Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment: Types and Key Makers
Semiconductor manufacturing equipment is the set of machines that build chip circuits into silicon wafers, then cut the finished chips apart and test them. Each task has its own dedicated machine: adding films, printing patterns, etching, cleaning, measuring and more. A factory combines many kinds. The machines are made by equipment makers such as Tokyo Electron and ASML, and their sales swing sharply with the chip industry's ups and downs.
What you'll learn
- The kinds of equipment a chip factory needs, and what each one does
- The leading makers of each kind, and the areas where Japanese companies are strong
- Why the machines are so expensive and so precise
- How equipment makers earn money, and why their sales rise and fall so much
Prerequisites: it helps to know that chips are made by repeating three steps: adding films, printing patterns with light, and etching. "How Are Chips Made?" explains this in detail.
In the news: "chip equipment stocks"
Business news often runs headlines like "Tokyo Electron and Advantest shares rise" or "ASML orders beat expectations." None of these companies sell chips. They sell the machines that make chips. Applied Materials, Lam Research and KLA in the US, and SCREEN and DISCO in Japan, are in the same group.
According to the industry association SEMI, global sales of semiconductor manufacturing equipment reached $135.1 billion in 2025. That was 15% more than the year before, and a record high.
What it is: a dedicated machine for each task
Chips are built on a thin, round slice of silicon called a wafer. Films are added, patterns are printed with light, and material is etched away, dozens of times over. This stage is called the front end. After that, the wafer is cut into individual chips, which are packaged and tested. This stage is called the back end. The comparison "Front-End vs Back-End Process" sets the two side by side in a table.
Each piece of semiconductor manufacturing equipment handles one of these tasks. A film tool only adds films, for example. Most machines have one clear job. A factory lines up many units of many different kinds.
Wafers, gases and chemicals come from separate materials makers, not from equipment makers ("What Is a Silicon Wafer?"). To keep things simple, this article groups the equipment by task.
Printing patterns: exposure tools and coater/developers
Circuit patterns are printed onto the wafer with light. First, the wafer gets a thin, even coat of a chemical that changes when light hits it. This coating is called resist. Next, light shines through a master copy of the circuit pattern. Finally, a liquid dissolves part of the resist, and the pattern appears. This last step is called developing.
The machine that shines the light is the exposure tool. It shrinks the master pattern with lenses or mirrors and prints it. It then shifts the wafer bit by bit to cover the whole surface. The main makers are ASML in the Netherlands, and Nikon and Canon in Japan. Only ASML makes EUV exposure tools, which print the finest layers with light of a very short wavelength. "What Is EUV Lithography?" explains them in detail.
Coating the resist and developing it are done in one combined machine. It is called a coater/developer, and it is linked directly to the exposure tool. The leading maker is Tokyo Electron, and SCREEN makes them too.
Adding films: CVD, ALD and sputtering
Film tools work in one of two broad ways. In the first, source gases react chemically above the wafer. The solid that forms settles on the wafer as a film. This is called chemical vapor deposition (CVD), and it is widely used for films that do not conduct electricity, among others.
One member of the CVD family grows a film as if stacking it one atomic layer at a time. This is called atomic layer deposition (ALD). It is slow, but it coats even the bottom and walls of narrow, deep trenches with an even thickness.
The second way is to fire fast-moving gas particles at a plate of metal or another material. Atoms knocked loose from the plate fly off and land on the wafer. This is called sputtering, and it is used for metal films that become wiring, among others.
Ways of adding films without a chemical reaction are grouped together as PVD (physical vapor deposition). Sputtering is the best-known example. "CVD vs PVD" compares the two approaches.
The main makers of film tools are Applied Materials, Lam Research and Tokyo Electron. In ALD, ASM International of the Netherlands is also well known. For tools that process many wafers at once, KOKUSAI ELECTRIC is a leading name.
Etching: dry etching tools
After a pattern is printed, the film is etched away wherever the resist does not cover it. In today's finest steps, this is done mainly with gases. Inside a chamber with the air pumped out, a gas is given a strong dose of electrical energy. It turns into a cloud of charged particles and highly reactive particles. This state is called plasma.
Etching by striking the wafer from above with plasma particles is called dry etching. The particles can be made to travel in one direction. So the etch goes straight down and deep, without spreading sideways. "Wet vs Dry Etching" compares it with etching by liquid chemicals in a table.
The main makers are Lam Research, Tokyo Electron, Applied Materials and Hitachi High-Tech.
Cleaning, polishing, implanting and heating
Cleaning tools
Wafers are cleaned before and after almost every step. Invisible dust and tiny traces of metal can cause defects. A cleaning tool washes the wafer with chemicals and ultrapure water, then dries it, all automatically.
There are two ways to clean. One dips dozens of wafers together into a tank of chemicals. The other spins one wafer at a time while spraying chemicals on it. The second way is called single-wafer cleaning. The main makers are SCREEN, Tokyo Electron and Lam Research.
CMP tools
As layers pile up, the surface becomes uneven. If bumps remain, parts of the next pattern will be out of focus when it is printed. So a liquid with chemicals and fine abrasive particles is poured on, and a spinning pad polishes the surface flat. This step is called CMP (chemical mechanical polishing). The main makers are Applied Materials and Ebara.
Ion implanters and annealing tools
How easily a semiconductor conducts electricity depends on tiny amounts of added elements, called impurities. An ion implantation tool gives impurity atoms an electric charge. It then speeds them up with an electric field and drives them into the wafer. The main makers are Applied Materials, Axcelis in the US, and Sumitomo Heavy Industries Material Solutions (renamed from Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ion Technology in January 2026).
After implanting, the wafer is heated to a high temperature. This repairs the disturbed crystal and lets the impurities do their job. This heat treatment is called annealing. Some annealing tools heat many wafers together in a furnace. Others heat one wafer at a time in a few seconds. The main makers are Tokyo Electron, KOKUSAI ELECTRIC and Applied Materials.
Measuring and finding defects: metrology and inspection tools
In the front end, wafers are checked again and again between steps. The sooner a problem is found, the fewer wafers are wasted.
One kind of tool measures sizes and film thicknesses precisely at chosen spots. This is called a metrology tool. One example is a special electron microscope that looks down on the pattern with a fine electron beam and measures line widths. It is called a CD-SEM.
The other kind searches the whole wafer for dust and missing bits of pattern. It may shine light and catch the light that a particle scatters. Or it may compare images of neighboring chips and look for differences. This is called a defect inspection system. The main makers of metrology and inspection tools are KLA in the US, Applied Materials and Hitachi High-Tech.
Back-end tools: cutting, connecting and testing
When the front end is done, the back of the wafer is ground down to make it thin. Then the wafer is cut into individual chips. This cutting is called dicing, and it is done with a machine called a dicer, which uses a thin spinning blade or a laser. The main makers of grinding and cutting machines are DISCO and Tokyo Seimitsu.
Each chip is then fixed to a base. The chip's contact pads are connected to the base, often with fine metal wires. This step is called bonding, and the machine is called a bonder. Kulicke & Soffa is well known for wire-bonding machines. For machines that place a chip and connect it directly, Besi of the Netherlands is a leading name.
Whether a chip works is checked with electrical signals. A tester sends set signals, checks the answers, and decides automatically whether the chip is good. It is also called ATE (automatic test equipment). The main makers are Advantest and Teradyne in the US.
To test chips while they are still on the wafer, a machine moves the wafer and lines it up. This machine is called a prober. Its main makers are Tokyo Electron and Tokyo Seimitsu.
On the prober, a part with many fine needles is pressed onto the chip's contact pads. This part is called a probe card. The tester's signals reach the chip through these needles.
Why the machines are so expensive and precise
The first reason is the fineness required. On a leading-edge chip, the finest wires are spaced tens of nm apart. A nanometer (nm) is one millionth of a millimeter. Each new layer must line up exactly with the pattern below it. The error allowed is far smaller than the wire spacing.
The second reason is keeping out air and dirt. Many film and etching steps take place inside a chamber with the air pumped out. Molecules in the air could disturb the reaction or end up mixed into the film.
The third reason is giving the same result every time. The thousandth wafer must come out just like the first. So the machines are packed with systems that measure and adjust temperature, pressure and gas flow in fine detail.
EUV exposure tools are the extreme case. ASML's results for 2025 show EUV sales of €11.6 billion, for 48 systems. Simple division, done for this article, gives about €240 million per system. That is an average that includes newer models.
How equipment makers make money
Selling machines, then supporting them
Equipment makers do not earn money only from selling new machines. Servicing and repairing installed machines, spare parts, and upgrades that improve performance are also big sources of income. A machine stays in use in a factory for years and needs support the whole time.
For example, ASML's sales in 2025 were €32.7 billion. Of that, €8.2 billion, or roughly a quarter, came from servicing and upgrading machines it had already delivered.
A few large customers
The buyers are the companies that make chips. Only a few companies can build leading-edge factories, so a handful of big players account for much of the sales. In Lam Research's annual report for fiscal 2025 (ended June 2025), two large customers made up about 17% and about 15% of its sales.
Sales are also concentrated by region. According to SEMI, 79% of equipment sales in 2025 went to three regions: mainland China, Taiwan and Korea. "What Is a Semiconductor Foundry?" explains the companies that make chips for others, and how the work is divided.
Booms and busts
When chips sell well, chipmakers buy equipment to expand their factories. When sales drop, they all cut back on investment at once. So equipment sales rise and fall sharply from year to year. In the chip market, good years and bad years take turns. This pattern is called the silicon cycle.
According to SEMI, equipment sales in 2019 fell 7% from the year before, and sales to Korea fell by as much as 44%. In 2021 they rose 44%. After a small dip in 2023, they hit a record in 2025.
This cycle is why equipment makers' earnings and share prices move so much. "What Caused the Global Chip Shortage?" explains how demand and shortages are linked.
Where Japanese companies are strong
Manufacturing equipment is known as a field where Japanese companies are strong. Below are share estimates that each company has published itself. The method and the date differ from company to company.
- Coater/developers: Tokyo Electron says its global share is over 90% (earnings briefing, April 2026). For units linked to EUV exposure tools, it puts its share at 100% (company estimate as of March 2025).
- Cleaning tools: SCREEN says it is No. 1 worldwide in single-wafer, batch and other cleaning tools (announcement, July 2025, based on 2024 data from a research firm).
- Cutting and grinding machines: DISCO estimates its global share of dicing machines and wafer-thinning grinders at 70–80% (company FAQ; no date given).
- Testers: Advantest estimates its 2025 share at about 66%. That figure is for chips that combine many functions, such as smartphone processors. For memory testers, it is about 60% (earnings briefing, April 2026).
Equipment also matters for national security. In October 2022 the United States, and in July 2023 Japan, tightened export controls on advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment and related items.
Common myths
Myth: One company's machine makes a whole chip
In fact, each task uses its own machine: adding films, printing, etching, cleaning, measuring and so on. These machines are bought from many makers. Next to an ASML exposure tool stand machines from Tokyo Electron, Lam Research, KLA and others. The myth arises because news saying "chips can't be made without ASML's machines" is easily read as "that one machine makes chips."
Myth: Chipmakers design the machines in their own factories
In fact, they buy most machines from equipment makers. What chipmakers decide for themselves is the recipe: the order in which the machines are used, and settings such as temperature and gas flow. Still, customers are closely involved in developing new machines. In 2012, for example, ASML received investments from Intel, TSMC and Samsung, which also covered part of its development costs.
Myth: Once an equipment maker sells a machine, the business is over
In fact, servicing, parts and upgrades for installed machines are a big business too. At ASML, they made up roughly a quarter of 2025 sales. This work continues even in bad years when few machines sell. The myth is common because news tends to focus on orders for new machines.
By the numbers
| Number | What it measures |
|---|---|
| $135.1 billion | Global semiconductor manufacturing equipment sales in 2025, up 15% from the year before (SEMI) |
| 79% | Share of 2025 equipment sales that went to mainland China, Taiwan and Korea (SEMI) |
| About €240 million | Average sales per EUV exposure tool in 2025 (ASML's reported figures, divided for this article) |
| About 17% and about 15% | Shares of Lam Research's fiscal 2025 sales that came from each of its two largest customers |
Sell costly machines to a few large customers, then support them for years. Sales swing widely with those customers' investment cycles. The numbers show an industry shaped like this. All of these figures change every year, so check SEMI and the companies' own releases for the latest values.
Learn more
- Compare in a table: "ALD vs CVD," "Furnace Anneal vs RTA vs Laser Anneal," "EUV vs DUV Lithography," "Wafer Test vs Final Test"
- Try the numbers: the lithography resolution calculator shows how the wavelength of light changes how fine a pattern can be printed.
- The people behind the machines: in a factory, equipment engineers are the ones who keep these machines running.