The focus often lands on semiconductor equipment manufacturers, yet it's their subsystem suppliers who are pioneering innovative solutions vital for the manufacture of next-generation chips. These suppliers are tackling intricate challenges that emerge from creating highly advanced semiconductors, especially as the industry moves towards fabricating chips at sub-5nm scales and beyond. These challenges include managing contamination, vibrations, and mastering plasma control for dry etching processes, all of which demand new technical solutions and heightened performance levels.
Subsystems in semiconductor equipment, categorized by Yole Group into eight segments such as process monitoring, power, wafer handling, thermal control, fluid management, vacuum, optical, and others, are fundamental for the seamless operation of this machinery. Companies like ASML, Applied Materials, and Lam Research are prominent in the public eye, but they rely heavily on suppliers like Advanced Energy, COMET, Edwards, MKS Instruments, VAT, XP Power, Zeiss, and Zygo. These suppliers are highlighted by Gaël Giusti, Senior Technology & Market Analyst, Semiconductor Equipment at Yole Group, for their significant contributions.
These contributions are extensively analyzed in Yole Group's quarterly reports: the Semiconductor Equipment Subsystems Market Monitor and the Semiconductor Test Equipment Market Monitor.
The demand for more sophisticated chips for use in high-performance computing, artificial intelligence, and automotive technology underscores the need for equipment subsystems that offer enhanced monitoring and control capabilities throughout the chip fabrication process.
In the arena of RF power subsystems, essential for plasma control during semiconductor fabrication, there exists a growing requirement for precision in control – a challenge suppliers like Advanced Energy, MKS Instruments, and COMET are meeting with innovative solutions aimed at enhancing the performance of plasma process tools.
Gaël Giusti elaborates on the increasing complexity of the chip manufacturing process, notably in DRAM memory production, which requires precise plasma control owing to the increased number of layers and process steps needed for finer features.
The advent of multi-level pulsing and complex matching algorithms for plasma generators demonstrates the industry's push towards rapidly adjustable plasma control, minimizing potential process disruptions. Advanced waveform designs are now essential for precise plasma tuning and ion energy control at the wafer level.
Real-time process monitoring technologies are becoming indispensable for advanced semiconductor nodes, requiring enhanced sensorization and control within the fabrication chamber. Techniques such as time-of-flight residual gas analysis are gaining traction for their ability to monitor processes like Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) in real time, ensuring complete surface level reactions.
Subsystems for vacuum control, like those from VAT Valves, and vacuum pumps from Edwards, are increasingly crucial, evolving into their own distinct ecosystems within the semiconductor fabrication process. Similarly, in the DC power domain, stable power supply for applications like ion implantation is vital, with companies like XP Power and Advanced Energy leading in this field.
The high-precision optics segment, especially for photolithography and inspection through DUV and EUV tools, presents significant challenges in manufacturing high quality, large-diameter lenses and reflective optics with minimal EUV radiation losses. Companies such as Zeiss and Jenoptik stand out in this highly specialized area.
Subsystems suppliers, predominantly from Europe, Japan, and the US, are poised to remain indispensable to the semiconductor equipment market’s advancement. Despite facing challenges, including restrictions on exporting to China and a recent revenue decline due to excess inventory, the resilience and innovation within this sector suggest a promising return to growth, anticipated in the near to medium term.
Full article can be found here https://www.yolegroup.com/strategy-insights/critical-subsystems-suppliers-are-the-superstars-of-the-semiconductor-supply-chain/
