Picosun introduces production-scale AlN batch ALD process

ESPOO, Finland, 27th October, 2016 – Picosun Oy, the leading supplier of advanced industrial ALD (Atomic Layer Deposition) technology, now provides its customers production-scale aluminum nitride batch process with superior film thickness uniformity and fast speed. 

 

Clusterd ALD Batch Tool from Picosun

Aluminum nitride (AlN) is one of the key materials in semiconductor industries. Compatibility with III-V -semiconductors makes it an excellent material for power electronics, and in mobile communications technology it is used in the production of several key components such as RF filters and microphones.

 

“We have achieved excellent results in our new AlN batch process, so we are very happy now to offer it to our industry customers for mass manufacturing applications. AlN is a very sought-after material amongst our microelectronics production customers”, says Dr. Erik Østreng, Applications and Services Director of Picosun.

High quality, but low cost microelectronics mass production is a prerequisite also for the rapidly expanding Internet-of-Things (IoT). Soon, the IoT will require trillions of sensors, actuators, transducers, energy harvesters and other, often independently operating electronic components. AlN thin films are important building blocks also in these devices.

In all semiconductor applications, the quality of the thin films, especially their uniformity and purity, is crucial. For the end product prices to stay competitive, the films must be manufactured fast and cost-efficiently in large batches.

 

“We at Picosun want to offer our customers comprehensive, turn-key ALD manufacturing solutions and the best and most agile customer care. A process, tailored, optimized and ramped-up for each customer’s individual needs is the core part of this solution”, continues Mr. Juhana Kostamo, Managing Director of Picosun. Picosun’s production ALD systems are designed to fulfill the most stringent quality and reliability requirements of today’s semiconductor industry. With Picosun’s SEMI S2 compliant batch ALD tools equipped with fully automatic substrate handling in constant vacuum excellent AlN film thickness uniformities and conformality across the batch have been achieved (See table above).