PUBLISHER: Information Network | PRODUCT CODE: 1266879
PUBLISHER: Information Network | PRODUCT CODE: 1266879
Chipmakers remain committed to their capex and shrinkage plans for now: Chipmakers are, according to our research, holding on to their existing orders. There are no indications, for now, that they plan to make cancellations. In addition, we believe KLA's tool is required for foundry and logic chips, rather than memory chips, for which demand is more volatile. We therefore do not expect significant order cancellations for KLA's tools.
The demand for semiconductor equipment is largely driven by the additional tools required for chipmakers to migrate to leading-edge nodes. For KLA, this is especially the case because its tool is required in foundry and logic chip manufacturing processes. Foundry and logic players are, compared to memory chip manufacturers, more committed to shrinkage. In addition, its tool is crucial for developing new processes. With capacity-driven capex slowing down, semiconductor equipment demand may prove resilient if chipmakers migrate more aggressively to the leading edge nodes.
China has been actively expanding its semiconductor capacity and manufacturing facilities. Its foundry and logic chip vendors are at least a few generations behind the leaders in the market. However, China remains committed to making progress on its semiconductor roadmap. In our view, KLA's tool will be used more intensively when the chipmakers are at R&D stages compared to the manufacturing phase. China currently spends about $5 billion on wafer fab equipment so it could help to offset a potential capex cut from large chip manufacturers.
This report offers a complete analysis of the Process Control market, segmented as: Lithography Metrology; Wafer Inspection/Defect Review; Thin Film Metrology; and Other Process Control Systems. Each of these sectors is further segmented. Market shares of competitors for all segment is presented.