ALD (Atomic Layer Deposition)
last updated 2026-07-31 · +2 sources in last 30d
Physics / mechanism
The forcing-function precedent (why ALD matters to every deposition thesis)
Market structure
Where value is capturable (routing)
The tool oligopoly and the ASD stack (tools + inhibitors + integration) are incumbent-owned: AMAT/Lam/ASM plus imec plus Merck/EMD. Primary route is public equity (ASM.AS is the pure ALD instrument; AMAT, LRCX, 8035.T; materials MRK.DE, AI.PA, ENTG). The only early-stage door any venture route has found is the novel precursor/inhibitor molecule out of an EU lab, as a chemistry-IP-and-exit play; through Jun 2026 repeated searches found no venture-backed ASD/precursor pure-play raising a Series A (theme predictions #2/#6 unfalsified).
Companies using
Connected ideas
Sources
Recent mentions
- 2026-02-22 Companies that master AS-ALD today specifically ASM and AMAT are positioned to dominate the $15B deposition market of the late 2020s web
Frontier questions
- Area-selective deposition: inhibitor selectivity is ~1.5nm against a <5nm requirement, and killer-defect metrology is unestablished. Does the strong FSAV version (killing a litho layer) ever leave R&D? (Deposition-theme prediction #1, end-2030.)
- The missing molecule: no material is simultaneously low-k (<6), etch-stop, and selectively depositable; FSAV is gated on it (imec/KU-Leuven, ACS 2023).
- Molybdenum ALD/CVD fill (Lam ALTUS Halo, AMAT Centris Spectral) displacing tungsten: how fast does Mo spread beyond 3D-NAND word lines into logic contacts?
- Throughput vs layer count: GAA and 3D-NAND multiply ALD passes per wafer. Does batch/spatial ALD keep the economics, and who wins the added intensity?
- Does any venture-backed ALD/precursor/inhibitor pure-play raise a real Series A, or does all new chemistry keep exiting to Merck/Air Liquide/Entegris? (Predictions #2/#4/#6 on the theme; none found through Jun 2026.)