How should the market prospects of silicon wafer manufacturers be analyzed?

The market prospects of silicon wafer manufacturers are characterized by both opportunities and challenges, which can be analyzed from the following aspects:

Opportunity

The growth of downstream demand

In the semiconductor field: With the development of emerging technologies such as 5G communication, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things, the demand for various semiconductor chips continues to increase. As a fundamental material for semiconductor chip manufacturing, the market demand for silicon wafers will also increase accordingly. For instance, products such as smart phones, PCS, and servers are constantly evolving towards high performance and miniaturization, which requires a large number of high-performance logic devices, DRAM memory, and CMOS image sensors, all of which cannot do without silicon wafers.

In the photovoltaic field: The global demand for clean energy is increasing day by day, which has driven the rapid development of the solar photovoltaic industry. Silicon wafers are the core raw materials for solar cells. With the continuous advancement of distributed photovoltaic and large-scale ground-mounted power station projects, the market demand for solar silicon wafers will further expand. Especially large-sized silicon wafers and N-type silicon wafers, with their high power output and low cost advantages, have seen their market share continue to rise by 9%.

Technological innovation drives 1

The trend of larger size: In the manufacturing of integrated circuits, the application of large-sized monocrystalline silicon wafers is becoming increasingly common. For instance, the application of 12-inch wafers in advanced processes is constantly expanding, and the research and development of 450mm wafers is also continuously advancing. Larger-sized silicon wafers can produce more chips on a single silicon wafer, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost per chip and meeting the market demand for low-cost and high-performance chips.

The demand for special processes is growing: The demand for special process silicon wafers such as SOI silicon wafers and epitaxial wafers is constantly increasing. These silicon wafers have unique performance advantages in fields such as radio frequency and power devices. With the development of related fields, they will bring new market growth points to silicon wafer manufacturers.

Policy support 7

The semiconductor industry: Governments around the world are increasingly attaching importance to the semiconductor industry and have successively introduced policies to support its development, including providing financial funds, tax reduction and exemption, and preferential loans. This will help silicon wafer manufacturers obtain more resources and support in terms of technological research and development and capacity expansion.

The photovoltaic industry: Many countries and regions have encouraged the development of the photovoltaic industry by formulating tax incentives, financial subsidies and other policy measures, promoting competition and progress in the photovoltaic silicon wafer industry, and providing a favorable policy environment for silicon wafer manufacturers.

Challenge

The market competition is fierce.

High industry concentration: The global semiconductor silicon wafer market has a relatively high concentration. Companies such as Shin-Etsu Chemical of Japan, SUMCO, and GlobalWafers of Taiwan, China, occupy the majority of the global market share. These enterprises, relying on their advanced technologies, vast production capacity, and extensive customer resources, hold an advantageous position in market competition. Although Chinese semiconductor silicon wafer enterprises have developed rapidly in recent years, their overall market share is still relatively low and they are facing considerable competitive pressure.

Price competition: In the field of photovoltaic silicon wafers, China, as a globally significant producer, holds a dominant position in both output and capacity. The competition among domestic enterprises is particularly fierce. With the intensification of market competition, the price of silicon wafers has shown a fluctuating downward trend, compressing the profit margins of enterprises. Some enterprises lacking cost advantages and technological competitiveness will face the risk of being eliminated.

Raw material supply and price fluctuations: The main raw material for silicon wafer production is polycrystalline silicon. The supply situation and price fluctuations of polycrystalline silicon will have an impact on the production costs and supply stability of silicon wafer manufacturers. If the supply of raw materials is tight or their prices rise sharply, it will increase the production costs of silicon wafer manufacturers and reduce the profitability of enterprises. Conversely, if there is an oversupply of raw materials or their prices fall, it may also lead to intensified price competition in the silicon wafer market.

Environmental protection requirements increase 7: As global attention to environmental protection issues continues to rise, the silicon wafer industry will face more stringent environmental protection regulations and standards. Silicon wafer manufacturers need to adopt environmentally friendly production processes and technologies to reduce pollution and emissions and improve resource utilization efficiency. This will increase the production costs and technological investment of enterprises.