Electronic Chemicals Market

I read the cover story exploring the electronic materials market with great interest (C&EN, July 12, page 11). The three articles provided a good, evenhanded view of this dynamic market. I take issue, however, with the market description used in the story. Revenues in the overall electronic materials market during 2009 were actually more than $105 billion—six times greater than the estimate given in the table on page 15.

This article describes only one segment of the electronic materials market and should have been more precisely titled “Semiconductor Wafer Fabrication Materials.” Although wafer fabrication materials has long been one of the more significant and arguably most technologically sophisticated segments of the overall electronic materials market, it is no longer the largest (liquid-crystal display fabrication materials) or the fastest growing (photovoltaic fabrication materials).

Regardless of the segment chosen, electronic materials remain one of the brightest spots of the overall chemical industry, offering unusual opportunities for growth, profit, and product differentiation. Thank you for your continued efforts to highlight this important market.

Jeff Doubrava
Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.