Report finds high cost of failure analysis equipment hinders growth
03/10/2014
Failure analysis is the engineering process of analysing the cause of equipment failure using physical and chemical techniques.
Failure analysis equipment is used in the manufacturing industry primarily for new product development and to improve the quality of existing products. This equipment is used to find the root cause of failure and prevent its reoccurrence. Common causes of failure include misuse, manufacturing defects, assembly errors, design errors, improper materials, improper maintenance, improper heat treatments, inadequate quality assurance, inadequate environmental protection/control, unforeseen operating conditions and casting discontinuities.
A report, the ‘Global Failure Analysis Equipment Market 2014-2018’, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis, with input from industry experts. The report covers the Americas and the EMEA and APAC regions; it also covers the global failure analysis equipment market landscape and its growth prospects in the coming years. In addition, the report includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.
Commenting on the report, an analyst from the team said: “A recent trend in the global failure analysis equipment market is an increasing need for process automation. The evolution of ICs with additional functionality has enhanced the complexities involved in the design and development of ICs. This, in turn, has generated the need for high-end inspection techniques. Although electron microscopes are useful in performing several failure analysis operations, their disadvantages of being time- and labour-intensive, and their limited resolution power, have forced the vendors to look for alternative equipment and techniques.”
According to the report, the growth of the global failure analysis equipment market is driven by several factors. The increasing demand for failure analysis equipment from a variety of industries is one of the main drivers. The semiconductor and embedded industries use this equipment widely during the development process of ICs to identify any defects at the nano level, helping to reduce the cost that results from rejected products.
The analysts forecast that the global failure analysis equipment market will grow at a CAGR of 9.12% over the period from 2013-2018.
Furthermore, the report states that, despite the presence of strong drivers, the growth of the global failure analysis equipment market is curtailed by certain serious challenges. One of the main challenges in this market is the high cost of failure analysis equipment. The average cost of a focused ion beam system is US$70,000, which makes it unaffordable to many end-users.
The report also includes a discussion of the other vendors operating in this market. The study was conducted using an objective combination of primary and secondary information, including input from key participants in the industry. The report contains a comprehensive market and vendor landscape in addition to a SWOT analysis of the key vendors.
The report: ‘Global Failure Analysis Equipment Market 2014-2018’ (54 pages) was published by Research and Markets in July 2014.
