August 14, 2012 -- Worldwide silicon wafer area shipments for semiconductors increased during Q2 2012, compared to Q1 and to Q2 2011, reports SEMI’s Silicon Manufacturers Group (SMG).

Total silicon wafer area shipments were 2,447 million square inches (MSI) in Q2, up 20% from the 2,033 million square inches shipped during Q1. The shipment figure edged out Q2 2011 numbers, up 2% year over year.

The sequential and annual growth was expected, said Dr. Bruce Kellerman, chairman of SEMI SMG and senior director of Semiconductor Product Marketing at MEMC. "Given the ongoing market uncertainties and challenges, the overall wafer demand for 2012 is expected to be relatively flat compared to 2011."

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Table. Quarterly silicon area shipment trends. Shipments are for semiconductor applications only and do not include solar applications.

Silicon wafers are the fundamental building material for semiconductors. All data cited in this release is inclusive of polished silicon wafers, including virgin test wafers, epitaxial silicon wafers, and non-polished silicon wafers shipped by the wafer manufacturers to the end-users.

The Silicon Manufacturers Group acts as an independent special interest group within the SEMI structure and is open to SEMI members involved in manufacturing polycrystalline silicon, monocrystalline silicon or silicon wafers (e.g., as cut, polished, epi, etc.). The purpose of the group is to facilitate collective efforts on issues related to the silicon industry including the development of market information and statistics about the silicon industry and the semiconductor market. SEMI is a global industry association serving the nano- and microelectronics manufacturing supply chains. For more information on SEMI, visit www.semi.org.

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