Consolidation In Equipment Industry Said To Threaten Metrology Choices

摘要

The market for metrology and wafer inspection equipment used in the manufacturer of semiconductors, representing 10 percent of the $22-billion market for front-end equipment, is expected to more than double to $4.5 billion in 2002, maintaining its share of the overall market. Yet while this market niche continues to grow, consolidation of the capital equipment industry is threatening both innovation and variety in the choice of metrology and inspection tools, warned David S. Perloff, president of Veeco Instruments. Perloff spoke March 23 at the International Conference on Characterization and Metrology for ULSI (Ultra Large Scale Integration) Technology, hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Md.