Source: Semianalysis
ASML's patent filings and roadmap point toward a hybrid bonding tool that would let chipmakers stack dies directly on wafers—a capability that becomes essential as Moore's Law stalls and chipmakers pursue 3D architectures to pack more transistors. If ASML enters this space, it breaks open what has been a fragmented market dominated by specialized vendors, potentially giving the lithography giant another stranglehold on the semiconductor manufacturing stack and forcing competitors to accelerate their own bonding solutions. Hybrid bonding is becoming production-critical for advanced packages at Samsung, TSMC, and Intel.