Mr. Sharkey: ATMI was founded in 1986 ' we went public in 1993 ' and has evolved into a company that is a source of advanced materials for front- end semiconductor manufacturing. Or as we like to say, The Source of Semiconductor Process Efficiency because of the value we offer to customers with our materials-based process modules. We supply the critical source materials ' primarily chemicals and gases ' and the process expertise necessary to produce integrated circuits. The key for ATMI is the semiconductor industry's switch to copper circuitry from aluminum, which is no longer practical for the next stage in semiconductor development. But copper involves entirely different technology than what fabs use today. And ATMI is the hands-down leader in copper technology for advanced interconnect. Given that new fabs cost billions to construct, you need to get maximum production efficiency to achieve profitability. That's when the phone rings at ATMI.
TWST: Can you tell us about the competitive landscape?
Mr. Sharkey: There are several materials companies vying for the
semiconductor manufacturing customer. We think ATMI's focus on advanced
technologies and our patent portfolio give us a good competitive
advantage in the key fast-growing niches of semiconductor device
manufacture. Most of ATMI's competitors serve this marketplace with
single areas of materials supply; ATMI focuses on comprehensively
supporting process technologies modules in the semiconductor fab. For
instance, we focus on materials that are consumed in implant,
deposition, cleaning and planarization processes. You'll see ATMI
competitors focusing on one or at most two of these. Competitors include
Cabot Microelectronics ' which focuses on planarization materials ' and
Air Products, which focuses on deposition materials. We are clear market
leaders with very little competition in such processes as ion implant
and copper deposition.
Tickers included in this excerpt: ATMI
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