Applied Materials’ Metrology/Inspection Share Plummets 30% in 2023 Hurt by China Sanctions, Says the Information Network

 AMAT’s revenue change in the metrology/inspection segment of the overall WFE equipment market, was -30%. This compares to AMAT’s overall WFE growth of +0.1%, according to The Information Network’s report “Global Semiconductor Equipment: Markets, Market Shares and Market Forecasts.”

“Based on The Information Network’s report titled “Metrology, Inspection, and Process Control in VLSI Manufacturing,” Patterned Wafer Inspection emerged as the largest sector within the overall market, totaling $4 billion. Optical Inspection dominates this sector with an 85% share in 2022, leaving E-beam with a 15% share,” according to Dr. Robert Castellano, President of The Information Network.

“Optical Inspection’s primary advantages lie in its high productivity, capable of inspecting a high volume of wafers per 24 hours while maintaining a 97% inspection rate. On the other hand, E-beam stands out for its high sensitivity, boasting a spot size of 1.5nm compared to optical’s 100nm. Essentially, E-beam offers superior sensitivity but at slower speeds, while optical provides lower sensitivity but at faster speeds,” added Dr. Castellano.

AMAT’s 2023/2022 revenue growth from sales to China was 66%, significantly higher than competitors Lam Research, KLA, Tokyo Electron, and Screen. Because of U.S. sanctions and the fact that China has been producing trailing-edge chips (16nm and larger), metrology/inspection equipment sales dropped 30% YoY.

According to the report, optical Inspection led by KLA, exhibited YoY revenue growth in 2023 was -5% versus -21% for E-beam which is the focus of Applied Materials. But in the E-beam sector, Applied Materials has only a 44% share of the sector compared to 49% for ASML.