Test consumable suppliers are getting revenue boosts from multiple drivers

Yole Intelligence, part of Yole Group, has developed comprehensive and in-depth semiconductor manufacturing expertise for over 20+ years. Throughout the year, analysts systematically investigate the industry and deliver their analyses in an extensive collection of technology and market reports, monitors, and teardowns… More information.

Because of the huge semiconductor industry growth and the serious issues relating to semiconductor testing spreads over all segments – from MEMS to power electronics, including imaging, memory, and much more – Yole Intelligence has expanded its expertise and offers today a dedicated product entirely focused on the semiconductor test equipment industry: the new quarterly market monitor, Semiconductor Test Market Monitor.

The Semiconductor Test Market Monitor highlights three areas of the semiconductor testing equipment: probe cards, burn-in and test sockets, and advanced PCBs in three dedicated Modules. With this new product, the consulting firm specializing in the strategic analysis of markets, the supply chain, and technological developments offers a unique, comprehensive, and up-to-date coverage of the semiconductor test ecosystem. This new monitor is an opportunity to get a deep understanding of the industry’s evolution with near-term market dynamics on a quarterly basis through to Q4-2023 and long-term market dynamics for 2021-2027, including the leading semiconductor companies’ strategies. Furthermore, it identifies and evaluates the emerging technologies and market trends underlying them.

One of the key drivers for this growth is the shift to 3-D stacked die and package stacking solutions where the die and packages must pass more rigorous tests. Verification is costly and time-consuming, so the industry must find novel ways to solve these problems. Still, for now, the underlying demand and cost pressure is upward, resulting in strong test consumables sales… Yole Intelligence delivers key market evolution and figures related to this market segment within Module I, Probe Cards Market Overview.
Suppliers of probe cards grew sales for the seventh year in a row, easily breaking through the US$2.5 billion mark in 2021. The past two years saw them grow 21% and 19%, respectively, and a conservative forecast gets them into double-digit growth territory again for 2022. A supercharged semiconductor industry has helped grow probe card revenues but does not explain everything. The rapid rise of larger dies with finer contact pitches and the explosion in demand for RF devices are just two examples of applications where probe card revenue growth outstrips the revenue growth of the devices tested.
The top 5 suppliers’ market share has been stable at 69% in recent years but shows signs of decline as multiple smaller companies gain traction in the market for MEMS probe cards. This is a significant moment proving that small suppliers can break through the MEMS technology barrier and win new customers.

From the test sockets side, the shift of system-level testing out of the laboratory and onto the test floor is proving to be a sustainable market driver. Four years of double-digit growth mean that US$265 million worth of test sockets are now sold into this market annually, explains Yole Intelligence, in Module III, Burn-In and Test Sockets, and the projection is for sales to grow at a CAGR of 14% over the next five years to reach a value of US$630 million by 2027.

Finally, in Module II, Yole Intelligence’s analysts investigate the advanced PCB market. Demand for advanced PCBs for semiconductor testing surged unexpectedly in 2021. This market typically grows at low single-digit rates, so it was a surprise to see a 19% jump in sales. A wide range of factors appear to be in play, but a step-change in board complexity that impacts both design and manufacturing costs seems to be the main driver. The demand is forecast to return to single-digit growth rates at the newly elevated level over the long term. The major suppliers in this highly fragmented market are TSE, CHPT, and R&D Altanova.

Yole Intelligence’s semiconductor subsystems and testing team invites you to follow the industry on www.yolegroup.com. Stay tuned!