The delivery time of ASML ArF equipment has been extended to 2 years. The shortage of semiconductor equipment is increasing.

According to the global semiconductor company data collected by Korean semiconductor company sources and TheElec, as of July, the average delivery time of semiconductor equipment has been extended to 14 months, and the delivery time of some fab equipment has exceeded two years.

TheElec pointed out that last year, the lead time for fab equipment was between three and six months, and in the first quarter of this year, it was extended to an average of 10 months. The extension of the delivery period is due to increased spending by chipmakers on their fabs and the persistence of global chip shortages, with even equipment makers buying the chips they need for their products.

Some people familiar with the matter said that equipment used in the front-end process usually has a short lead time, but the average lead time is now more than a year. The delivery time of the equipment is generally at an all-time high.

TheElec also studied the delivery times of the world's top equipment suppliers. As of July, the lead time for ASML's ArF equipment is 24 months, I-line equipment 18 months, and extreme Ultraviolet equipment 18 months. Disco (Disco), a manufacturer of wafer cutting equipment, has a delivery time of 12 to 15 months.

There is a particular shortage of equipment to produce 8-inch (200 mm) wafers. This is because there has been a sharp increase in orders for them due to a lack of capacity. Currently, the delivery time of Corey (KLA) measurement and testing equipment (overlay equipment) is 14 months. The lead times for Ebara and applied materials are 14 months and 13 months respectively.

Equipment made by Tokyo Electronics, Hitachi Hi-Tech, Japanese counterparts Kokusai Electric, Edwin, Sco Semiconductor and Curisofa are all delivered in about 12 months. Vivian Semiconductor and Edward Semiconductor lasted about 10 months. In addition, according to people familiar with the matter, the delivery time of welding wire binder supplied by Chinese enterprises is currently more than 5 months. In June, CFO Doug Bettinger, a pan-forest group, also said it expected delivery of its equipment to be delayed.

Some fab equipment makers are finding it difficult to obtain the FPGA chips needed to produce equipment, according to people familiar with the matter. The current chip shortage has been serious enough to affect the entire value chain. Ironically, more fab equipment is needed to make more chips, but there are not enough chips to make fab equipment.

The extended lead time has also led to an increase in demand for second-hand factory equipment because of their relatively short lead times. Most second-hand equipment still has the core components of the old equipment, which can be used by upgrading. The demand for 8-inch second-hand equipment is increasing sharply. The price of second-hand equipment rose by an average of 20 per cent in the first half of 2021 compared with the previous year, according to VLSI research, a market research firm.

Pan-Forest Group said in a conference call in the second quarter that its refurbished equipment business also recorded its highest sales of $1.4 billion in the second quarter.

The high demand and insufficient supply of fab equipment is expected to continue for some time. According to SEMI, fab equipment spending in 2021 is expected to increase by 15.5% over the previous year to $70 billion. By 2022, that number will grow by 12% year-on-year to more than $80 billion.