# ALD and epitaxy for gate-all-around chips by ASM International

Canonical page: https://technooptimist.io/computing/ald-epi-gaa
Frontier: [Computing](https://technooptimist.io/computing.md) · Field: Etch, deposition & inspection · Company: [ASM International](https://technooptimist.io/companies/asm-international.md)
Stage: Scaling (5 of 5: Research → Proto → Pilot → Deploy → Scaling)
Updated: last update 2026-07-28, facts checked 2026-10-11
Goal: Supply the atom-thin films that gate-all-around transistors and HBM memory depend on, so 2 nm and 1.4 nm chips can be built in volume with each layer just a few atoms thick and identical everywhere.
Status: Record ALD sales on 2nm demand in Q2 2026; 1.4nm wins starting to add revenue in H2 2026.
Next milestone: First meaningful 1.4 nm revenue, target 2026

## Milestones

| Status | Milestone | Date | Slip |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Done | ALD enters high-volume production (high-k metal gate) | 2007 |   |
| Done | Investor Day: 2030 targets, GAA market +US$400M | 23 Sep 2025 |   |
| Done | Record quarter: €1,003M revenue on 2 nm demand | 28 Jul 2026 |   |
| Current | First meaningful 1.4 nm revenue | 2026 |   |
| Planned | 2027 revenue above the €3.7-4.6B target range | 2027 |   |
| Planned | 2030: revenue above €5.7B | 2030 |   |

## Upcoming events

- **2026**: First meaningful 1.4 nm revenue
- **27 Oct 2026**: ASM Q3 2026 results
- **2027**: 2027 revenue above the €3.7-4.6B target range
- **2030**: 2030: revenue above €5.7B

## Most important updates

- **28 Jul 2026**: ASM posts record €1,003M quarter on 2nm logic and HBM demand, expects 2026 revenue above €4B. ASM's Q2 2026 revenue rose 24% at constant currency to a record €1,003M, with demand accelerating in leading-edge logic, particularly 2 nm, and solid growth in HBM-related DRAM. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/asm-posts-record-1-003m-quarter-on-2nm-logic-and-hbm-demand-expects-6a645797.md) · [original source](https://www.investegate.co.uk/announcement/gnw/asm-international-nv--0nx3/asm-reports-second-quarter-2026-results/9692080))
- **23 Sep 2025**: ASM sets 2030 targets: revenue above €5.7B as gate-all-around and DRAM add deposition steps. At its 2025 Investor Day ASM targeted revenue above €5.7B by 2030, growing at least 12% a year against 6% for the wafer-equipment market. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/asm-sets-2030-targets-revenue-above-5-7b-as-gate-all-around-and-dram-41558608.md) · [original source](https://www.generation-nt.com/communiques-presse/asm-hosts-investor-day-provides-new-2030-targets-revises-h2-2025-2062822))

## Current obstacles

- **Revenue follows fab spending**: Extra layers pay only once chipmakers order tools and fill fabs; ASM cut its H2 2025 outlook when leading-edge logic demand weakened.
- **Competing in new film types**: Applied Materials and others compete for each new step, such as molybdenum metal and selective deposition, node by node.

## Physics limits

- **One atomic layer per cycle**: A cycle adds at most one atomic layer, and each needs gas pulses and purges. A thicker film is just more cycles, so ALD trades speed for perfection.
- **Films can't thin much further**: Gate insulators are already a few atoms thick. Thinner still, electrons tunnel straight through, so progress comes from new materials, not less material.
- **Chemistry must self-limit**: ALD works only with precursor gases that react with the surface once and stop. Each new material needs a new gas pair that behaves that way.

## How it works

### Cycle: Pulse, purge, pulse, purge

A first gas coats every exposed surface with one molecule-thick layer and stops; after a purge, a second gas reacts with it to finish one atomic layer.

### GAA: Gates wrapped all the way round

In GAA the gate surrounds stacked silicon sheets. Coating hidden undersides evenly is only possible with self-limiting ALD.

### Tuning: More layers for more voltages

Chips need transistors switching at several voltages; each needs its own work-function and dipole layers, so ALD steps per wafer rise.

### Epi: Crystal stacks become channels

Epitaxy grows alternating silicon and silicon-germanium layers; etching the SiGe away leaves the silicon sheets the gate wraps.

## Spec sheet

| Spec | ALD and epitaxy for gate-all-around chips | Provenance |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Single-wafer ALD market share | Over 55% | reported |
| Revenue, Q2 2026 | €1,003M | reported |
| Added market, first GAA vs 3nm | US$400M per 100k wafers/month | reported |
| Further addition at 1.4 nm | US$450-500M per 100k wafers/month | reported |
| Single-wafer ALD market, 2030 | US$5.1-6.1B (from $3.0B in 2024) | reported |
| Gross margin, Q2 2026 | 51.9% | reported |

Provenance: reported = stated by the company; estimated = our estimate; sample = a sample figure.

## About ASM International

ASM is a Dutch maker of chip-fab machines that deposit films one atomic layer at a time (ALD) and grow crystal layers (epitaxy). It holds more than half of the single-wafer ALD market, and gate-all-around transistors need more of both.

- Record Q2 2026 revenue of €1,003M (+24% at constant currency), driven by 2nm logic and HBM memory.
- Over 55% of single-wafer ALD; gate-all-around added US$400M to its market per 100k wafers/month.
- Expects 2026 revenue above €4B and Q3 2026 at about €1.1B.

- Founded: 1968
- Headquarters: NL
- Status: public
- Listing: ASM (Euronext)
- Website: https://www.asm.com
- People: Hichem M'Saad (CEO)
- Partners, customers, investors: ASM Pacific Technology (partner)

Company page: https://technooptimist.io/companies/asm-international.md

## Related programs

Everything in Computing: https://technooptimist.io/computing.md

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