ASM lukewarm on chip interconnect shift

The semiconductor industry is on the cusp of a major transition in how logic chips are wired. In this process, known as metallization, molybdenum is emerging as the leading candidate to replace copper – shaking up the market for atomic layer deposition (ALD) equipment. It would seem to be an attractive new market for Dutch ASM, which has traditionally been a frontrunner in ALD, albeit in other aspects of chip manufacturing. But the Almere-based company remains cautious, as became clear during an Investor Day at the end of September.

ALD deposits atoms layer by layer onto the wafer. This way, extremely thin uniform layers can be created, even in the narrow and deeper structures of modern chips. As with other chip structures, in metallization every angstrom matters, and defects or faults can be disastrous. ALD offers the precision that other deposition techniques, such as CVD or PVD, can’t deliver.