SAN JOSE, Calif.—Dutch lithography tool vendor ASML moved into the No. 2 position in revenue among IC equipment suppliers in 2008, reflecting the more significant role of lithography in the semiconductor industry, according to market research firm VLSI Research Inc.
ASML's rise to No. 2, behind long-time leader Applied Materials, came in a year when the market for equipment crashed suddenly, reminiscent of the post dot come bubble in 2001, VLSI (Santa Clara, Calif.) said.
Combined 2008 revenues for the top 10 IC equipment suppliers were $24.5 billion, a 25.8 percent decrease from 2007, VLSI said. Revenue decline among the top 10 equipment firms slightly faster than the total industry, which declined 25.1 percent to $41.8 billion, VLSI said.
VLSI noted that equipment vendors and analysts were still predicting an up year for the equipment industry as recently as the Semicon West tradeshow in July. It was not until the end of September that the wave front of the downturn became visible, the firm said.
VLSI blamed the emergence of the downturn on exhaustion of the memory industry, the worldwide financial crisis and waning consumer confidence.
Japan's Tokyo Electron Ltd. (TEL) fell to the No. 3 spot after years as the No. 2 equipment vendor, according to VLSI. TEL's revenue fell to $4.3 billion in 2008, down from $6.3 billion the year before, according to VLSI.
KLA-Tencor Corp. and Lam Research Corp. held the fourth and fifth positions, respectively, in 2008. KLA-Tencor and Lam have been ranked fourth and fifth for three consecutive years, according to the firm.
Nikon sustained the sixth position while Canon moved up to seven place from the No. 11 position, VLSI Research said. Hitachi High-Technologies and Dainippon Screen were ranked eighth and ninth, respectively, in 2008, VLSI said. Novellus Systems Corp. slipped to No. 10 from eighth, VLSI said.
VLSI said the eleventh through fifteenth positions were occupied, in order, by ASM International, Teradyne, Advantest, Varian Semiconductor and Verigy.
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