May 7, 2012 -- Sales of semiconductor probe cards grew 17% in 2011, reaching $1.17 billion, VLSIresearch reports. While short of a record (2007 saw $1.36 billion), 2011 was one of the probe card sector’s best, and it saw a new leader knock FormFactor Inc. out of the #1 spot. The outlook is for sales to be flat in 2012.
Memory-application probe cards saw 21% sales growth; the non-memory lines grew 16%.
Wafer testers continue to choose advanced, or vertical, probe cards over cantilever probe cards -- advanced probe cards took 6 percentage points of market share in the year to 77% in 2011 (by revenues). Advanced probe cards for non-memory applications saw 32% growth.
The big change in this year’s ranking for probe card suppliers was the promotion of Micronics Japan to number one. FormFactor had held the top spot for ten years in a row. There were no changes to the 3rd, 4th and 5th positions, although Microprobe continued to close the gap on 3rd placed JEM and Technoprobe held onto 5th despite a strong challenge from 6th place TSE Co.
| Table. Top 5 semiconductor probe card vendors 2011.(Excludes service and spares) |
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Company |
Rank 2010 |
Rank 2011 |
Revenues 2011 ($M) |
Micronics Japan Co., Ltd (MJC) |
2 |
1 |
242 |
FormFactor |
1 |
2 |
162 |
JEM: Japan Electronic Materials |
3 |
3 |
130 |
Microprobe |
4 |
4 |
84 |
Technoprobe |
5 |
5 |
67 |
Copyright 2012 VLSI Research Inc. All rights reserved |
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Over the next five years, probe card revenue will grow steadily, in the face of severe pricing pressure. VLSIresearch projects that the semiconductor probe card market will reach $1.5 billion by 2016.
VLSIresearch inc provides market research and economic analysis on the technical, business, and economic aspects within nanotechnology and related industries. Website: http://www.vlsiresearch.com.
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