Industry news

Silicon wafer sales boom, says Gartner

Worldwide revenue for silicon wafer shot up by nearly one quarter (22.5 per cent) last year compared to 2006, one analyst has said.

Gartner revealed sales in the sector totalled $12.5 billion in 2007, up $2.3 billion from the year before.

Takashi Ogawa, research vice president for the analyst's semiconductor manufacturing research group, said the rise was due to two factors: a rise in demand for 300mm wafers and the general benefit of high water prices.

"In contrast to 300 mm wafer demand, the 200 mm segment — in which shipments reached a high in 2006 — showed clear signs of deceleration during and after the second quarter. Shipments fell to 5.4 million wafers per month in the fourth quarter," he added.

The report revealed the highest acceleration of growth was seen in the Asia/Pacific region, which experienced a growth of more than 40 per cent.

It was suggested earlier this week by ABI Research that Bluetooth-enabled equipment will boom in the next five years.

The analyst revealed the total number of Bluetooth sales will reach 2.4 billion units in 2013.