The ballooning requirement for flexible, heat resistant, light weight, and compact electronics devices is one of the biggest factors responsible for the growing utilization of polyimide (PI) films in semiconductor component manufacturing processes around the world. According to various industry experts, the expansion in the electronics sector will push up the requirement for PI films all over the world in the coming years. This will be because of the extensive usage of PI films in electronics part manufacturing processes.
Polyimide films consist of polyimide, which is basically a polymer of imide monomer. PI films are famous all over the world for their high chemical and temperature resistance and high dielectric constant. Because of these unique characteristics, PI films are heavily used for manufacturing heat resistant electronics components and parts such as pressure sensitive tapes, wires, and flexible printed circuits (FPC). Due to these factors, the global polyimide films market is predicted to grow substantially in the future years.
Based on application, the market is divided into specialty fabricated product, motor/generator, wire and cable, pressure sensitive tape, and FPC. Out of these, the FPC category recorded the highest growth in the market in the past years. PI films are widely preferred over the other conventionally used materials such as epoxy resins, polyurethanes, and polycarbonates for producing FPC, on account of their blend of chemical, thermal, mechanical, and electrical properties.
Additionally, these films provide high thermal resistance to the flexible printed circuits, which make them highly suitable for use in various applications that require high heat production. PI films are also widely used for manufacturing light weight and compact FPC assemblies. When end user is taken into consideration, the PI films market is categorized into automotive, electronics, aerospace, medical, mining and drilling, and labelling. Out of these, the electronics category registered the highest growth in the market in the past.
This was because of the extensive usage of PI films and tapes in the manufacturing of various electronics parts and components such as rotate machines, electric wires, cables, electric wires, integrated circuits, and recording devices. Geographically, the PI films market recorded the highest growth in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, both in terms of volume and revenue, during the last few years, as per the findings of P&S Intelligence, a market research company based in India.
In the coming years, the market is predicted to exhibit the fastest growth in the APAC region. This will be a result of the rising requirement for electronics devices made from polyimide films in the regional countries. As the semiconductor manufacturing plants and foundries are the biggest end users of these films, the rapid expansion of semiconductor manufacturing plants and foundries in Taiwan, Japan, and China is creating lucrative growth opportunities for the players operating in the industry.
Hence, it is safe to say that the demand for PI films will skyrocket around the world in the upcoming years, mainly because of their growing requirement in the manufacturing of electronics parts and components and semiconductor component manufacturing processes.
