Powering the next wave of device innovation
The role of PECVD
Tyler Sample, Vice President and Head of PECVD, discusses how plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) is enabling the next generation of semiconductor devices by unlocking new opportunities for performance, productivity, and scalability.
Semiconductor scaling is creating a complex deposition challenge. As device architectures evolve and thermal budgets tighten, manufacturers need processes that can deliver high-quality films without exposing sensitive structures to excessive heat. In this context, PECVD has become a critical enabler, using plasma to drive chemical reactions that deposit thin films at lower temperatures while supporting both performance and manufacturability.
Materials at the center of innovation
At ASM, we approach PECVD through the lens of materials discovery, combining materials innovation, process development, platform capability, and strong customer support to deliver solutions that are proven for high-volume manufacturing. This means not only developing new materials, but ensuring they translate into stable, repeatable results in production environments.
Demand for PECVD is growing across several major semiconductor inflections. In advanced logic, new transistor architectures gate-all-around (GAA), together with innovations like backside power delivery, are increasing the number of dielectric deposition steps per wafer. Many of these layers, including low-k and ultra-low-k films, must be deposited at low temperatures to protect increasingly sensitive device structures.
Memory is also becoming more PECVD-intensive. As 3D NAND scales in layer count, insulating films must be deposited in deeper, higher-aspect-ratio structures with consistent film performance throughout the stack. At the same time, high-bandwidth memory introduces additional dielectric and passivation steps as DRAM is stacked more closely with logic.
Advanced packaging adds another important growth vector. As the industry moves toward chiplets, interposers, and wafer-to-wafer bonding, PECVD supports dielectric deposition across larger and more complex structures. Applications such as thick oxide gap-fill, stress relief coatings, and bonding layers depend on processes that can deliver both film quality and manufacturing productivity.
Together, these shifts reflect a broader reality: as AI, cloud computing, and next-generation connectivity increase demand for advanced semiconductors, PECVD is becoming central to how these systems are built at scale.
Shaping what comes next
PECVD development is increasingly focused on handling more demanding 3D structures, from gate-all-around transistors to emerging memory architectures and backside power networks. These applications require strong conformality, consistent film performance, and tighter process control within limited thermal budgets. Advances in plasma control and in-situ monitoring are helping extend PECVD into these more challenging geometries.
At the same time, as PECVD expands further into advanced packaging, innovations in multi-station architectures and wafer handling are helping manufacturers scale these capabilities at high throughput, supporting wider adoption of 2.5D and 3D integration schemes.
Another important direction is greater process precision. While ALD remains essential for the thinnest films, PECVD continues to advance through techniques such as pulsing and plasma modulation, improving control over film properties while maintaining the throughput needed for manufacturing. That balance is increasingly important as customers demand both precision and scale.
From innovation to industrial impact
This integrated approach helps ensure that new materials and processes move beyond invention and into reliable manufacturing performance. By combining innovation with quality discipline and global support, PECVD solutions can reduce integration risk and accelerate the path from development to production.
For customers, this means greater confidence in scaling advanced logic, memory, and advanced packaging. As semiconductor complexity continues to rise, PECVD is becoming more important not just as a deposition technology, but as a key enabler of both device innovation and manufacturing productivity.
