Lithography Metrology Equipment Market Outlook - 2026
Lithography is a process in which a pattern from a photomask is transferred to the surface of the wafer. During the lithography process, the wafer gets exposed to ultraviolet laser beam, in which the ultraviolet laser beam passes through photomask layer without a pattern and is irradiated onto photoresist on a wafer. Metrology is essential to control, optimize, and ensure the highest yield in semiconductor manufacturing processes. The lithography metrology equipment has created growth avenues in the semiconductor industry due to its high adoption rates globally.
The global lithography metrology equipment market was valued at $382.6 million in 2018, and is projected to reach $681.4 million by 2026, registering a CAGR of 7.2% from 2019 to 2026.
North America is one of the key contributors to the wafer lithography metrology equipment market, owing to technological advancements, innovations, and investments in the respective industry. Wide acceptance and usage of semiconductor chips and ICs across North America is due to increase in need for smart technologies and devices. The growth in analysis of large internet-enabled data sets, advancements in sensory technologies, and increase in applications of autonomous devices are expected to boost the growth of the lithography metrology equipment market in the region.
By Ens User
OCD segment is projected as the most lucrative segment
Growth in the semiconductor industry, paired with rise in trends in data processing and power transmission propels the market growth of the U.S. lithography metrology equipment market. The U.S. is the fastest adopter of lithography metrology equipment technology, owing to which the growth of consumer electronics device, upcoming automobile technology such as electric & hybrid vehicles, healthcare monitoring systems, and others is high. Furthermore, increase in disposable income of the people in the U.S. drives the sales of the equipped wafers, chips, and ICs, which further propels the growth of the lithography metrology equipment market in the region. U.S. has the presence of companies such as Sensera, Microchip, Intel, Maxim, and others, which makes it a lucrative lithography metrology equipment market trends.
By Region
Asia Pacific region would exhibit the highest CAGR of 7.7% during 2018-2025.
According to the lithography metrology equipment market analysis, lithography metrology equipment is used for various factors such as critical dimension measurement, imaging of wafer patterns using photoresist, defect analysis, pattern process development, and material screening. A major restraint, which affects the lithography metrology market is rapid advancement of patterning technology, which increases its overall cost.
The key factors that drive the growth of the lithography metrology equipment industry includes high demand for miniaturized electronic devices, increase in trends toward Internet of Things, and development in wafer size trends. However, high operational & maintenance cost of metrology equipment and metrology challenges prevailing for complex IC devices hampers the market growth to a certain extent. Furthermore, increase in advancements in advanced metrology techniques offers lucrative opportunities for the lithography metrology equipment market growth globally.
SEGMENTATION
The lithography metrology equipment market size is categorized on the basis of technology, product, application, and region. Depending on technology, the market is classified into critical-dimension scanning electron microscope (CD-SEM), optical critical dimension metrology (OCD), overlay control, and others. By product, the market is analyzed across chemical control equipment, gas control equipment, and others. By application, the market comprises of quality control & inspection, reverse engineering, virtual simulation, and others. Based on region, the market is studied across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA, along with its prominent countries.
The key players profiled in the lithography metrology equipment market include Hitachi High Technologies Corporation, ASML, Advantest Corporation, KLA-Corporation, NOVA, Nanometrics, Mikon Metrology NV, Canon Inc., Tokyo Electron Limited, and Applied Materials Inc.
These key players adopt several strategies such as, new product launch and development, acquisition, partnership, collaboration, and business expansion to increase the lithography metrology equipment market share during the forecast period.
TOP IMPACTING FACTORS
The factors such as high demand for miniaturized electronic devices, increase in trends toward Internet of Things (IoT), growth in the semiconductor industry, problems regarding metrology challenges for complex ICs, and emerging trends toward increase in investment in wafer fabrication equipment and materials are expected to significantly affect the growth of the global lithography metrology equipment market size. These factors are anticipated to either drive or hamper the lithography metrology equipment growth.
High demand for miniaturized electronic devices
Miniaturized electronic devices are experiencing growth in the semiconductor industry due to rise in demand for high-performance electronics. Furthermore, increase in demand for enhanced consumer electronics fuels the requirement of flexible and compact integrated circuits. Moreover, rise in developments of technologies such as RFID, MEMS devices, and other power devices boost the demand for thin wafers. For instance, wafer backgrinding process is utilized to reduce the thickness of wafers from 750 μm to around 75-50 μm. Thin wafers help in reducing the thickness of packages, especially for smartphones, handheld devices, and compact electronic products. For these emerging applications in technology that use very thin and ultra-thin die, create huge demand for miniaturized electronic devices and further assist in the growth of lithography metrology equipment market share globally.
Metrology challenges for complex IC devices
One of the major factors that hinders the growth of the lithography metrology equipment market is design complexity of integrated circuits in semiconductor wafers. Generally, microprocessors and microcontrollers contain many transistors and lengthy copper lines in the design of integrated circuits and semiconductor wafers. In addition, transistors should be highly reliable, which involves various designs and patterns to enhance its operational efficiency. The design chain of ICs and semiconductor wafers used in industry verticals such as automotive, healthcare, and aerospace & defense are more complex than ICs used in electronics, mobile phones, and others. This makes the design of highly reliable and enhanced ICs a difficult task for the metrology process and acts as a major barrier for the lithography metrology equipment market.
Increase in investment in wafer fabrication equipment and materials
There is an increase in trend toward growing investments in wafer fabrication equipment and materials, which provides lucrative growth opportunities for the semiconductor industry. Governments of various developing regions such as South Korea, Taiwan, and China are setting up regulations to uplift the semiconductor industry by adopting strategies such as business expansion, acquisition, and various product launches. For instance, Shanghai Jita Semiconductor, a subsidiary of Huada Semiconductor and China Electronics Corporation (CEC), announced to build both 200 mm and 300 mm semiconductor fabs for analog and power semiconductors in Shanghai from 2019. The combined fab investment will total up to $5.18 billion. In addition, Hamamatsu, a semiconductor company based in Japan announced that it is building a new facility investment of 2.8 billion Yen (US$25 million) to boost the semiconductor capacity in the country. All these investments drive the demand for wafers, IC’s, and chips markets, which in turn creates lucrative lithography metrology equipment market opportunity for wafer fabrication process and lithography metrology.
Key Benefits for Lithography Metrology Equipment Market:
- This study includes the analytical depiction of the global lithography metrology equipment market forecast along with the current trends and future estimations to determine the imminent investment pockets.
- The report presents information regarding the key drivers, restraints, and opportunities in the lithography metrology equipment market.
- The lithography metrology equipment market growth is quantitatively analyzed from 2019 to 2026 to highlight the financial competency of the industry.
- Porter’s five forces analysis illustrates the potency of the buyers and suppliers in the industry.
Lithography Metrology Equipment Market, by Technology Report Highlights
| Aspects | Details |
 By Technology |
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 By Product |
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 By Process |
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 By Application |
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 By Region |
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 Key Market Players | APPLIED MATERIALS, INC., NOVA MEASURING INSTRUMENTS LTD., KLA CORPORATION, ASML HOLDING N.V., TOKYO ELECTRON LTD., NIKON METROLOGY NV, ADVANTEST CORPORATION, CANON, INC., NANOMETRICS INCORPORATED, HITACHI HIGH-TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION |
Analyst Review
The lithography metrology market is highly competitive, owing to the strong presence of the existing vendors. Lithography metrology equipment vendors, who have access to extensive technical and financial resources are anticipated to gain a competitive edge over their rivals, as they have the capacity to cater to the global market requirements. The competitive environment in this market is expected to further intensify with increase in technological innovations, product extensions, and different strategies adopted by the key vendors.
Lithography metrology equipment are used for various factors such as critical dimension measurement, imaging of wafer patterns using photoresist, defect analysis, pattern process development, and material screening. A major restraint, which affects the lithography metrology market is rapid advancement of patterning technology, which increases its overall cost.
Photolithography is a critical role in the modern semiconductor industry and is being adopted in various industry verticals globally. Photolithography is a critical process in semiconductor manufacturing. It defines the line dimensions in semiconductor wafer before etching, therefore dominating the pattern resolution. There are several serial steps in the scanner including coating photoresist, soft baking, exposure, post bake, development, and hard bake. After finishing the process in the scanner, the wafer is then sent to strip and etch.
The key players profiled in the lithography metrology equipment market include Hitachi High Technologies Corporation, ASML, Advantest Corporation, KLA-Corporation, NOVA, Nanometrics, Mikon Metrology NV, Canon Inc., Tokyo Electron Limited, and Applied Materials Inc.
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