Looking at the Semiconductor Equipment Sales over the last 5 years is akin to plotting a roller coaster ride. We’ve gone from the highest of highs and been hurtled towards the floor at maximum velocity! But we climbed out of the depths and now find ourselves looking back down with relief on where we were, but still striving to get to the elevated heights we’ve reached in the past.
This is, in the main, a harmonious and co-operative industry (which is why we enjoy being part of it so much!) We assisted one another out of the 2008/2009 chasm, where unfortunately some stayed, but as an industry we overcame the crisis and now look forward (we hope) to another healthy climb upwards.
We’re at an interesting point. Mt Semicon’s crown is hidden by cloud, and we cannot currently see the top. Finding profit below 20 nm and / or in 3D structures may mean we take two different paths to get there! The good news is that with TSMC’s new fab, Intel’s new Haswell Chips, and many fab/foundries poised for an upgrade, many of us are still striving to stand alongside our very own Gods, Messrs Shockley, Kilby and Moore (nominations still open for inclusion in the pantheon). And of course to do this, our clients have begun that search for labour - for the skills needed to bring their company beyond the clouds and into the sunlight on the mountain peak. Do you have the skills to make that last climb? Are you the final element needed by an ambitious team of climbers to reach the top?
Share your thoughts with us…
