High-k And CVD ALD Metal Precursors Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Technology (Interconnect, Capacitors, Gates), By Region (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, Latin America), And Segment Forecasts, 2021 - 2028

Report Overview

The global high-k and CVD ALD metal precursors market size was valued at USD 482.1 million in 2020 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.2% from 2021 to 2028. The growth of the market can be attributed to the low thermal stability of metal-organic composites. Extensive R&D activities by key companies are expected to improve copper metallization processes, are anticipated to accelerate the demand for deposition of first-row metal films (conducting) and dielectric (insulating) precursors onto microelectronic devices. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted several industries across the world, including the high-k and ALD/CVD metal precursors market. Therefore, responding to the COVID-19 pandemic remained the major challenge for most semiconductor industry players in 2020.

Most of the manufacturing plants across the world were closed or shut down due to the COVID-19-induced lockdowns. The semiconductor industry witnessed a decline during the first half of 2020 due to the lockdowns and associated supply chain disruptions. Although the factories reopened in the second half of the year, the high-k and ALD/CVD metal precursors market took time to normalize to the pre-COVID-19 level and is projected to rebound at a slower pace. This posed a major challenge for the most industry players.

However, the rising need for rapidly accessing and storing data has prompted the demand for materials with higher dielectric values. The Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) of noble metals, such as ruthenium, rhodium, iridium, palladium, and platinum, is anticipated to be an active research area. The high demand for several thin-film materials for new industrial applications can be attributed to the rapid development of ALD technology. All these factors are expected to drive the market growth over the forecast period.

The selection and designing of appropriate metal-organic precursors are crucial for successfully developing new Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) processes. Buyers prefer insulators with high dielectric constants as they play several critical roles in modern semiconductor devices, including decreasing power consumption in Metal-Insulator-Semiconductor (MIS) field-effect transistors. The demand for metal precursors, such as aluminum, hafnium, cobalt, titanium, tantalum, tungsten, and zirconium, with a higher dielectric constant, is expected to increase over the forecast period.

Such precursors are used for manufacturing thin metallic films. There have been considerable developments in the field of ALD owing to its application in non-semiconductor areas and the rapid growth of the semiconductor industry. Atomic layer deposition is a cutting-edge deposition method that allows ultra-thin films of a few nanometers to be deposited in a specifically controlled manner. Moreover, ALD offers remarkable deposition conformality in high-aspect-ratio structures, in addition to offering thickness control at the Angstrom level.

The selection of the right precursor is a major challenge in obtaining the desired high-k material for next-generation scaled memory and Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors (MOSFETs) devices. Such semiconductor devices require conformal thin films with a high aspect ratio and low deposition temperatures. High-temperature deposition techniques may result in complexities such as reduced adhesion of non-uniform layers, interlayer atomic diffusion, changes in morphology, and changes in crystallinity.

Technology Insights

Based on technology, the high-k and CVD ALD metal precursors market is segmented into interconnect, capacitors, and gates. High-k precursors are mostly used for manufacturing gates and capacitors while metal precursors are used for producing electrodes and interconnects. The interconnect segment accounted for largest market share in 2020 and was valued at USD 232.5 million. Interconnect is a fabrication technique that uses Copper (Cu) or Aluminum (Al) for patterning metals and introducing barrier metal layers to protect the Silicon (Si) from potential damage in an Integrated Circuit (IC). High-k dielectric layers are increasingly prevalent in certain electronic components and devices, such as advanced Metal-Insulator-Metal (MIM) capacitors, DRAMs, organic thin-film transistors, OLEDs, and non-volatile types of memory devices. The high-k metal gate technology is used for transistor scaling.

The gate segment is expected to register the highest CAGR of 10.4 % from 2021 to 2028. Significant research has been done on the ALD technique to produce thin films using high-k dielectric materials such as Al2O3, Ta2O5, HfO2, and ZrO2 for DRAMs, high-k gate oxides, and nitrides for electrodes and interconnects.

The combination of high-k dielectric and metal gate technologies offers a substantial reduction in gate leakage when transistor size is downscaled to a thickness of 1.0 nm or below. Semiconductor companies incorporate High-k Metal Gate (HKMG) stacks in MOSFETs used in the CMOS technology to continue device scaling for up to 45 nm and below nodes. The major technology introduced by Intel includes enhanced channel strain, hafnium-based and high-k gate electric and dual work-function metal replacement gate.

Regional Insights

The Asia Pacific regional market accounted for the largest market share in 2020 and was valued at USD 309.4 million. The region is expected to continue to dominate over the forecast period owing to factors such as above-average demand for electronic products in China and continued outsourcing of electronic equipment production to China. The growing demand for semiconductor devices in Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC) economies, owing to the rising need for end-use electronic products with low cost, high portability, and variety, is also expected to significantly boost the regional market growth.

The key trend favoring the market growth in the U.S. is the increasing R&D activities in nanotechnologies used in the semiconductor industry. Furthermore, the escalating demand for fabricating semiconductor devices, such as 3D-stacked ICs, having multifaceted architecture and produced using cost-effective and seamless manufacturing processes, such as ALD, is expected to drive the market growth in the country.

Key Companies & Market Share Insights

The prominent companies in this market include Air Liquide; Air Products & Chemicals, Inc.; Praxair; Merck KGaA; and Dow Chemical. Most of these companies are using acquisition and partnership strategies to expand their footprint in the global market. For instance, in November 2015, Merck KGaA acquired Sigma-Aldrich to invest in the life science business and strengthen its portfolio of sterility testing products. After the acquisition, SAFC Hitech business was combined with Merck’s Performance Materials business and was expected to function as a part of its Integrated Circuits business unit. Beneq, an ALD equipment and thin-film coating services provider, formed a strategic partnership agreement with The Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) to use the ALD technique in printed electronics applications. Some of the prominent players operating in the global high-k and CVD ALD metal precursors market are:

• Air Liquide

• Air Products & Chemicals, Inc.

• Praxair

• Linde

• Dow Chemical

High-k And CVD ALD Metal Precursors Market Report Scope

Segments Covered in the Report

This report forecasts revenue growth at global, regional, and country levels and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2018 to 2028. For this study, Grand View Research has segmented the global high-k and CVD ALD metal precursors market report based on technology and region:

• Technology Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2028)

  • Interconnect

  • Capacitors

  • Gates

• Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2028)

  • North America

    • U.S.

    • Canada

  • Europe

    • U.K.

    • Germany

  • Asia Pacific

    • China

    • India

    • Japan

  • Latin America

    • Brazil

    • Mexico

  • Middle East & Africa