ALD Equipment Market Reaches $7.9 Billion as Deposition Steps per Wafer Surge 20 Percent

By NineScrolls Team · 2026-03-11 · 3 min read · Industry

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Market Size and Projections

The global atomic layer deposition (ALD) equipment market reached $7.91 billion in 2026, according to Mordor Intelligence, and is projected to climb to $12.93 billion by 2031 at a 10.32 percent CAGR. A Technavio forecast projects $3.66 billion in incremental growth from 2026 to 2030 at a 13.1 percent CAGR. Fortune Business Insights offers a higher baseline estimate of $10.34 billion in 2026, growing to $20.79 billion by 2034 at a 9.1 percent CAGR.

Regardless of which estimate is used, ALD is the fastest-growing segment of the wafer fab equipment market. It now holds an estimated 35.5 percent share of the overall WFE market, making it the dominant equipment category by value.

What Is Driving Growth

The fundamental driver is straightforward: as device architectures go three-dimensional and feature sizes shrink below 2nm, the number of ALD steps per wafer is increasing. Industry data indicates a 20-plus percent increase in ALD steps at the 2nm node compared to 3nm. Each additional step requires tool time, chamber capacity, and consumables.

ALD's ability to deposit conformal films with atomic-level thickness control in high-aspect-ratio structures makes it irreplaceable for several critical applications: high-k dielectrics, metal gate stacks, barrier layers, and now molybdenum contacts.

The Memory Factor

Memory manufacturing is a major ALD demand driver. Samsung disclosed that ALD tools consumed 22 percent of memory-fab capital expenditure in 2025, up from 16 percent three years earlier. As 3D NAND exceeds 300 layers, each additional layer requires conformal ALD coatings in trenches with aspect ratios that conventional deposition methods cannot address.

High-bandwidth memory (HBM) fabrication for AI accelerators has further amplified demand. HBM stacking requires precise barrier and bonding layers that rely on ALD for uniformity across the vertical structure.

Logic Node Transitions

At the 2nm node, the transition from FinFET to gate-all-around nanosheet transistors introduces new ALD requirements. GAA transistors need conformal dielectric and metal films deposited around all four sides of each nanosheet channel. The geometry is more complex than a fin, and ALD is the only deposition technique capable of coating these structures uniformly.

Looking ahead, the 1.4nm node (TSMC's A14, expected 2027-2028) will add further ALD steps as nanosheet dimensions shrink and new materials are introduced.

Key Equipment Makers

ASM International controls over 55 percent of the ALD market segments it competes in. Applied Materials and Lam Research are the other major players, with both recently launching molybdenum ALD systems (Spectral and ALTUS Halo, respectively). Tokyo Electron, Kokusai Electric, and several specialty tool makers round out the competitive landscape.

The ALD equipment market is one of the most concentrated in the semiconductor supply chain, with the top three vendors controlling the vast majority of revenue.

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