Japan's semiconductor vacuum-valve market has been centered on demand from advanced logic and memory, while demand for highly reliable valves is expanding as production of automotive devices increases.
The domestic market is centered on large device manufacturers producing advanced logic semiconductors and memory, as well as domestic equipment manufacturers supplying them. Demand for mature-process applications is also strengthening as production of automotive devices increases. While there have been periods in which investment decisions became more cautious due to utilization rates' dependence on market conditions and the effects of memory prices and foreign exchange, increasing sophistication of the vacuum environment within equipment is driving demand.
Applications include cleaning, CVD/ALD, PVD, ion implantation, CMP, semiconductor metrology equipment and other uses, with ALD and metrology equipment-related applications driving growth. In particular, ALD requires more frequent valve operation as the number of atomic-layer deposition cycles increases, while maintaining a high-vacuum environment is becoming increasingly important for metrology equipment. CMP generates demand for both slurry delivery and vacuum exhaust, while ion implantation is stable as a mature market.
Market participants include VAT, Emerson, Nihon KOSO, Valmet, CKD, MKS, Wuzhong Instrument, Flowserve and Chongqing Chuanyi Automation. Going forward, growth in ALD and metrology equipment-related applications is expected to be the main driver, while replacement demand for mature-process applications is also expected to continue.