Semiconductor industry explained

The semiconductor industry is the aggregate of companies engaged in the design and fabrication of semiconductors and semiconductor devices, such as transistors and integrated circuits. It formed around 1960, once the fabrication of semiconductor devices became a viable business. The industry's annual semiconductor sales revenue has since grown to over, as of 2018.

The semiconductor industry is in turn the driving force behind the wider electronics industry,^[1] with annual power electronics sales of £135billion as of 2011,^[2] annual consumer electronics sales expected to reach by 2020,^[3] tech industry sales expected to reach in 2019,^[4] and e-commerce with over in 2017.^[5] In 2019, 32.4% of the semiconductor market segment was for networks and communications devices.^[6]

In 2021, the sales of semiconductors reached a record $555.9 billion, up 26.2 percent, with sales in China reaching $192.5 billion, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association. A record 1.15 trillion semiconductor units were shipped in the calendar year.^[7] The semiconductor industry is projected to reach $726.73 billion by 2027.^[8]

Industry structure

The global semiconductor industry is dominated by companies from the United States, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan and the Netherlands, with Israel and Germany having significant presence in the field.^[9]

Unique features of the industry include continuous growth but in a cyclical pattern with high volatility. While the current 20-year annual average growth of the semiconductor industry is on the order of 13%, this has been accompanied by equally above-average market volatility, which can lead to significant if not dramatic cyclical swings. This has required the need for high degrees of flexibility and innovation in order to constantly adjust to the rapid pace of change in the market as many products embedding semiconductor devices often have a very short life cycle.

At the same time, the rate of constant price-performance improvement in the semiconductor industry is staggering. As a consequence, changes in the semiconductor market not only occur extremely rapidly but also anticipate changes in industries evolving at a slower pace. The semiconductor industry is widely recognized as a key driver and technology enabler for the whole electronics value chain.^[10]

The industry is based on the foundry model, which consists of semiconductor fabrication plants (foundries) and integrated circuit design operations, each belonging to separate companies or subsidiaries. Some companies, known as integrated device manufacturers, both design and manufacture semiconductors. The foundry model has resulted in consolidation among foundries. As of 2021, only three firms are able to manufacture the most advanced semiconductors: TSMC of Taiwan, Samsung of South Korea, and Intel of the United States.^[11] Part of this is due to the high capital costs of building foundries. TSMC's latest factory, capable of fabricating 3 nm process semiconductors and completed in 2020, cost $19.5 billion.^[11]

Intel is considering outsourcing some production to TSMC. It currently can only produce 10 nm semiconductors, while TSMC and Samsung can both produce 5 nm.^[11] GlobalFoundries, an American-headquartered firm, uses a 12 nm process for its most advanced chips due to the rapidly increasing development costs of smaller process nodes.^[12]

Semiconductor sales

Sales revenue

Annual semiconductor sales (19872018)! Year! Revenue (nominal)! Revenue (inflation)! 2022 $601,694,000,000 ^[13] 2021 $594,952,000,000 2020 $466,237,000,000 ^[14] 2019 $422,237,000,000 2018 $481,090,000,000 ^[15] 2017 $420,390,000,000 2016 $345,850,000,000 2015 $335,170,000,000 ^[16] 2014 $335,840,000,000 2013 $305,580,000,000 2012 $291,560,000,000 2011 $299,520,000,000 2010 $298,320,000,000 2009 $226,310,000,000 2008 $280,000,000,000 2007 $255,600,000,000 ^[17] 2006 $247,700,000,000 2005 $227,000,000,000 2004 $213,000,000,000 2000 $204,000,000,000 1995 $144,000,000,000 1992 $60,000,000,000 1990 $51,000,000,000 1987 $33,000,000,000

2017 sales breakdown Industry sector data-sort-type="number" Revenue Market share Memory $124 billion % ^[18] Logic $102.2 billion % Microprocessor $63.9 billion % Power semiconductors $36.8 billion % ^[19] Total $420.39 billion 100% 2008 sales breakdown Semiconductor type data-sort-type="number" Revenue data-sort-type="number" Market share Integrated circuit chip $250 billion % ^[20] Compound semiconductors $20 billion % Power transistors $10 billion % ^[21] Total 100%

Market share

Microprocessor market share (2022)^[22] ! Industry sector! Market share

Computer and peripheral equipment	32.3%
Consumer electronics	21.2%
Telecommunications equipment	16.5%
Industrial electronics	14.3%
Defense and space industry	11.5%
Transportation technology	4.2%

Largest companies

Largest semiconductor companies (annual semiconductor sales leaders)

Rank	2021^[23]	2020^[24]	2018^[25]	2017	2011^[26]	2006^[27]	2000	1995	1992^[28]	1990	1986^[29]	1985	1975
1	Samsung	Intel	Samsung	Samsung	Intel	Intel	Intel	Intel	NEC	NEC	NEC	NEC	TI
2	Intel	Samsung	Intel	Intel	Samsung	Samsung	Toshiba	NEC	Toshiba	Toshiba	Toshiba	TI	Motorola
3	SK Hynix	TSMC	SK Hynix	TSMC	TSMC	TI	NEC	Toshiba	Intel	Hitachi	Hitachi	Motorola	Philips
4	Micron	SK Hynix	TSMC	SK Hynix	TI	Toshiba	Samsung	Hitachi	Motorola	Intel		Hitachi
5	Qualcomm	Micron	Micron	Micron	Toshiba	ST	TI	Motorola	Hitachi	Motorola		Toshiba
6	Nvidia	Qualcomm	Broadcom	Broadcom	Renesas	Renesas	Motorola	Samsung	TI	Fujitsu		Fujitsu
7	Broadcom	Broadcom	Qualcomm	Qualcomm	Qualcomm	Hynix	ST	TI		Mitsubishi		Philips
8	TI	Nvidia	Toshiba	TI	ST	Freescale	Hitachi	IBM	Mitsubishi	TI		Intel
9	Mediatek	TI	TI	Toshiba	Hynix	NXP	Infineon	Mitsubishi		Philips		National
10	AMD	Infineon	Nvidia	Nvidia	Micron	NEC	Philips	Hyundai		Panasonic		Panasonic

Major semiconductor companies!Name!Country!Manufacturer type^[30] !Hardware products

Samsung Electronics		IDM	NAND flash memory, DRAM, CMOS sensor, RF transceivers, OLED display, SSD
Intel		IDM	x86-64 microprocessor, GPU, SSD, DRAM
TSMC		Pure-play
SK Hynix		IDM	flash memory, DRAM, SSD, CMOS sensor
Micron		IDM	DRAM, NAND flash, SSD, NOR flash, Managed NAND, multichip packages
Qualcomm		Fabless	RF module, digital signal processor, Snapdragon system on chip
Broadcom		Fabless	Broadband/Wi-Fi/Bluetooth modems, Custom DSP & ARM CPUs
Kioxia		IDM	NAND flash memory, SSD
Texas Instruments (TI)		IDM	Microcontroller, SoC, DSP, Amplifiers, data converters
Analog Devices		IDM	Amplifiers, data converters, audio & video products, RF & microwave, sensors, MEMS
Microchip		IDM	Microcontrollers and analog semiconductors
NXP		IDM	PMIC, Media processor, MIFARE, LPC
MediaTek		Fabless	SoC, chipset, CPU, GPU, DSP
Infineon		IDM	Microcontrollers and power semiconductor devices
Bosch		IDM
STMicroelectronics	/	IDM	ASIC, Microcontrollers
Sony		IDM	Active-pixel sensor, NAND flash memory
ARM		Fabless	Microprocessor
AMD		Fabless	x86-64 CPU, GPU, motherboard chipset, SDRAM
Nvidia		Fabless	GPU
ON Semiconductor		IDM
UMC		Pure-play
Apple		Fabless	Apple silicon
IBM		Fabless	IBM Power microprocessors, z/Architecture
Mitsubishi Electric		IDM	Power semiconductor devices
Tower Semiconductor		IDM
Xilinx		Fabless	programmable logic device
SMIC		Pure-play
Nordic Semiconductor		Fabless	Bluetooth, Wifi, Low Power Cellular
Semi-Conductor Laboratory		Pure-play	Power semiconductor devices, Microprocessors

Notes:

• Pure-play foundries They specialize in foundry services. They may or may not offer design services to third parties, as well as mask (photomask) making, semiconductor packaging and testing services, which can also be outsourced to other companies. An example is TSMC, which offers design, testing and packaging services, TCE photomasks, which offers only mask making services, and ChipMOS, which offers only packaging and testing services.
• IDMs (integrated device manufacturers) They may or may not offer foundry services.
• Fabless suppliers They do not offer foundry services. They may or may not offer design services to third parties.

Device shipments

Semiconductor devices (million manufactured units)^[31]

Year	data-sort-type="number"	Optoelectronics	data-sort-type="number"	Sensor / Actuator	MOSFET^[32]
19602001			2,900,000,000,000,000
2002	23,164	1,654
2003	28,955	2,482
2004	38,056	3,310
2005	44,675	4,137
2006^[33]	55,429	4,137
2007	67,839	4,136
2008	76,939	4,964
2009	91,003	4,964
2010	97,622	6,619
2011	110,031	8,273
2012	129,886	11,583
2013	131,541	14,064
20142015			,000,000,000,000
2016^[34] ^[35]
20172018
19602018	1,112,340+	87,699+	13,000,000,000,000,000

Integrated circuits

Integrated circuit chips (million manufactured units)

Year	data-sort-type="number"	MOS memory	data-sort-type="number"	MPU / MCU	data-sort-type="number"	Analog	data-sort-type="number"	Logic	data-sort-type="number"	ASIC	data-sort-type="number"	ASSP	data-sort-type="number"	Total
19601991		15,000					350,000^[36]
1992^[37]	3,706
1993	4,060
1994	4,938
1995	6,092
1996	6,206
1997	7,155^[38]						60,100^[39]
19981999
2000^[40]							89,100
2001
2002	9,100	6,619	24,819	11,582	2,482	23,992	78,594
2003	10,755	6,618	30,611	14,064	1,655	25,646	89,349
2004	13,237	9,100	33,092	14,064	1,654	33,092	104,239
2005	15,719	8,273	37,229	14,891	2,481	38,056	116,649
2006	18,201	10,755	43,020	18,200	2,482	45,501	141,600
2007	23,992	12,409	48,811	18,201	3,309	45,502	156,000
2008	25,646	12,410	49,639	18,200	1,655	47,156	154,706
2009	28,128	11,582	43,020	14,892	2,482	43,847	143,951
2010	33,919	16,546	57,084	19,028	1,654	57,911	189,800
2011	33,919	17,374	56,256	19,028	1,655	58,738	186,970
2012	34,747	17,373	57,084	17,373	1,655	57,083	185,315
2013	33,919	16,546	67,839	18,201	2,481	64,530	203,516
2014		18,600^[41]
2015		22,058^[42]					235,600
2016		21,174
2017		25,797					^[43]
2018
19602018	356,879+	274,298+	635,804+	249,852+	25,645+	541,054+	4,043,926+

Discrete devices

Discrete devices (million manufactured units)^[44]

Year	Discrete transistors			Diode	Total
	Power	Small-signal	Total
19541956^[45]			28		28+
1957			30		30+
19581962
1963			303		303+
19641965
1966^[46]					+
1967					+
1968					+
1969			1,249		1,249+
1970					+
1971			881		881+
19722001
2002					232,472
2003					245,708
2004					287,901
2005					290,382
2006					321,820
2007					356,566
2008					324,301
2009					289,555
2010	^[47]		+		371,458
2011	45,000	110,000		143,000
2012					345,812
2013	44,000	103,000		146,000	358,000
2014	48,000	109,000		154,000	380,000
2015	52,000	107,000		150,000	372,000
2016			53,300+
2017			58,100+		58,100+
2018	62,800		62,800+		62,800+
19542018	416,200+	429,000+	851,451+	593,000+	5,041,398+

Sales

Manufacturers headquartered in the following places are the sales leaders in the pure-play foundry, IDM (integrated device manufacturing), fabless manufacturing and OSAT (outsourced semiconductor assembly and testing) sectors of the industry.^[30]

Rank	Foundry	IDM	Fabless	OSAT
1
2
3
4
5

Manufacturers headquartered in the United States have fabrication plants across the world, including over 50% in the Americas, 39% in the Asia-Pacific region (including 9% in Japan), and 9% in Europe.^[30]

See also

• Electronic design automation
• List of EDA companies
• List of semiconductor fabrication plants
• Semiconductor consolidation
• Semiconductor device fabrication
• Semiconductor fabrication plant
• Semiconductor Industry Association
• Semiconductor industry in India
• Semiconductor industry in Taiwan
• Semiconductor industry in China
• Semiconductor industry in South Korea
• Transistor count

External links

• "The Silicon Age: Trends in Semiconductor Devices Industry", 2022

Notes and References

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6. 10.25103/jestr.151.14. 1791-2377. 15. 1. 110–115. Kamal. Kamal Y.. The Silicon Age: Trends in Semiconductor Devices Industry. Journal of Engineering Science and Technology Review. 2022-05-26. 2022. 249074588.
7. News: Kharpal . Arjun . Global semiconductor sales top half a trillion dollars for first time as chip production gets boost . . 2022-02-15 . 2022-02-15 .
8. 10.25103/jestr.151.14. 1791-2377. 15. 1. 110–115. Kamal. Kamal Y.. The Silicon Age: Trends in Semiconductor Devices Industry. Journal of Engineering Science and Technology Review. 2022-05-26. 2022. 249074588.
9. Web site: Semiconductor Manufacturing by Country 2024 . 2024-07-08 . worldpopulationreview.com.
10. Staff, ReportLinker. “Global Semiconductor Market Outlook 2022 .” January 13, 2016. February 19, 2016.
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13. Web site: Gartner Says Worldwide Semiconductor Revenue Grew 1.1% in 2022 . 2023-08-10 . Gartner . en.
14. Web site: Gartner Says Worldwide Semiconductor Revenue Grew 10.4% in 2020 . 2023-08-10 . Gartner . en.
15. Web site: Semiconductors – the Next Wave . . April 2019 . 11 October 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211020223147/https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/cn/Documents/technology-media-telecommunications/deloitte-cn-tmt-semiconductors-the-next-wave-en-190422.pdf . 20 October 2021 . dead.
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28. Web site: WORLDWIDE IC MANUFACTURERS . . 1997 . 10 July 2019.
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30. Web site: BEYOND BORDERS: THE GLOBAL SEMICONDUCTOR VALUE CHAIN . . May 2016 . 10 July 2019.
31. Web site: Bahai . Ahmed . Innovation in Power Electronics . SEMICON West . . 2015 . 23 October 2019.
32. Web site: April 2, 2018 . 13 Sextillion & Counting: The Long & Winding Road to the Most Frequently Manufactured Human Artifact in History . 28 July 2019 . Computer History Museum.
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