Japan High Purity Single Crystal Silicon Sales to Rise by 3% in 2008

Japanese high purity single crystal silicon sales will increase by 3% to 9,680 tonnes for semiconductor in 2008 from 2007, which renews record for 5 years in a row, announced by Japan Society of Newer Metals on Monday. The society revised the outlook downward due to slower export from 11,000 tonnes as of February. The demand increases mainly for domestic market in 2008. The society expects the domestic demand will increase by 14% to 4,750 tonnes in 2008 from 2007 when the domestic semiconductor makers shift to 300 millimeters wafer for memory applications. The export will decrease by 5% to 4,930 tonnes, which is the first drop in 7 years, due to adjustment in Asian market. Semiconductor market in South Korea and Taiwan is slower than expected due to slowing production of electronic devices. A wafer maker source expects the export couldn’t recover in the year while the society reports the demand shows recovery in Taiwan. Japanese output of single crystal silicon increases by 10% to 9,130 tonnes in 2008 from 2007 due to expanding semiconductor market and more consumption for 300 mm wafer. The material of polycrystal silicon’s output increases from 7,364 tonnes in 2007.