SAN JOSE, CA – In 2010, worldwide silicon wafer area shipments increased 40% to 9.37 billion in² compared to 2009, says SEMI. Revenues improved 45% year-over-year to $9.7 billion.

“Given current market forecasts, we are expecting solid demand for silicon wafers in 2011, although at a much more modest post-recovery rate,” said Dr. Volker Braetsch, chairman of SEMI SMG and corporate VP of Siltronic.

Wafer shipments are considered a leading indicator for future printed circuit board and electronics assembly orders.

The data include polished silicon wafers, including virgin test wafers, epitaxial silicon wafers, and non-polished silicon wafers shipped by the wafer manufacturers to the end-users.

SANTA CLARA, CA – Momentum behind tablet (slate) PC shipments is growing, with a year-over-year increase of nearly 200% to 55.7 million units expected in 2011, according to DisplaySearch.

Though growth rates will slow during the forecast period, the slate PC share of the overall mobile PC market, which also includes notebooks and mini-notes, will rise to nearly 35%, or 172.4 million units, by 2014, says the firm. Total shipments of the mobile PC market are expected to reach 503.8 million units by 2014.

DisplaySearch expects 7" wide, 10" standard, and 10" wide to be the dominant screen sizes used by new products in the coming years.

Mobile PC shipment growth is expected to be in the double-digit range throughout the forecast period, peaking in 2011, at 30.4% year-over-year, and gradually declining to 17.7% growth in 2014.