Hong Kong, 7 April 2011 ?a The worldwide semiconductor equipment market grew 143 per cent in 2010 to nearly US$41 billion as the market recovered from the industry slowdown of the previous two years, according to final results from Gartner Inc. All major market segments grew significantly in 2010 with automatic test equipment (ATE) sales up by 149 per cent, wafer fab equipment (WFE) sales up by 145 per cent and sales of packaging assembly equipment (PAE) up by 127 per cent. The semiconductor equipment market soared in 2010. Driven by pent-up demand from the 2008 and 2009 downturn, and a stronger economy than projected, 2010 just kept getting better and better, said Klaus Rinnen, managing vice president at Gartner. Memory and foundry spending were the key drivers, although all areas showed significant growth. The year began with technology buys, and capacity purchases soon followed, resulting in one of the hottest growth years in industry history, said Mr. Rinnen. We also witnessed a number of changes in the top 10 semiconductor capital equipment companies, as strength in double patterning benefited some companies more than others. The share of the top 10 semiconductor capital equipment companies rose nearly 2 points in 2010, accounting for 63.4 per cent of total revenue, up from 61.6 per cent in 2009 (see Table 1).