Dai Nippon Printing takes lead in semiconductor photomask market in 2009

Dr. Robert Castellano, The Information Network

NEW TRIPOLI, USA: Dai Nippon Printing (DNP) eked out Toppan to take over the lead in the semiconductor photomask market in 2009, according to the report: Mask Making, Inspection, and Repair: Market Analysis and Strategic Issues.

In 2009, DNP led the worldwide merchant market with a 31 percent share followed closely by Toppan with a 30.2% percent share. The merchant market dropped 12.1 percent in 2009, the third yearly drop in a row.

Photronics retained its third place ranking. Samsung is Photonics’ largest customer, with 25 percent of its sales. Samsung purchases the photomasks through PKL in Korea, which Photronics acquired in 2001.

The combined merchant and captive photomask making market decreased only 9.2 percent in 2009 on the strength of captive mask making at Intel and TSMC.

For 2009, state-of-the-art production of 45 nanometer masks for semiconductor masks ramped up production and 65 nanometer masks moved into volume production. A 65nm mask set is comprised of 40 photomasks, five of which are critical (45 nm design rule) and 15 subcritical (90 nm design rule). A 65nm mask set can 1.8 times that of a 90nm set, while a 45nm mask set can cost 2.2 times that of a 65nm set.

While the semiconductor market is anticipated to grow strongly in 2010, demand for photomasks is directly a function of design activity rather than sales volume from products using photomasks. Therefore, an increase in the semiconductor market does not necessarily translate to an increase in photomask sales.