Atomic Layer Deposition from BCC Research, the value of the global market for atomic layer deposition (ALD) materials and equipment is an estimated $199m in 2009, but is expected to increase to $978m in 2014, for a 5-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 37.5%.

In the more than 30 years since first developed, atomic layer deposition has been used to produce thin films with different compositions (pure metals, oxides, nitrides, carbides and others). The technology, capable of producing monolayers on an atomic or molecular scale, is particularly well suited for the deposition of nanofilms (films with a thickness below 100nm) on different surfaces, including metals, ceramics, and polymers.

Once the global recession ends, it is expected that semiconductor fabs  will ramp up the purchasing of equipment needed to reach the next stage in IC manufacturing. In addition to semiconductors,  ALD is also forecast to see  use increase in the manufacturing of other advanced devices, such as organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), and as a fabrication and manipulation tool in nanotechnology.

This report covers the use of ALD in: electronics, mechanical/chemical, energy, optics, medical/biological/dental, and nanotechnology.

The analysis includes a description of the geographical distribution of these firms and an evaluation of ALD precursors and equipment production versus consumption, always from a geographical standpoint. Company profiles of the top 25 industry players and individual market shares for the five leading companies are also provided.

Some ALD buys last year
Tyndall National Institute in Cork, Ireland bought its plasma ALD system from US Cambridge NanoTech Inc. "In terms of performance, the dual chamber system provides excellent process versatility, more functionality, and fits in a very small footprint as compared to competitive products," said Tyndall's process engineer, Alan Blake. The Fiji system (right) supports both plasma-enhanced and thermal ALD and has a dual chamber configuration.

Picosun Oy, Finland, won the tender for a state-of-the-art ALD system from the University of Lund, Sweden. The SUNALE R-100 ALD (left) reactor installed, with acceptance tests carried out in five days. Design of the R-100 reaction chamber winning features, included a gas system with separate gas inlets reducing cross-contamination; easily removable hot-wall reaction chamber, three-way valves for gas lines; and a glove box to enable handling samples in oxygen- and water-free atmosphere, an important precondition for creation of high-quality interfaces on, eg III-V materials.

ASM International NV (which in 2008 rejected a Applied Materials bid for its ALD operation) is recorded in 2009 as selling (right) its Pulsar ALD systems for high-k gates to two top Japanese logic device manufacturers for insertion in the 32/28nm technology node. The tools to be used for hafnium-based high-k gate dielectrics, and for the dielectric capping layers used to tune work function of the gate stack.