Continuous Technological Development Drives the World Wafers Markets

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Increasing consumer electronics sales and the move toward larger wafer diameters currently drives the world wafers markets. The increased buying power of consumers in the Asian region as well as an increased interest in feature-rich products fuels the demand of consumer electronics products.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (http://www.semiconductor.frost.com), World Wafers Markets, reveals that the silicon wafer market earned revenues of $8.61 billion in 2006 and estimates this to reach $12.28 billion in 2010.

If you are interested in a virtual brochure, which provides manufacturers, end users, and other industry participants with an overview of the World Wafers Markets, then send an e-mail to Ravinder Kaur/ Nimisha Iyer, Corporate Communications, at ravinder.kaur@frost.com/ niyer@frost.com with your full name, company name, title, telephone number, fax number, and e-mail address. Upon receipt of the above information, an overview will be sent to you by e-mail.

"Consumer electronic products such as PDAs, notebooks, mobile phones, LCD displays and DVD players are increasingly incorporating silicon, silicon on insulator (SOI), and compound semiconductor-based devices in them, which in turn, contributes to the revenue growth of the world wafers markets," says Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Jagadeesh Sampath. "A key trend in this market is the growth instigated by solar application. Currently, in terms of revenues, the contribution of solar application is very little but, in terms of growth, it has very high potential."

The Asia Pacific region, especially China, has the potential to become the major mass producer of silicon wafers and chips. Other regions such as North America, Japan, and Europe expect to witness huge competition from the Asia Pacific region during the forecast period and beyond.

Recently, the world wafers markets have witnessed a shortage in bulk material, which has led to a steep increase in the price of raw material in the last two years. The raw material prices for silicon wafers went up from $20 per kg to $250 per kg, which has resulted in wafer manufacturers increasing the wafer prices for all diameters.

"Also, international pricing of germanium (Ge) has been the major factor contributing to the very high cost of Ge wafers; from $570 to $590 per kg in 2006 it is expected to increase to $620 to $650 per kg during the forecast period," explains Sampath. "Therefore, as the raw material price goes up, the pricing of Ge wafers is expected to shoot up significantly thus hindering revenue growth."

However, the world wafers markets will benefit from growing consumer interest toward the latest generation of game consoles. The microprocessors utilized in the latest gaming devices such as PS3 and Xbox360 use SOI wafer technology. Given that SOI technology offers high efficiency for advanced high performance gaming applications, this technology has great potential for market growth.

World Wafers Markets is part of the Semiconductor Subscription, which also includes research in the following markets: strategic analysis of world power management ICs market, world discrete power semiconductor market, world display driver IC market, world VLSI design services market, Asian semiconductor packaging and manufacturing market. All research included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends that have been evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants. Interviews are available to the press.

Frost & Sullivan, a global growth consulting company, has been partnering with clients to support the development of innovative strategies for more than 40 years. The company's industry expertise integrates growth consulting, growth partnership services, and corporate management training to identify and develop opportunities. Frost & Sullivan serves an extensive clientele that includes Global 1000 companies, emerging companies, and the investment community by providing comprehensive industry coverage that reflects a unique global perspective and combines ongoing analysis of markets, technologies, econometrics, and demographics. For more information, visit http://www.frost.com.

World Wafers Markets
N1CB

Contact:

Ravinder Kaur
Corporate Communications - South Asia, Middle East
+91 (044) 4204 4515
ravinder.kaur@frost.com

Nimisha Iyer
Corporate Communications - South Asia & Middle East
+91 (022) 4001 3400
niyer@frost.com

Sara Villarruel
Corporate Communications - North America
+1 210 477 8448
sara.villarruel@frost.com

Michael Banks
Corporate Communications - Europe
+44 (0)20 7915 7876
michael.banks@frost.com

Source: Frost & Sullivan (Business Wire India)

Press release presented here is sourced from the Source mentioned above and is provided on as-is basis. Please contact the Company / Source directly for any further information in regard to this release. This website will be unable to assist you in regard to the accuracy or correctness of information in this release.