Lam Research Corporation是向世界半导体产业提供晶圆制造设备和服务的主要供应商之一。Lam的普通股股票以LRCX作为交易代码在纳斯达克股票交易所全国性交易市场进行交易。Lam是纳斯达克股票100®指数（NASDAQ-100）公司之一。

Lam Research Corporation is an American corporation that engages in the design, manufacture, marketing, and service of semiconductor processing equipment used in the fabrication of integrated circuits.[2] Its products are used primarily in front-end wafer processing, which involves the steps that create the active components of semiconductor devices (transistors, capacitors) and their wiring (interconnects). The company also builds equipment for back-end wafer-level packaging (WLP), and for related manufacturing markets such as for microelectromechanical systems (MEMS).

Lam Research was founded in 1980 by Dr. David K. Lam and is headquartered in Fremont, California, in the Silicon Valley.

History

Lam Research was founded in 1980 by David K. Lam, a Chinese-born engineer who had previously worked at Xerox, Hewlett-Packard and Texas Instruments.[3] It was while he was at Hewlett Packard that he saw the need for better plasma etching equipment, to keep up with the rapid miniaturization of semiconductor wafers.[3] He credited Bob Noyce, founder of Intel, for assisting him in getting funding by ensuring his business plan made sense.

In 1981, the company introduced its first product, the AutoEtch 480, an automated polysilicon plasma etcher. The name AutoEtch was chosen to convey that the etcher was automated, while the 80 in 480 came from 1980, the year the company was founded.[4] The first system was sold in January 1982.[5] In 1982, Roger Emerick was appointed CEO.

In May 1984, the company issued an IPO and was listed on NASDAQ, with the symbol LRCX.[7] In 1985, David Lam left the company to join Link Technologies, which eventually was bought by Wyse[8] and is now Dell Wyse.[9] In the mid-1980s, Lam Research continued its global expansion, concentrating on Taiwan and also opening customer support centers throughout Europe, the United States and Japan.

By the early 1990s, the company had a presence in China, Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan.[9] In March 1997, the company purchased OnTrak Systems Inc., a chip equipment manufacturer that specialized in chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP) cleaning, for $225 Million.[10] CMP cleaning is a hybrid process to smooth surfaces using both etching and mechanical polishing.[citation needed] In August 1997, the company named OnTrak’s CEO Jim Bagley as its CEO.[9][11] In 1998, Bagley was named chairman of the board.

In 2005, Steve Newberry was appointed as CEO.[12] In 2006, Lam Research acquired Bullen Semiconductor, now Silfex, Inc.[13] In 2008, Lam Research acquired SEZ AG,[14] now Lam Research AG.[15] In 2011, Lam Research agreed to buy San Jose, California chip equipment manufacturer Novellus Systems, for $3.3B.[16] The deal was completed in June 2012.[17] In 2012, Martin Anstice was appointed as CEO.[12] In October 2015, Lam Research announced plans to buy Milpitas, California-based wafer inspection equipment vendor KLA-Tencor for $10.6B, in what was viewed as a semiconductor industry consolidation move.[18] In June 2016, it was announced that Lam Research had joined the Fortune 500 for the first time.[19] In October 2016, the company announced it had terminated its offer for KLA-Tencor amidst concerns that the deal would not meet regulatory approval from the U.S. Department of Justice[20] over antitrust concerns.[21]