A global shortage of lithography tools in the semiconductors industry could drive demand for the components into the second half of 2010, according to a report from market analyst iSuppli.
The research firm claims that major suppliers of lithography tools to the semiconductors sector are facing overwhelming demand at present.
With immersion scanner shipments standing in double figures at some suppliers, iSuppli still anticipates a bottleneck towards the end of the year.
Its forecast comes as part of a study anticipating high levels of growth in shipments over the coming six months.
Mike Howard, senior analyst for DRAM at iSuppli, says: "Most of the year's growth is forecasted to occur in the second half of the year, with each of the final two quarters of 2010 expected to post sequential bit growth of approximately 11 per cent."
The figures contrast with the fortunes of the NAND flash memory market in the second quarter, when an oversupply of components led to stalled growth in revenues.