ASML Becomes Leading Semi Equipment Vendor
By David Lammers and Mark LaPedus
VLSI Research Inc said ASML became the leading vendor of semiconductor production equipment in 2011, buoyed by memory vendors and foundries using lithography upgrades to move to tighter linewidths on existing lines. Applied Materials dropped to the second-ranked spot for the first time since 1992.
ASML’s rise to the top spot is all the more stunning because the Dutch company is basically a single-product company, with scanners and lithographic DFM tools its sole source of revenues. VLSI chairman Dan Hutcheson, in his Chip Insider report, noted that the top two lithography vendors – ASML and Nikon – had a 27 percent growth rate (32 percent for ASML and 8 percent for Nikon), which was double the semiconductor equipment industry’s average of 13 percent.
Applied's revenues include three months of Varian's revenues. (Source: VLSI Research Inc)
The strong growth from lithography masked what Hutcheson said was “a tough year” for process equipment suppliers. The non-lithographic suppliers had a much lower growth rate, only 5 percent, compared with the lithography vendors. Rather than adding capacity with a full line of tools, memory companies bought immersion scanners to move to 2x linewidths on existing lines, in some cases using double-patterning which also drives the need for more litho tools. Process lines at memory and foundry vendors could be upgraded largely by buying new exposure tools, without similarly heavy investments in deposition, etch, implant, and cleaning tools.
The 2011 rankings put Applied Materials − which saw its semiconductor revenues grow 2 percent last year − in the second-ranked slot for the first time since 1992, and it will interesting to see how the current year shakes out. The VLSI Research 2011 ranking included three months of results – from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31 — from Varian Semiconductor, acquired by Applied Materials last year. Varian’s full-year results will be included in the 2012 ranking; if Varian’s full-year 2011 revenues had been added to Applied’s in the 2011 rankings from VLSI Research, then Applied would have easily kept the coveted top spot. Varian had $1.096 billion in revenues from Jan. 1 to Oct. 31.
Another merger – between No. 5 Lam Research and No. 10 Novellus Systems – will shake up the 2012 rankings. With $4.122 in combined 2011 revenues, the expanded Lam Research is likely to fill the No. 4 slot in the 2012 rankings, despite surging revenues from KLA Tencor as companies invest heavily in process monitoring equipment.
Going forward, the introduction of EUV lithography could supercharge ASML’s revenues. With EUV scanner prices said to be in the $100-$125 million-plus range, ASML could retain its No. 1 ranking if EUV adoption moves forward.
In the test arena, the merger of Advantest and Verigy helped propel Advantest past Teradyne into the top spot. Advantest’s results included Verigy’s total from July 1 to the end of the year. Also, Advantest enjoyed strong sales to Intel in 2011. However, Teradyne’s revenues have been strong of late, Hutcheson noted, indicating a tight race between Advantest and Teradyne for the test crown this year.
Source: VLSI Research Inc)
Tags: Advantest, Applied Materials, ASML, Nikon, Teradyne, VLSI Research