New Tripoli, Pennsylvania--The semiconductor industry's rush to build 300mm fabs for first silicon in 2002 will spur sales of 300mm processing tools to $11 billion in 2001, according to a recently published report, 'The Global Market for Equipment and Materials in IC Manufacturing,' by The Information Network, a New Tripoli, Pennsylvania-based market research company. The market includes tools for CMP, CVD, PVD, etch, implant, lithography, metrology, resist track, RTP/diffusion, and strip/clean.

"In 2001, 300mm equipment will be ordered for new fabs by semiconductor manufacturers that include Elpida, Mosel Vitelic, UMC, and two TSMC fabs--translating to explosive orders for 300mm processing equipment," says Dr. Robert N. Castellano, president of The Information Network. "Some of this equipment will include bridge tools, able to process 200mm and 300mm wafers."

Companies expected to reap the rewards of the 300mm tool sales, according to the report, include Applied Materials, ASM International, ASM Lithography, Canon, KLA-Tencor, Lam Research, Nikon, Novellus, Tokyo Electron, and Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates.

"We're a year and a half into the current up-cycle," adds Castellano. "We see 2001 as another strong growth year, with growth of 45%. Inventory correction will primarily impact the computer and DRAM industry for a few quarters, but the communications and consumer sectors are still exhibiting solid growth. Unfortunately, negative press about the PC market does not consider that PC growth of 23.5% in 1999 was the highest it had been since 1995. Our projection for PC growth of 16.9% for 2001 will result in 157.8 million units sold. Growing worldwide demand for Internet bandwidth will continue and result in a greater need for networking and fiber optics equipment, requiring large amounts of semiconductors."