockdown imposed across various countries significantly disrupted the semiconductor industry's supply chain, resulting in a slowdown in demand for related equipment. However, the pandemic-led growth in the adoption of digital technologies was expected to grow in the post-COVID period as well, driving the demand for semiconductor chips, which in turn will encourage the chip manufacturers to invest in equipment such as lasers to drive production, creating opportunities in the studied market.