Strong Semiconductor Industry Growth Set to Continue as Artificial Intelligence Adds to Demand

Tuesday 4 October 2022, Amsterdam

The semiconductor industry can expect to grow. Although 2019-2020 were relatively weak year, the semiconductor market is expected to recover in 2022 and continue to thrive. Memory chips are expected to maintain their market dominance through 2022. Every application market is expected to grow through 2022, led by the automotive and data processing markets. Demand for AI-related chips will most likely lift these segments. With new start-ups and entrants from other parts of the tech world joining the fray, the race to capture the market is heating up.

Semiconductor Demand Has and Will Continue to Vary Depending on the Industry
According to general consensus, semiconductor demand has and will continue to vary depending on the industry. For instance, consumer spending has decreased overall as a result of financial concerns, which has resulted in lower-than-normal semiconductor demand for consumer electronics, which holds a significant market share. On the other hand, the rise in illnesses has increased the demand for semiconductors in medical equipment. The semiconductor industry, like many others, has discovered that it needs to make operational changes in order to survive, adjusting production to the virus's effects. Despite the numerous difficulties the global pandemic has brought the semiconductor industry, it is anticipated that the sector will recover, albeit slowly and steadily. Whether the virus can be contained will determine everything, but there seems to be cause for optimism.

How has COVID-19 had a significant negative impact on the Microelectronics Semiconductor Packaging (MIPAC) Market?
The COVID-19 outbreak primarily affected Asia at its beginning, but since many component manufacturers are there as well, it immediately had an impact. Many of these manufacturers had to completely stop production early in the outbreak, and this, combined with travel restrictions around the world, led to some serious supply problems.

The full effects of COVID-19 are still unknown, but they are expected to be significant across the entire electronics value chain, from raw materials to finished goods. The COVID-19 initiative challenges the semiconductor industry to think about changing its current global supply chain model in light of the potential risks and vulnerability of the electronics and semiconductor value chain of today. COVID-19 may turn out to be the "black swan" event that compels the semiconductor industry to radically re-evaluate its risks and weak points.

Production appears to have mostly resumed, though, and supply chain shortage worries aren't quite as dire as they were earlier. However, given that production must proceed at a slower rate, many component manufacturers are currently required to implement social distancing measures. As a result, overall output for the year will still be lower than usual.

Modern Advances in Electronic Packaging
The IC packaging that connects the chip to the rest of the system is typically bulky and expensive, limiting both the IC's performance and reliability. Furthermore, system packaging, which connects components on a circuit board, is bulky and expensive, limiting electrical and mechanical performance. To address these concerns, current trends in electronic packaging technology can be divided into two groups: high performance system packaging and mobile platform packaging. Portable and wireless products such as cellular phones, which require portability and low cost, are driving the quest for small, better integrated packaging.

Increased demand for 3D semiconductor packaging is anticipated to be fueled
Increased demand for 3D semiconductor packaging is anticipated to be fueled by reasons such as rising sales of electric vehicles, increasing wearable and portable electronics technology, and the need for packaging for ambient RF. A few of the key factors propelling the growth of the 3D semiconductor packaging market are the demand for ICs with high speed, high integration, and low power consumption, as well as the quick development of electronics technology such as AI, Cloud computing, integration of advanced information technology of automobiles, and the miniaturization of electronic devices for smart phone and wearable device applications. In comparison to other cutting-edge packaging technologies, 3D semiconductor packaging has a number of advantages, including greater performance, reduced power loss, and low space usage. Among all cutting-edge packaging technologies, 3D semiconductor packaging stands out as a useful option thanks to its increased efficiency.

 

Automotive Semiconductors Are Presenting Opportunities
Although the primary market for semiconductor businesses is and will continue to be mobile, overall growth has been slowed for a while. The automotive semiconductor industry is the sole exception, where demand is high due to the increasing number of electronic components being added to cars, such as ADAS and in-vehicle entertainment (IVI), which is turning into a significant growth area for semiconductor firms.

The number of semiconductors in a vehicle varies depending on the make and model, trim level, environmental concerns, and regional government regulations. However, the trickle-down effect of technology in automobiles is having a greater impact than anticipated in past. Sophisticated electronic systems, which were once the exclusive domain of luxury-class vehicles, are now more common in mid-range and lower-priced automobiles.

The Semiconductor Industry Is Being Digitised
Since its inception, the semiconductor industry has been a pioneer in digitization, offering digital services and pursuing new digital business models. Other industries, most notably automotive, have clearly outpaced the semiconductor industry in terms of digitization. This is ironic, given that the semiconductor industry's products have largely supported automakers' success in digitization. It is now more important than ever for semiconductor companies to consider how to best leverage digitization and which options make the most sense for their organisations.