PUBLISHER: AnalystView Market Insights | PRODUCT CODE: 1877399
PUBLISHER: AnalystView Market Insights | PRODUCT CODE: 1877399
Chemical mechanical polishing market size was valued at US$ 7,123.89 Million in 2024, expanding at a CAGR of 7.5% from 2025 to 2032.
Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP) is a precision wafer-surface finishing process that synergizes mechanical abrasion with controlled chemical action to achieve atomic-level planarity. Beyond simple material removal, CMP enables the integration of multi-layer interconnects and advanced 3D architectures, ensuring nanoscale uniformity crucial for next-generation nodes. Its role in mitigating topography-induced defects directly enhances yield, device density, and overall circuit performance. The global shift toward regional diversification of semiconductor manufacturing unlocks fresh growth for CMP suppliers. With capacity expected to more than double over the coming decade globally and new build-outs in regions like Southeast Asia, India, and Europe, new fabs equate to incremental CMP tool, pad and slurry sales.
Chemical Mechanical Polishing Market- Market Dynamics
Increasing number of wafer layers in advanced semiconductor devices to propel market demand
The continuous rise in wafer layer complexity and transistor density in advanced semiconductor devices is a key driver of the global chemical mechanical polishing market. As chip manufacturers transition toward sub-7 nm and 3D architectures, the number of CMP steps per wafer has increased significantly to maintain surface planarity across multilayer interconnects. According to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) joint report "The Growing Challenge of Semiconductor Manufacturing Capacity" (2023), global semiconductor manufacturing capacity is projected to more than double; rising by 108% between 2022 and 2032, while U.S. capacity alone is expected to expand by 203% during the same period. This surge reflects the escalating wafer demand from logic, memory, and AI-centric chips that require precise planarization at every layer. Furthermore, leading-edge foundries are now incorporating 20 to 30 CMP steps per wafer for advanced nodes, compared to fewer than 10 steps a decade ago, underscoring the process's growing importance. Increased global R&D spending is also accelerating innovations in CMP consumables and slurry chemistries to meet the tighter tolerances of advanced device geometries.
The Global Chemical mechanical polishing Market is segmented on the basis of Polisher Type, Wafer Size, Process Type, Slurry Type, Propulsion, End User, and Region.
The market is divided into two categories based on Polisher Type: single head and multi head. While detailed global figures for each type are relatively scarce, industry commentary indicates that single-head polishers continue to be the most widely adopted due to their cost efficiency, straightforward control systems, and flexibility across a variety of wafer sizes. These systems are particularly favored in legacy node manufacturing, R&D labs, and pilot production environments, where process customization and ease of maintenance are key priorities. However, as semiconductor manufacturing scales to advanced nodes and wafer throughput requirements rise, multi-head CMP systems are gaining traction. Multi-head configurations allow simultaneous polishing of multiple wafers, improving process uniformity, productivity, and cost per wafer. According to SEMI's 2024 World Fab Forecast, global wafer fab capacity surpassed 30 million wafers per month, reflecting growing pressure on manufacturers to boost efficiency and yield.
The market is divided into four categories based on Application: logic devices, analog devices, MEMS, and memory devices. Among these, the logic devices segment is expected to register the strongest growth, driven by rising production of advanced central processing units (CPUs), graphics processing units (GPUs), and system-on-chip (SoC) architectures used in AI, cloud computing, and 5G applications. These complex chips require multiple CMP steps per wafer to achieve the stringent planarity and surface precision necessary for multi-layer interconnect structures. According to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) Factbook 2024, logic and memory devices collectively accounted for nearly 75% of global semiconductor revenue in 2023, highlighting their critical role in CMP consumption.
Chemical Mechanical Polishing Market- Geographical Insights
The global chemical mechanical polishing market shows varied growth dynamics, influenced by semiconductor manufacturing concentration, government initiatives, and emerging technology ecosystems across key regions. Asia-Pacific remains the largest region for CMP demand because most wafer fabrication capacity and foundry volume are located there. Global fab capacity topped 30 million wafers per month (wpm) in 2024, with SEMI showing that growth and manufacturing activity remains concentrated in APAC. Besides, the North America region is seeing the fastest capacity expansion and therefore strong near-term CMP demand growth driven by new fab builds and incentives. Federal incentives plus planned fab projects in states such as Arizona and Texas are shifting procurement toward domestic suppliers and raising demand for CMP process integration and local service contracts. Moreover, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa are emerging CMP markets, driven by Europe's chip expansion goals, Latin America's packaging growth, and Israel's strong high-tech base supporting advanced semiconductor processes.
Taiwan Chemical Mechanical Polishing Market-Country Insights
Taiwan stands at the center of the global semiconductor ecosystem, driving significant demand for Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP) tools and materials. According to the Ministry of Finance, Republic of China (Taiwan), the country exported US$166.6 billion worth of integrated circuits in 2023, representing 38.5 % of its total exports. Taiwan's foundries, led by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), are major consumers of CMP solutions due to the high number of planarization steps required for advanced sub-7 nm and 3D chip architectures.
The country also hosts several key CMP technology and materials providers, including Asia IC Microelectronics, FNS Tech Inc., Kinik Company, and Universal Global Scientific Industrial Co., Ltd. (USI). These firms supply CMP pads, slurries, and consumables to domestic fabs and global customers, further reinforcing Taiwan's critical role in supporting precision wafer fabrication and next-generation semiconductor processing.
Rising device complexity and shrinking node sizes are driving innovation across the chemical mechanical polishing industry. Leading players of the market include Applied Materials, Inc., Lam Research Corporation, Ebara Corporation, DuPont de Nemours, Inc., Cabot Microelectronics Corporation (now Entegris), Tokyo Electron Limited, and others. These companies prioritize technological differentiation through advanced slurry formulations, pad design and process integration, while competing on service, yield optimization and rapid development cycles. Strategic partnerships with foundries and equipment integrators, selective vertical integration, and targeted M&A secure capabilities and market access. Pricing and customization balance cost sensitivity with performance demands. Emphasis on sustainability, reliability testing, and intellectual-property protection builds long-term customer trust and creates entry barriers for newcomers.
In May 2025, ChEmpower raised US$18.7 million in Series A funding to commercialize its innovative abrasive-free wafer polishing technology, designed for sub-10 nm semiconductor manufacturing. The investment will help the company expand production capacity and accelerate adoption of eco-efficient CMP solutions in advanced chip fabrication processes.
In April 2025, DuPont's Ikonic(TM) 9000 CMP Pads received a 2025 Bronze Edison Awards in the "AI-Driven Advancements - Semiconductor Innovations for AI & HPC" category, recognising their enhanced removal rate, groove design for slurry efficiency and longer lifespan for advanced-node fabrication.