NEWS

Recently, the top four global semiconductor equipment manufacturers released their 2023 annual reports or the latest quarterly reports for 2024. They outlined key focus areas for 2024, including growth drivers, technological priorities, and macroeconomic factors.

High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) Drives Semiconductor Equipment Growth

In their latest financial reports, the top semiconductor equipment manufacturers highlighted HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) as a major factor for DRAM demand recovery, serving as a key growth driver for the semiconductor equipment market.

Gary Dickerson, President and CEO of Applied Materials, stated in a February 16 earnings call that HBM, which stacks high-performance DRAM chips and connects them to logic chips via advanced packaging, is essential for enabling AI capabilities in data centers. The wafer area used by HBM is more than twice that of standard DRAM, requiring double the capacity for production.

In 2023, HBM only accounted for 5% of DRAM production, but it is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 50% in the coming years. Dickerson projected a fourfold increase in HBM packaging revenue for fiscal year 2024, reaching nearly $500 million.

ASML, Lam Research, and TEL also predict DRAM growth driven by advanced memory products like DDR5 and HBM, along with technological node transitions. These companies emphasize the importance of HBM and logic chip advancements as key factors in future revenue growth.

Advanced Process Equipment Steps Towards Commercialization

Semiconductor giants such as ASML, Applied Materials, and Lam Research are focusing on advanced logic chip technologies, including GAA (Gate-All-Around) transistors and backside power delivery. ASML will continue to deploy high-numerical-aperture EUV systems for cutting-edge processes, while Applied Materials and Lam Research emphasize their respective advanced equipment for GAA and related technologies.

As companies prepare for future market growth, they expect significant developments in the semiconductor equipment industry, particularly in 2025, when demand for AI servers and advanced memory chips is projected to drive double-digit growth in capital expenditures for wafer fab equipment.