CITIC Securities: Three technical trends will drive the increase in usage and importance of etching equipment.

Citic Securities expects that at least three technical trends will drive the increase in usage and importance of etching equipment: 1. The adoption of lithography multiple patterning routes; 2. The demand for 3D stacked storage and near-storage computing; 3. Upgrades to the bottom transistor structure. In the long term, the direction of semiconductor equipment localization is clear, and in the short term, downstream expansion is expected to drive the industry into a new growth phase. It is recommended to pay attention to domestic etching equipment manufacturers and related supporting equipment and component companies for opportunities.