Semicon measurement segment tops industry growth

Historically, sales of process control tools have mirrored sales of the entire front-end equipment market. Prior to 2003, metrology/inspection sales outperformed the overall front-end equipment market in six out of eight years.

The semiconductor metrology/inspection equipment market grew 24.8 percent last year while overall semiconductor equipment grew only 9.3 percent.

In 2006, metrology/inspection revenues grew 14.5 percent compared to 23.2 percent for the total front-end equipment sector. In 2007, metrology/inspection revenues grew 8.4 percent compared to 10.6 percent for the total front-end equipment sector. In 2008, metrology/inspection revenues decreased 19.3 percent while the total front-end equipment sector decreased 33 percent. In 2009, metrology/inspection revenues decreased 46.3 percent while the total front-end equipment sector decreased 42.4 percent.

Semiconductor yields reached a level that sampling of wafers was relaxed in 2006, as end users (semiconductor manufacturers) found ways to minimize capital expenditures. Last year, the top three metrology/inspection suppliers were KLA-Tencor, Hitachi High Tech and Applied Materials.