Initiation of Coverage: Looking for early expansion in SPE exposure

Research evidence excerpt

Initiation of Coverage: Looking for early expansion in SPE exposure

plied. As semiconductor

miniaturisation and multilayer wiring advance, the adoption of new materials and new structures is

progressing, further increasing the importance of deposition processes, and that expands entry

opportunities for PVD, one of the company’s main areas of strength.

ULVAC’s second-supplier strategy also contributes to market share growth. Compared with

competitors, the company differentiates itself through flexible response to customer needs, and

some switching to the company’s products has already occurred in aluminium wiring equipment for

memory. Rather than directly replacing the process of record (POR) of the top vendor, adoption in this

model is achieved from the second position, and the strategy is in line with the needs of customers

diversifying risk. Combined with the increasing number of process steps, this positioning should

enable long-term share gains.

Growth drivers exist, but the likelihood of substantial company-wide sales growth remains

low

Potential discontinuous growth catalysts include entry into copper seed layers and expanded

adoption at Samsung. The company has been working on development of copper seed layers for

about five years and already has a track record in memory. It is now targeting adoption in logic,

particularly at Samsung. Copper wiring processes are a high-value-added area in advanced logic, and

if the company can get a foothold in this area, it will be able to expand its exposure across the entire

wiring process market alongside its existing Al and TiN offerings. Volume production adoption in

advanced logic could become a multi-year growth driver through continued demand associated with