The brief

Analyst view

• Founded 1980, Lam Research pioneered plasma etch. First Asian-American founder company on NASDAQ (1984).
• Major supplier to TSMC, Samsung, Intel, SK Hynix; $22B+ revenue, 23,300 employees globally.
• In Feb 2025 introduced Akara conductor etch and ALTUS Halo molybdenum ALD, both in production.

Technical approach

As reported

Plasma Source

DirectDrive solid-state plasma generation

DirectDrive responds 100x faster than RF sources, reducing EUV patterning defects and enabling tighter process control.

Pulsing Control

TEMPO plasma pulsing for selectivity

TEMPO pulses enhance etch selectivity and manage microloading variation across the wafer.

Ion Energy

SNAP atomic-precision ion control

SNAP controls ion energy to atomic scale, enabling precise profiles for GAA and advanced geometries.

ALD

ALTUS Halo molybdenum deposition

ALTUS Halo deposits Mo as barrier and conductor, reducing resistance 50% versus tungsten stacks.

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