3 ms·
That is a big topic. Basically, though, a process flow is deposition, track, litho, etch, clean, deposition, cmp, metro, inspect (lots of steps vary, but these
by brennanpeterson 6y ago
That is a big topic.
Basically, though, a process flow is deposition, track, litho, etch, clean, deposition, cmp, metro, inspect (lots of steps vary, but these are the basics)
You need each of these to work.
Deposition: Lam, Applied, TELand then Wonik, ASM, and others
Track: TEL
Litho: ASML
Etch: Lam, Applied, TEL
CMP: Ebara, Applied
Metro: Onto, KLA, Hitachi
Inspect: KLa, Applied
There are more, and I missed a bit, but basically, you need to tick off each of these layers, and quite often with the best at each.
ASML cannot make wafers for anyone without someone doing all the other parts. And really, that is true for all these companies. There is a best of breed and selection bias that makes each system imperfectly interchangeable.
But you can also see that ASML is the sole true monopoly. So if they are out, nothing works. There are plausible workarounds otherwise.not always easy or cost effective, but plausible in most cases.
ASML needs the rest of the infrastructure to sell tools. And likewise, everyone needs ASML to deliver, or there is no new node....