By Greg Gao
(JW Insights) Aug 29 -- The semiconductor test service providers in Taiwan could benefit effectively from the expanding semiconductor manufacturing capacity by the chip makers in China’s mainland which mainly focus on mature processes, reported Taiwanese news outlet United Daily News recently.
Due to lower yields compared to first-tier wafer fabs, there has been a significant increase in demand for semiconductor material analysis (MA) and testing from China’s mainland fabs. Industry insiders suggest that major semiconductor testing companies in Taiwan like MA-tek and Msscorps Co may secure large orders from wafer fabs such as SMIC and Hua Hong Semiconductor.
As a result of restrictions from the US semiconductor ban, China’s mainland faces shortages of advanced manufacturing equipment, especially higher end DUV lithography machines. Thus mainland Chinese wafer fabs’ capacity for mature processes is expected to gradually increase in the coming months, leading to a significant surge in demand for semiconductor material analysis testing service.
One industry expert pointed out that MA-tek has cultivated a strong presence in southern China for many years, maintaining close cooperation with wafer fab clients. It is anticipated that the momentum for the company’s orders in the fourth quarter of this year could potentially increase in sync with capacity growth of fabs on China’s mainland, resulting in a quarter-by-quarter rise in operational performance this year.
Msscorps Co has been recruiting extensively in China’s mainland in recent years, leading to a continuous increase in its semiconductor material analysis capacity. As the outsourced MA demand from wafer fabs grows, insiders estimate that Msscorps’s revenue this year may reach historic highs.