Atomic layer deposition (ALD) equipment is penetrating all More Than Moore's Law applications

Yole Développement (Yole) said it will grow at a CAGR of 12% to reach $680 million by 2026.

Lyon, France - December 9, 2021 | "Global wafer fab capacity expansion is accelerating the industrial adoption of ALD equipment", said Dr. Taguhi Yeghoyan, Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology & Market Analyst at Yole Développement (Yole). In 2020, the total market value of ALD equipment dedicated to MtM device manufacturing was $345 million, with CIS dominating it (47%). In the next few years, the ALD equipment market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12% between 2020 and 2026, reaching $680 million in 2026.

Yole today published its first report entirely focused on ALD: Atomic Layer Deposition Equipment for More Than Moore Applications, detailing the bright future of this market. This report is part of a series of exciting reports from market research and strategy consulting company Yole. This ALD analysis provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of industrial equipment adoption for MtM device production, with a special focus on process requirements and trends. Yole’s semiconductor manufacturing team also provides ALD equipment benchmarks, including technology, reactor architecture and average selling price, and goes further to analyze the supply chain and related ecosystem. This technology and market study includes market size analysis by market share, wafer size and device application, as well as ALD equipment market forecasts by device application. 

According to Yole analysts, there are two main reasons for the significant growth in the ALD equipment market.

First, fabs are gearing up for MtM device production, which are becoming increasingly important across all megatrends: power devices based on compound semiconductors, especially gallium nitride and silicon carbide, and photonic devices, including miniLEDs and micro-LEDs. These fabs are simply ramping up production for automotive and consumer applications, and sales of ALD equipment are expected to grow at an astonishing rate, with a CAGR of 12% for power devices and 30% for photonics. This growth is further enhanced by high wafer yields for CIS devices, silicon power electronics, and advanced packaging (primarily wafer-level sealing) used in all MtM applications. Second, the global semiconductor market is positive. The chip shortage that has swept the market and MtM devices has prompted global manufacturers to announce fab capacity expansions.