3D ICs Market Analysis

Market Overview

A three-dimensional integrated circuit (3D IC) is a metal-oxide-semiconductor integrated circuit produced by stacking silicon wafers or dies and interconnecting them vertically. 3D ICs are used as a single device to achieve performance improvements at reduced power and a smaller footprint. In 3D ICs, multiple layers of active electronic components are integrated horizontally and vertically on a single chip. They can be manufactured using various processes such as beam re-crystallization, wafer bonding, and solid-phase crystallization. 3D IC technologies are witnessing massive developments toward management issues related to restricted communications capacity, chip signaling, and memory latency.

The global 3D ICs market is estimated to account for US$ 38,252.9 Mn in terms of value by the end of 2027.

Market Dynamics- Drivers

1. Increasing demand for efficient solutions is expected to drive growth the global 3D ICs market during the forecast period

High growth of electronics market has accelerated innovations such as three-dimensional ICs. Since there has been increase in trend of mobile, fast, compact, and easy to use of products, the global electronics industry is witnessing demand for systems with enhanced performance, optimized working, and minimal response. Similarly, semiconductor chip manufacturers are facing various challenges and constant pressure to enhance performances, while reducing chip sizes. Furthermore, 3D ICs with TSVs provide an enhanced electrical performance due to the very high number of TSV interconnections and short interconnects within stacked ICs. Hence, these factors are expected to drive growth of the global 3D ICs market during the forecast period.

2. Rising adoption of portable devices is expected to propel the global 3D ICs market growth over the forecast period

Since 3D ICs provide enhanced memory bandwidth and reduced power consumption, they are being increasingly used in smartphones and tablets. Many players from the semiconductor industry such as fabs and foundries are focused on heterogeneous integration of chip components to enhance user experience, owing to growing popularity of smartphones, e-books, and other mobile devices. Furthermore, 3D ICs with TSV technology allows designers to position stacks of memory chips on top of the graphics processor chip or on application microprocessors, in order to considerably reduce power consumption and enhance memory bandwidth. Therefore, these factors are expected to propel the market growth in the near future.

Statistics:

APAC held dominant position in the global 3D ICs market in 2019, accounting for 47.3% share in terms of value, followed by North America, Europe and RoW respectively.

Figure 1: Global 3D ICs Market Share (%), in terms of Value, By Region, 2019

Market Dynamics- Restraint

1. High cost associated and testing issues are expected to restrain growth of the global 3D ICs market during the forecast period

There are several issues related to 3D ICs such as thermal effects, which in turn, affect the reliability and resiliency of interconnects in 3D circuits. Examination of thermal issues in 3D integration is compulsory to evaluate the thermal robustness of various 3D design options and technology. 3D ICs offer various advantages; however, these advantages come with considerable disruption in wafer fabs and at a very high cost. For instance, Xilinx, Inc. offers Virtex-7 FPGA VC709 connectivity kit with a price of around US$ 4,995. Therefore, these factors are expected to restrain growth of the market during the forecast period.

2. Lack of foundries and assemble houses is expected to hinder the global 3D ICs market growth over the forecast period

Manufacturing of 3D ICs requires fully functional foundries with skilled personnel to operate. Currently, there is a lack of adequate foundries and skilled professionals to manufacture 3D ICs, especially in emerging economies such as Philippines, Brazil, Africa, and Indonesia. Thus, these factors are expected to hinder the global 3D ICs market growth over the forecast period.

Market Opportunities

1. Advent of big data analytics can present lucrative growth opportunities

Majority of companies generate a vast amount of data from their business operations. Furthermore, many organizations use government data, external data from social media and other public sources of data to supplement the internal data. Storage, processing, and transfer of this data are the key challenges faced by these companies. Furthermore, in big data analytics, processors and memory are crucial IC components. 3D IC plays a key role in combining these two components and provides speed, high bandwidth, and lowers power consumption.

2. Collaborations among market players can provide business opportunities

Major companies in the market are focused on collaboration activities, in order to gain a competitive edge and enhance the market presence. For instance, in September 2013, TSMC collaborated with Cadence Design Systems Inc. to manufacture a 3D IC reference flow that facilitates innovative 3D stacking. In May 2013, STATS ChipPAC Ltd. collaborated with Qualcomm Technologies Inc. and A*STAR Institute of Microelectronics to deliver technology building blocks for low lost interposers used in 2.5D/3D ICs.

Figure 2: Global 3D ICs Market Value (US$ Mn), 2017 - 2027

The global 3D ICs market was valued at US$ 7,521.4 Mn in 2019 and is forecast to reach a value of US$ 38,252.9 Mn by 2027 at a CAGR of 22.5% between 2020 and 2027.

Market Trends

1. Multi-chip packaging is a major trend

Multi-chip packaging is one of the emerging trends in the 3D integrated circuit market. In multi-chip packaging, a large number of transistors are packed into a single 3D integrated circuit. This approach enables better interaction among the processor and memory; hence, this type of packaging is essential for memory enhanced applications. Multi-chip packaging is one of the crucial developments that would drive the growth of the 3D ICs market in the near future.

2. IntSim is another major trend

IntSim is a computer-aided design tool used to simulate 2D and 3D integrated circuits. This open-source tool can be used for forecasting 2D or 3D chip power, a number of metal levels, die size, and best possible sizes of metal levels depending on several design parameters and technology. Using this tool, users can study scaling trends and minimize chip designs.

Global 3D ICs Market - Impact of Coronavirus (Covid-19) Pandemic

Due to Covid-19 pandemic, many industries witnessed significant shift in their business. There is significant impact on the growth of 3D ICs market. As manufacturing operations are temporarily suspended across many countries to contain the coronavirus. There is shortage of 3D ICs in the market caused by less production of 3D ICs.  Many manufacturing companies such as Samsung, Xiaomi, OPPO and LG Display have suspended their manufacturing operations in China, India, South Korea and in European countries. For instance, in May 2020, OPPO Company has shut down its operations in Noida as six employees test coronavirus positive. Additionally, due to this pandemic, the demand for these 3D IC integrated devices is exacerbated by lockdown imposed in several countries.

Competitive Section

Key players operating in the global 3D ICs market are Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd., MonolithIC 3D Inc., XILINX, Inc., Elpida Memory, Inc. (Micron Technology, Inc.), The 3M Company, Ziptronix, Inc., STATS ChipPAC Ltd., United Microelectronics Corporation, and Tezzaron Semiconductor Corporation.