Photomask Market Outlook - 2026
The global photomask market size was valued at $4.00 billion in 2018 and is projected to reach $4.97 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 2.5% from 2019 to 2026.
A photomask is a photographic pattern, that is used to make microcircuit and ultraviolet light. These lights are excelled through the mask onto a photoresist to transfer the pattern. These photomasks are used to manufacture components such as display devices, discrete semiconductor components, micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), and standalone printed circuit boards (PCBs).
In addition, the photomask has many applications, some of which are used to support customers’ microlithography process as a midway step between the production of photonics, ICs, and MEMS devices. The photomasks are widely used to develop devices for computer & peripherals, consumer products, automotive products, military products, and biomedical & medical products. Moreover, photomask contains the pattern of integrated circuits, and they have become smaller and more complex to accurately transfer the pattern to silicon wafers.
By Type
Master would exhibit the highest CAGR of 3.20% during 2019-2026.
Moreover, lithography is a process in which a pattern from a photomask is transferred to the surface of the wafer. During the lithography process, the wafer gets exposed to an ultraviolet laser beam, in which the ultraviolet laser beam passes through the photomask layer without a pattern and is irradiated onto the photoresist on a wafer. Thus, photomasks are used during the semiconductor manufacturing process making it an important component. However, due to the irregularity in the demand-supply gap, the market is expected to experience slow growth over the next few years.
By Application
Displays would exhibit the highest CAGR of 4.40% during 2019-2026.
The major factors that drive the global photomask market include the rise in the adoption of consumer electronic products, the surge in usage of automated systems across various industry verticals, and the increase in demand for semiconductors. However, the complexity of photomask fabrication and the high cost associated with photomask manufacturing hamper the market growth. Furthermore, an increase in focus on advancement in technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) is expected to create new growth avenues for the global photomask market.
By Region
Asia-Pacific would exhibit the highest CAGR of 2.80% during 2019-2026.
Segment Overview:
The global photomask industry is segmented into product, mask shop type, applications, and region. By product, the market is segregated into reticle, master, and others. By the mask shop type, the market in divided into captive masks and merchant masks.
The applications covered in this study include optical devices, discrete components, displays, MEMS, and others. The display segment is expected to dominate the global photomask market during the forecast period.
The regional segmentation of the market includes North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA. The Asia-Pacific photomask market is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period, due to high demand and consumption of photomask in the semiconductor industry.
Top Impacting Factors:
The significant impacting factors in the photomask market include the rise in the adoption of consumer electronic products, the surge in the usage of automated systems across various industry verticals, and the increase in demand for semiconductors. However, limitations in the photomask fabrication process hinder market growth. Furthermore, an increase in focus toward advancement in technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) is expected to create lucrative photomask market opportunities. Each of these factors is anticipated to have a definite impact on the photomask market during the forecast period.
Some major factors impacting the photomask market growth are given below:
Rise in adoption of consumer electronic products
The electronics industry has been growing and has become one of the largest consumers of the electronics market globally. The growth in populations in large countries such as China, India, and the U.S., has in turn increased disposable income of people and spending on luxury products and electronic devices. For instance, a U.S.-based company Syrma Technology, estimated that India’s middle-class population is projected to increase by 40% from 250 million in 2017 to reach 583 million by 2025.
The economic consumption of consumer electronic devices is increasing in India, owing to the growth in the middle-class population. However, in such electronic devices, semiconductors, and ICs are required for processing, where a photomask is necessary during wafer fabrication to draw patterns on the wafer. Thus, this further increases the demand for photomask. In addition, the emergence of advanced technologies such as IoT in electronic devices, is contributing to the increase in demand for photomasks during the production of components used in electronic devices.
The surge in usage of automated systems across various industry verticals
The increase in the shift toward digital transformation fuels the demand for IoT-based smart solutions and automation in various industries to adopt & enable new autonomous capabilities. The demand for modern machines and plants has been growing steadily in all vertical industries. Most of automation is used in industries to improve product quality, and plant efficiency, and facilitate uniform production. Thus, an increase in demand for IoT-based smart solutions is expected to drive the photomask market growth during the forecast period. In addition, various manufacturing industries focus on obtaining safe, fast, and efficient production results, which boosts the need for factory automation. In such automated systems, photomasks are required for the manufacturing of semiconductors. Thus, this in turn creates lucrative opportunities for the photomask.
Increase in demand for semiconductors
The semiconductor industry has witnessed considerable growth over the past few years due to factors such as the emergence of IoT, cloud computing, data analytics, and AI. According to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), the global semiconductor industry registered a total sale of $106.7 billion during quarter three of 2019, an increase of 8.2% over the previous quarter and 14.6% less than the third quarter of 2018. Memory was the largest semiconductor product and the fastest-growing product. This increase in trends in semiconductor devices and materials creates a huge demand for photo masking on wafers and ICs which further assists in the growth of the market globally. In addition, the rise in demand for semiconductor ICs is expected to improve the development capacity of semiconductors, which in turn augments the growth of the photomask market.
Competitive Analysis:
The key players profiled in the global photomask market include Applied Materials, Inc., SK-Electronics, Advanced Reproductions Corporation, Photronics, LG Innotek, Infinite Graphics Incorporated, Compugraphics Photomask Solutions, Nippon Filcon, HTA Photomask, Hoya Corporation. These key players have adopted strategies, such as agreements, product development, and joint ventures to enhance their position in the photomask market.
Key Benefits for Photomask Market:
- This study comprises an analytical depiction of the global photomask market size along with the current trends and future estimations to depict the imminent investment pockets.
- The overall photomask market analysis is determined to understand the profitable trends to gain a stronger foothold.
- The report presents information related to key drivers, restraints, and opportunities with a detailed impact analysis.
- The current photomask market forecast is quantitatively analyzed from 2019 to 2026 to benchmark the financial competency.
- Porter’s five forces analysis illustrates the potency of the buyers and suppliers in the photomask industry.
- The report includes the photomask market share of key vendors and photomask market trends.
Photomask Market Report Highlights
| Aspects | Details |
 By Product |
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 By Mask Shop Type |
|
 By Application |
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 By Region |
|
 Key Market Players | HOYA Corporation, LG Innotek Co. Ltd, Nippon Filcon Co., Ltd., HTA Photomask, Photronics, Inc., Applied Materials, Inc., Advance Reproductions, SK-Electronics Co., Ltd., Infinite Graphics Incorporated, Compugraphics a MacDermid Alpha Electronics Solutions |
Analyst Review
In the current business scenario, the demand for displays, semiconductor, and MEMS, particularly in the developing regions, is witnessing a significant growth, owing to the rise in adoption of consumer electronic products and surge in usage of automated systems across various industry verticals. Thus, companies operating in the photomask industry are adopting various innovative techniques to provide customers with advanced and innovative product offerings.
Rise in automation in semiconductor and electronics industry along with the innovative advancements in the semiconductor industry is one of the key factors that drive the growth of the photomask market. However, complexity in photomask fabrication and high cost associated with photomask manufacturing hamper the market growth. Furthermore, increase in focus toward advancement in technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT) is expected to create lucrative growth opportunities for the global photomask market.
North America is the second highest revenue contributor to the global photomask market, after Asia-Pacific. The market growth is attributed to factors such as higher demand and consumption of photomasks in semiconductor industry.
The key players profiled in the global photomask market include Applied Materials, Inc., SK-Electronics, Advanced Reproductions Corporation, Photronics, LG Innotek, Infinite Graphics Incorporated, Compugraphics Photomask Solutions, Nippon Filcon, HTA Photomask, and Hoya Corporation. These key players have adopted strategies, such as agreements, product development, and joint venture to enhance their position in the photomask market.
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