According to the data in TECHCET's latest "2025 Critical Materials Report", with the recovery of semiconductor production capacity and the acceleration of mass production of advanced process logic and memory chips, the global chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) consumables market is expected to grow by nearly 6% in 2025, and the market size is expected to reach $3.6 billion. Looking ahead to the medium to long term, the market is expected to continue to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.6% through 2029 as manufacturing processes become more complex.
The core driver of this growth is the innovation of chip structures and manufacturing processes, such as the multi-stack structure of 3D NAND, the gate around the whole circle (GAA) transistor, and the gradual introduction of power over the back side (BSPDN) technology, all of which require more frequent and refined CMP steps, opening up new growth space for the consumables market.
CMP (Chemical Mechanical Polishing) is a key process in semiconductor manufacturing to achieve global planarization of wafer surfaces. This technology is critical in integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing, especially as chip manufacturing processes continue to shrink (from micro- to nanoscale) and the requirements for wafer surface flatness are increasing.
In 2024, the market will recover moderately, and advanced logic and DRAM will begin to recover
Looking back on 2024, the CMP consumables market as a whole is showing moderate growth, with revenue up 1.6% year-on-year to about $3.4 billion. Among them, CMP slurry revenue increased slightly to $2 billion, and pad revenue increased to $1.39 billion. The DRAM field took the lead in resuming growth, and at the same time, signs of recovery in advanced logic processes have also begun to appear, driving market demand to stabilize.
However, the demand for traditional process technology is still weak, which has a certain constraint on the overall growth. In addition, despite price competitive pressures in the industry, shipments of oxide and copper polishing related applications remained stable. At the same time, the application of emerging metal materials such as cobalt, ruthenium, and molybdenum has also begun to gradually expand, although the current scale is still small, but the future growth potential is promising.
Figure: The CMP consumables market is showing signs of recovery, with projected revenue growth of nearly 6% by 2025.
As process complexity increases, the role of the CMP becomes more critical
As semiconductor technology evolves to more advanced nodes and the introduction of new packaging processes such as 2.5D/3D packaging and hybrid bonding accelerates, the importance of CMP in the manufacturing process becomes more prominent. This shift not only requires higher precision consumables, but also drives continuous optimization of process recipes and equipment performance.
At the same time, environmental protection and operational safety are becoming issues that cannot be ignored in the use of CMP materials. With the increasing application of new materials such as cobalt, companies are also strengthening the research and development of the environmental performance of polishing slurries, and improving the equipment ventilation system and waste liquid treatment mechanism to meet more stringent compliance requirements.
Supply chain challenges persist, and geopolitical factors cannot be ignored
In addition to the challenges brought about by technological evolution, supply chain security is also an unavoidable key issue for the CMP industry. At present, the supply of rare earth-based abrasives is highly dependent on China, and in the face of potential geopolitical and trade risks, the industry is actively seeking to diversify supply channels to reduce the uncertainty caused by supply disruptions.
In general, CMP, as an important supporting link for advanced semiconductor manufacturing, has become increasingly prominent in its strategic position in chip performance improvement and process evolution. As the global semiconductor industry accelerates to a high-end node, the CMP consumables market is expected to usher in a broader development prospect.
