Semiconductors

WSTS reports US$702 billion in global semiconductor sales for the first half of 2026. Its Q2 update calculates US$1.655 trillion for the full year by combining actual results with the remaining growth assumptions from its spring forecast. That is an updated calculation, not a new forecast scenario or completed annual sales.

The headline hides very different markets. Memory and AI-related demand can surge while an industrial sensor supplier follows customers’ factory and vehicle programmes. Chip sales are also not the same market as spending on chipmaking tools. For a specialist, the useful opportunity is the relevant device category or production step, qualified customer programmes and revenue per unit.

On 8 September 2026, imec reported patterning lines just 22 nanometres apart with a single High NA EUV exposure using chemically amplified resists. These are light-sensitive materials used to print chip patterns. The result suggests that an established material approach can extend to finer structures; it does not establish profitable mass production.

Printing a smaller feature is one step. Manufacturers must also make enough working chips per wafer, keep equipment productive and control cost. That is why measurement, inspection, materials and packaging deserve attention alongside processors. A technical qualification can create a route into a customer’s factory; volume shipments show whether that route has become a business.