Viatron Epitaxial CVD: Solving the Deposition Challenge for 3D DRAM and GAA

By Daniel de Bomford

As the world shores up supply chains for critical technologies amid geopolitical tension, semiconductors are emerging as a key sector, powering everything from AI to self-driving cars. Viatron Technologies, which began by supplying OLED equipment, now leverages its expertise in precise manufacturing to provide highly specialized semiconductor equipment.

From Display Equipment to Semiconductor Opportunity

Since its founding in 2001, Viatron has become a leading global supplier in the display heat-treatment equipment sector. Now, the company has its sights set on the semiconductor industry, with a strong focus on epitaxial CVD equipment.

A handful of key players dominate the semiconductor industry, with domestic South Korean companies holding only 20 percent of the wafer fab equipment market. Entering the industry is difficult, but it is at a critical juncture marked by the development of new technologies and production techniques.

As the technology undergoes fundamental changes, from planar 2D structures to advanced 3D architectures, it demands fundamentally new equipment approaches, creating space for niche manufacturers like Viatron. “Rather than competing head-on across every step of the production process, our strategy is to focus on highly specialized, innovative and segmented areas where unique solutions can be developed,” Kim explains.

Enabling the Next Generation of 3D Semiconductor Architectures

Viatron’s core strategy is to focus on specialized technologies that enable the next generation of 3D semiconductor architectures. These include advanced logic devices, such as Gate-All-Around (GAA) transistors, and emerging memory structures, including 3D DRAM. Both technologies demand exceptional precision and temperature control, areas where Viatron’s expertise provides a clear advantage.

As chips become smaller and more powerful, demand for faster and more energy-efficient processing is rising across every segment, from AI servers and data centers to smartphones, autonomous vehicles, and personal computers. These applications are driving record investments in advanced chip manufacturing and reshaping the equipment market. Within this shift, epitaxy—the process of growing thin, crystalline layers of silicon and silicon-germanium—has become a foundational technology, one that increasingly defines the limits of what advanced logic and memory architectures can achieve.

CEO Hyoung-June Kim of Viatron Technologies

Scaling Productivity in Epitaxial CVD

Epitaxial layers are fundamental to building transistor channels and stacked memory cells in next-generation chips. As devices move below the 2-nanometer node and epitaxial stacks expand to the hundreds of layers, achieving defect-free films and precise thickness control has become critical. As the industry moves toward these architectures, commercially viable high-volume 3D DRAM epitaxy equipment remain limited.

This represents an opportunity that Viatron is capturing with its epitaxial CVD technology, which uses a laser to deliver up to four times higher productivity than existing equipment. By enabling precise temperature control and rapid thermal adjustment, Viatron’s epitaxy tool forms high-quality multilayer epitaxial films while significantly improving throughput.

Compared to conventional lamp-based systems used by the majority of its competitors, Viatron’s approach enables faster temperature ramping, greater uniformity and shorter process times. Working closely with leading global memory and logic manufacturers, the company positions itself as a key supplier of 3D DRAM and GAA epitaxy equipment for the coming era of high-performance, three-dimensional semiconductors.

Expanding into Advanced Packaging

Viatron is also developing hybrid bonders and laser-assisted bonders for backend processes. Kim highlights that future 3D architectures will inevitably require complementary backend innovations: “Viatron's goal is to build a key equipment portfolio that meets the needs of these emerging semiconductor architectures.” The company develops its hybrid and laser-assisted bonders used for advanced packaging in its Packaging Business Division.

With constant breakthroughs in technology requiring semiconductors like generative AI, Viatron took the initiative and designated semiconductors as a new strategic pillar five years ago. Now, the company is ready to capitalize on the next technological revolution, carving a niche as a supplier of critical equipment for the world’s most advanced technology.

To hear more from CEO Hyoung-June Kim of Viatron Technologies, check out this interview with him.