The supply of vacuum pumps at major international vendors will be falling short of demand in 2022, buoyed by strong demand from IC foundries, according to fab toolmaker Forward Science.
Forward Science chairman CF Chang has said the world's top-3 vacuum pump vendors have seen their capacity fully booked by TSMC, Samsung Electronics and other first-tier foundries, with second-tier ones barely able to get capacity support despite offering higher prices.
Chang said tight supply at the top-3 vendors is not expected to ease until their large-scale new capacities come online in 2023, which, however, provides a good opportunity for Forward Science and other vacuum pump suppliers in Taiwan to win more orders from potential clients.
Chang also noted that TSMC, UMC, PSMC, VIS, Samsung and China's foundries are mulling adopting vacuum pumps from more suppliers beyond the world's top-3 vendors, and his company has sent new models to prospective clients for validation.
Forward Science reportedly has newly landed orders from UMC, PSMC and VIS, and is set to double its production capacity in 2022 to fulfill increasing orders.
