Showing posts with label Spatial ALD. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spatial ALD. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Dutch SoLayTec book more orders for Spatial ALD PV PERC Systems

PV Magazine reports: Dutch company SoLayTec continues to book orders for its atomic layer deposition (ALD) systems.

The manufacturer, part of Arizona-based Amtech Systems, Inc., develops, delivers and services the machines for atomic layer deposition on solar cells worldwide. 
 

SoLayTec has booked 22 ALD system orders since its inception. (PV Magazine)

SoLayTec said Monday that it had received a follow-on order for three next generation solar ALD systems from an unnamed solar cell manufacturer in Asia and is expected to ship it in the next six months. The company, originally a spin-off firm of Dutch research organization TNO, launched in 2010. It has booked 22 ALD system orders since its inception, of which 15 are for mass production.

"This latest order is another indication of the growing recognition in the solar industry of the outstanding performance of SoLayTec's spatial ALD system to improve the cost of ownership of our customers' PERC cell processes,” said Fokko Pentinga, CEO and president of Amtech.

Read more: http://www.pv-magazine.com/news/details/beitrag/solaytec-finds-buyers-for-ald-systems_100026445/#ixzz4Msh8KUjV

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Beneq offer Smartphone OLED encapsulation with ultrafast spatial ALD

Here is a follow up on the recent media reports in the induistry that we will soon see ALD encapsulated OLED smartphone screeens by Apple and Samsung.


 (www.beneq.com)

BENEQ: Ultimate OLED encapsulation with ultrafast spatial ALD

When the consumer electronics industry moves towards flexible solutions, encapsulation of flexible OLED displays against moisture permeation is one of the most difficult challenges. Totally conformal and pinhole-free ALD barrier films are ideal for ensuring a long lifetime for flexible OLEDs. They provide better barriers than traditional thick CVD solutions and much thinner coatings than the complex multi-layer PECVD barrier film alternatives.

But the coating quality of ALD thin films has actually never been the point of concern – the high encapsulation performance is widely accepted. The question in the consumer electronics business has been whether ALD can be productive enough. What has now changed?

The advances in low temperature plasma ALD processing and spatial ALD as a means to increase the equipment productivity have transformed ALD-based barrier coatings from a research topic to a viable encapsulation alternative in mass production. The high capacity of the latest spatial ALD solutions has brought the cost of ownership of ALD to acceptable levels also for consumer electronics applications.
 
Please check ot BENEQ Blog for the complete story here:  http://beneq.com/blog/201609/smart-ald-phones.html

Friday, July 29, 2016

A breakthrough in Spatial ALD by Dutch research team at HOLST Centre presented at ALD2016 Ireland

A breakthrough materials processing technique devised by a Dutch research team could lead the way for a new generation of smart fabrics, wearable electronics, solar cells and flat-panel displays.

Many of these technologies work by sandwiching together layers of different materials, with some layers ten thousand times thinner than a sheet of paper (just a few nanometres). Such thin layers can be laid down by a technique called atomic layer deposition (ALD), which is the subject of the new research by Holst Centre/TNO in the Netherlands. Improving how the thin layers are deposited is opening up many new opportunities and applications for flexible electronics in everyday life.

ALD is a highly precise technique for the growth of thin material layers. It is primarily used in the fabrication of electronic chips for an array of consumer products such as PCs, tablets and smartphones. Ultra-thin ALD layers in these devices deliver improved speed, energy efficiency, resolution and memory capacity.

The ALD processes used in the semiconductor industry are precise but slow, depositing roughly one nanometre per minute, and must be carried out in specialised vacuum equipment at low pressure on rigid materials. This is acceptable for making chips in the semiconductor industry, but is an obstacle towards using ALD for coating fabrics, foils or TV displays in a standard factory environment. 

 The research team at Holst Centre/TNO, led by Dr Paul Poodt, has successfully brought ALD out of the vacuum to atmospheric pressure, and shortened deposition times to nanometres per second, without compromising on quality. They achieved this by switching to ‘Spatial ALD’ on large-area and roll-to-roll factory equipment that is suitable for coating flexible films and large sheets. (Picture from LinkedIn.com)

The new technique is one of a number of thin film innovations being presented at the 16th International Conference on Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD 2016), which takes place in the Convention Centre Dublin, Ireland on July 24-27.

The team at Holst Centre/TNO started research into Spatial ALD in 2009 and have successfully shown its use in many applications, including a higher efficiency solar cell that is now on the market. Their current goal of coating porous materials and polymers is even more challenging, but could be hugely rewarding.

Paul Poodt, Program Manager at the Open Innovation Institute Holst Centre said: “We needed to understand the role played by gas pressure in Spatial ALD. Porous materials are like microscopic sponges, and molecules need to travel through all the pores, nooks and crannies before coating the pores properly. We found simple equations that tell us that atmospheric pressure does not in fact slow down ALD in porous materials, but can actually help to speed it up. With this understanding we can make clever designs of new Spatial ALD reactors.”

Dr Poodt added: “We believe that Spatial ALD will make flexible electronics possible soon – useful technologies like foldable displays, wearable phones and smart fabrics. We hope that the results we present at the ALD2016 Conference will be the first step to a new range of applications where Spatial ALD can be a key enabling technology.”

Dr Simon Elliott from Tyndall National Institute, chair of the ALD2016 Conference, said: “This exciting result from TNO is a great example of how seemingly-abstract theoretical understanding of gas flow past obstacles can directly impact on the manufacture of new high-tech devices, such as (O)LED lighting, flexible displays and miniature batteries for wearables.”
Dr Paul Poodt and his team will be presenting their research findings on accelerated growth of thin films onto flexible materials as part of the ALD2016 Conference in Dublin. For further information about the ALD2016 Conference please see http://ald2016.com/


Friday, July 22, 2016

Beneq strengthens its lead in high-volume industrial ALD

20 July 2016, Beneq, a leading supplier of ALD equipment and thin film coating services, today announced two new thin film equipment solutions for industrial customers that require high capacity and low process cost in advanced ALD applications. The new products are set to revolutionize the standards of coating speed in the ALD industry.

Beneq R11™ – Ultra-fast high precision spatial ALD coating

Beneq R11 is the latest addition to Beneq’s extensive portfolio of large-throughput spatial ALD solutions for industrial use. It provides an optimal solution for high performance ALD on wafers in industrial applications, such as optical coatings, insulators and barriers. It is the ideal choice of equipment when speed, cost, low process temperature and the highest possible film quality are the driving factors.

With Beneq R11, it is for the first time possible to use PEALD (Plasma Enhanced ALD) processes in high volume manufacturing. The system lends itself to barrier, insulation and anti-corrosion applications for MEMS, LED, OLED, photovoltaics, high power semiconductors, sensors and many other components.

The equipment is suitable for up to 200 mm wafers and other round or rectangular substrates. The plasma enhanced rotary ALD process of Beneq R11 is ideal for thick ALD films, in the micrometer thickness range. Beneq R11 can also be equipped with standard wafer automation.




Beneq T2S™ – Automated batch wafer equipment

Beneq T2S is the newest member of Beneq’s wafer-based production equipment portfolio. It offers a unique combination of high capacity batch processing and standard cassette-to-cassette automation. The Beneq T2S is specifically engineered to match the semiconductor requirements, including the SEMI S2 safety requirements and low particle counts.

Beneq T2S is perfectly suited for high volume manufacturing in various wafer-based applications, including MEMS, LED, OLED, ink-jet print heads and more. The thermal batch ALD process of Beneq T2S is ideal for oxide and nitride processes used for dielectric, conductor, barrier and passivation purposes.

The equipment is designed for wafers up to 200mm in diameter and can process 25 wafers per run in face-down or face-up orientation.

New products officially unveiled in ALD2016 in Dublin, Ireland

Both new products, Beneq R11 and Beneq T2S, will be introduced officially for the first time next week at ALD2016 – the 16th International Conference on Atomic Layer Deposition, which will be held at the Convention Centre Dublin, Ireland, 24-27, July 2016. Beneq is a platinum sponsor of the event.

Says Tommi Vainio, Vice President, Thin Film Equipment, at Beneq: “High capacity industrial ALD solutions are an important and expanding part of our product portfolio. Our commitment to revolutionize the coating speed standards in the ALD industry is clearly demonstrated in the new ALD equipment we are launching in Dublin. From now on with Beneq, the unit for ALD area is m2 instead of mm2.”

More information about the new products and the multitude of Beneq ALD applications is available at the Beneq stand in the ALD exhibition of the conference. The number of the Beneq booth is 30. You can also visit Beneq Monday through Wednesday at the Beneq Boat Bar right next to the convention centre.

Sunday, July 10, 2016

SoLayTec launches new product and proves cell efficiency gain of 0,2% compared to PECVD AlOx

During the last two exhibitions, new products of Tempress and SoLayTec were revealed. Especially for the next PERC2.0 expansions those products are highly requested by the market. The 2nd Generation InPassion ALD combined with the newest direct PECVD can annually produce up to 130MW including the integrated anneal process.

The 2nd Generation InPassion ALD combined with the newest direct PECVD can annually produce up to 130MW including the integrated anneal process.
The SoLayTec ALD technology is based on spatial separation of precursor gasses instead of time based separation. The different gasses are confined in specific process areas while the wafers pass by. Every point on the wafer is sequentially in contact with the wafers. This creates  the (real) ALD effect and reaction. - See more at: http://www.solaytec.com/technology/spatial-ald#sthash.09CPLKVy.dpuf

SoLayTec InPassion ALD process module with a Field Replaceable process unit (www.solaytec.com)
Field Replaceable Un()
The SoLayTec ALD technology is based on spatial separation of precursor gasses instead of time based separation. The different gasses are confined in specific process areas while the wafers pass by. Every point on the wafer is sequentially in contact with the wafers. This creates  the (real) ALD effect and reaction. - See more at: http://www.solaytec.com/technology/spatial-ald#sthash.09CPLKVy.dpu
 
Furthermore, two weeks ago the 25th Intersolar exhibition and EUPVSEC conference were held in Munich. In several presentations the InPassion ALD was an important topic. Research institute Imec presented its latest results regarding n-type IBC cells on 156x156mm2 using Al2O3 from SoLayTec. Furthermore Hanwha Q Cells presented its evaluation results of InPassion ALD versus MW-PECVD and SoLayTec gave an overview of its successful PERC integration project of one of their key customers.

PERC2.0

“For PERC integration the Al2O3 ALD machine only, is not the complete solution. A customer also needs a PECVD capping machine for covering the Al2O3 layer. So far a customer needed at least 6 direct PECVD tubes to meet the ALD output of 3600wph. Since 10th SNEC exhibition in Shanghai Tempress introduced the SPECTRUM PECVD which has at least the same nett capacity as the InPassion ALD. So now capex wise we have a highly cost effective solution available for our customers”, said Roger Görtzen, co-founder of SoLayTec and director marketing and sales. “Especially if we take into account that the uptime, throughput, TMA usage and efficiency gain are even better than our main competitor. On top of that, the newly introduced 2nd generation InPassion ALD has been improved a lot. The main point that has been improved is the uptime and nett throughput of the machine”, according to Roger Görtzen.

Munich Intersolar / EUPVSEC

During the 32nd PVSEC in Munich, Hanwha Q CELLS published the results of the evaluation of the InPassion ALD and compared the results with their mainstream MW-PECVD system. The main conclusion is that the InPassion ALD gives an 0.15% up to 0.25% better efficiency for multi-cSi PERC compared to MW-PECVD AlOx. This gives a benefit in extra margin for the customer of about 300.000Euro/year. “At SoLayTec we are very proud of this result, confirming our efficiency benefits at an important tier one cell manufacturer”, said Roger Görtzen.

Since 2011 Tempress and SoLayTec are both part of the Industrial Affiliation program within imec. This week the imec research team and its partners presented the latest results of their large area n-type IBC cells of 22.8%. In the past imec already proved that ALD Al2O3 was a good passivation material for p+ emitters, but in this work the ALD from SoLayTec plays a significant role to passivate also the n+ emitter. In the past standard passivation method was always by using Wet thermal SiOx, but now also for IBC concepts the gain is +0,3% by using the ALD Al2O3 layer. “For our customer this gives a wider opportunity to use our ALD system, besides PERC applications also for other high efficiency cell concepts like: n-PERT, IBC, PERL and the latest Topcon approach”, states Roger Görtzen.

Furthermore the process team of SoLayTec recently performed a PERC integration at one of our customers in Asia. This successful ramp-up of a standard multi cell line into mono PERC reached a daily capacity of 50.000 PERC solar cells, with a stable cell efficiency of 20.6%.

Saturday, June 4, 2016

2nd Generation Spatial ALD from SoLayTec

The article is both in Chinese and English
Last December SoLayTec celebrated its 5th anniversary, and in the meantime has installed about twenty items of ALD equipment in the PV industry. We are happy to be the leading ALD supplier in this market. Unfortunately, while we are not yet number one in the market for Al2O3 passivation, we do expect to win further market share with our 2nd generation ALD system. As we all know, a successful product is based not only on the right timing of the market introduction but also on its uniqueness and user-friendliness. After installing machines at various PV manufacturers, we started to learn about the pros and cons of our system. In this article I would like to explore both these topics and convince you to become one of our next ALD users.
"Published PES magazine edition PES Solar China issue 2016"
- See more at: http://www.solaytec.com/publications#sthash.ni8K3irp.dpuf
Here is an article in both in Chinese and English about recent progress by SoLayTec and the 2nd generation Spatial ALD technology they are bringing to the PV ALD Al2O3 backside passivation market.

Last December SoLayTec celebrated its 5th anniversary, and in the meantime has installed about twenty items of ALD equipment in the PV industry. We are happy to be the leading ALD supplier in this market. Unfortunately, while we are not yet number one in the market for Al2O3 passivation, we do expect to win further market share with our 2nd generation ALD system. As we all know, a successful product is based not only on the right timing of the market introduction but also on its uniqueness and user-friendliness. After installing machines at various PV manufacturers, we started to learn about the pros and cons of our system. In this article I would like to explore both these topics and convince you to become one of our next ALD users.


You may have noticed that it rains a lot across Europe this early summer. Here is a picture form the other day when I test the SoLayTec spatial ALD technology.


"Published PES magazine edition PES Solar China issue 2016"

- See more at: http://www.solaytec.com/publications#sthash.ni8K3irp.dpuf

The article is both in Chinese and English
Last December SoLayTec celebrated its 5th anniversary, and in the meantime has installed about twenty items of ALD equipment in the PV industry. We are happy to be the leading ALD supplier in this market. Unfortunately, while we are not yet number one in the market for Al2O3 passivation, we do expect to win further market share with our 2nd generation ALD system. As we all know, a successful product is based not only on the right timing of the market introduction but also on its uniqueness and user-friendliness. After installing machines at various PV manufacturers, we started to learn about the pros and cons of our system. In this article I would like to explore both these topics and convince you to become one of our next ALD users.
"Published PES magazine edition PES Solar China issue 2016"
- See more at: http://www.solaytec.com/publications#sthash.cRQOwaBN.dpuf

The article is both in Chinese and English
Last December SoLayTec celebrated its 5th anniversary, and in the meantime has installed about twenty items of ALD equipment in the PV industry. We are happy to be the leading ALD supplier in this market. Unfortunately, while we are not yet number one in the market for Al2O3 passivation, we do expect to win further market share with our 2nd generation ALD system. As we all know, a successful product is based not only on the right timing of the market introduction but also on its uniqueness and user-friendliness. After installing machines at various PV manufacturers, we started to learn about the pros and cons of our system. In this article I would like to explore both these topics and convince you to become one of our next ALD users.
"Published PES magazine edition PES Solar China issue 2016"
- See more at: http://www.solaytec.com/publications#sthash.cRQOwaBN.dpuf
The article is both in Chinese and English
Last December SoLayTec celebrated its 5th anniversary, and in the meantime has installed about twenty items of ALD equipment in the PV industry. We are happy to be the leading ALD supplier in this market. Unfortunately, while we are not yet number one in the market for Al2O3 passivation, we do expect to win further market share with our 2nd generation ALD system. As we all know, a successful product is based not only on the right timing of the market introduction but also on its uniqueness and user-friendliness. After installing machines at various PV manufacturers, we started to learn about the pros and cons of our system. In this article I would like to explore both these topics and convince you to become one of our next ALD users.
"Published PES magazine edition PES Solar China issue 2016"
- See more at: http://www.solaytec.com/publications#sthash.cRQOwaBN.dpuf
The article is both in Chinese and English
Last December SoLayTec celebrated its 5th anniversary, and in the meantime has installed about twenty items of ALD equipment in the PV industry. We are happy to be the leading ALD supplier in this market. Unfortunately, while we are not yet number one in the market for Al2O3 passivation, we do expect to win further market share with our 2nd generation ALD system. As we all know, a successful product is based not only on the right timing of the market introduction but also on its uniqueness and user-friendliness. After installing machines at various PV manufacturers, we started to learn about the pros and cons of our system. In this article I would like to explore both these topics and convince you to become one of our next ALD users.
"Published PES magazine edition PES Solar China issue 2016"
- See more at: http://www.solaytec.com/publications#sthash.cRQOwaBN.dpuf
The article is both in Chinese and English
Last December SoLayTec celebrated its 5th anniversary, and in the meantime has installed about twenty items of ALD equipment in the PV industry. We are happy to be the leading ALD supplier in this market. Unfortunately, while we are not yet number one in the market for Al2O3 passivation, we do expect to win further market share with our 2nd generation ALD system. As we all know, a successful product is based not only on the right timing of the market introduction but also on its uniqueness and user-friendliness. After installing machines at various PV manufacturers, we started to learn about the pros and cons of our system. In this article I would like to explore both these topics and convince you to become one of our next ALD users.
"Published PES magazine edition PES Solar China issue 2016"
- See more at: http://www.solaytec.com/publications#sthash.cRQOwaBN.dpuf
The article is both in Chinese and English
Last December SoLayTec celebrated its 5th anniversary, and in the meantime has installed about twenty items of ALD equipment in the PV industry. We are happy to be the leading ALD supplier in this market. Unfortunately, while we are not yet number one in the market for Al2O3 passivation, we do expect to win further market share with our 2nd generation ALD system. As we all know, a successful product is based not only on the right timing of the market introduction but also on its uniqueness and user-friendliness. After installing machines at various PV manufacturers, we started to learn about the pros and cons of our system. In this article I would like to explore both these topics and convince you to become one of our next ALD users.
"Published PES magazine edition PES Solar China issue 2016"
- See more at: http://www.solaytec.com/publications#sthash.cRQOwaBN.dpuf

Thursday, April 21, 2016

Vortex Rotary Batch ALD by Lotus Applied Technology

Some days ago Beneq  shared news about the next solution of their spatial ALD equipment family: A new rotary spatial reactor that they are developing based on technology licensed from Lotus Applied Technology.



This form of Spatial ALD technology is pretty cool and for those of you interested details on the technology can be found here

"Instead of pulsing and purging precursors from a static substrate in a single chamber, the substrate is transported by rotation to the various precursor and purge zones of the reactor, eliminating the time required for precursor introduction, saturation, and purge with each ALD cycle. Further, Lotus’ patented Radical Enabled ALD process, incorporating Precursor “Separation” by Radical Deactivation technology, greatly simplifies zone separation in the reactor, and enables the use of a simple DC plasma for PEALD processing.


In summary, Lotus’ Vortex Rotary ALD offers many advantages, including:
  • Batch deposition speeds of several angstroms per second – faster than many oxide sputtering processes
  • Low particulate generation – no coating anywhere in the chamber except on the substrates and carrier surface
  • Low materials costs – precursors are consumed only on the substrate track – exhausted precursor material may be captured and re-used
  • Low temperature processing using simple DC plasma
  • All the advantages of ALD coatings


Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Beneq Introduces New Rotary Spatial ALD Solution

Today Beneq is reporting (Press release) : Beneq, a leading supplier of ALD equipment and thin film coating services, and Lotus Applied Technology, a technology development and licensing company working to break down the cost and throughput limitations of conventional Atomic Layer Deposition, today announced that they have signed a licensing agreement about Lotus Applied Technology’s Vortex ALD technology. Beneq will be using the technology developed by LotusAT in new rotary spatial ALD equipment that provides low process cost and high productivity in industrial ALD applications, such as barrier, passivation, insulation and protection applications for MEMS, LED, OLED, photovoltaics, memory, battery and sensors. 
 

A fast industrial solution for high performance coating of wafers

The new equipment will provide an optimal solution for ALD on wafers in industrial applications and will complement Beneq’s extensive portfolio of large-throughput spatial ALD solutions for industrial use, which already includes roll-to roll ALD equipment and continuous large-area ALD solutions for moving sheet substrates.

Sunday, February 28, 2016

Veeco brings low temperature nitride Spatial FAST ALD to semiconductor manufacturing

Some years ago Veeco acquired a company founded by SI Lee, Synos Technology, who shipped a first Prototype System for FAST-ALD™ for OLED encapsulation to Samsung in 2013 (here). Since then Veeco has moved on from OLED taking this technology to the semiconductor wafer based manufacturing. Now Veeco report that they have demonstrated high-quality silicon nitride films at temperatures below 250 degrees using their FAST-ALD technology on customer wafers. They have garnered interest from multiple memory manufacturers and have started expanding their customer engagements for FAST-ALD technology.



“First of all, strong customer pull because they had an unmet need to put down silicon nitride at very low temperatures. And so we've seen strong customer pull from the customers and we've developed the deposition tools for that market and are generating very good film quality, so the things that our customers have told us they can't get with other approaches.” said John Peeler Veeco CEO in a recent Q4 2015 Results - Earnings Call (transcript by Seeking Alpha, see below).
Low temperature silicon nitride ALD is one of the fastest growing layer applications scaling down node by node for both Logic and Memory devices. Low temperature nitride can be employed for multi patterning techniques and growth is due to take over from LPCVD and PECVD as well as for new layer applications. According to John Peeler Veeco is also exploring partnerships with existing front-end semi equipment providers to commercialize this technology.

“We are looking to do it with a partner who is already established in that market. But that's what's caused us to keep investing, and I think you are right, ultimately it is a win-win, because we are either going to drive revenue and profit from a whole new application which I think will be a big benefit to us, or we'll say, we're going to get out of this because we can't make it successful.” Said John Peeler.

“In terms of how our R&D investments are distributed across various product lines, we generally do not provide a granular view on that. However, we are investing in ALD as John talked about and we are quite optimistic about that.” Said Shubham Maheshwari, CFO Veeco.


Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Update on Beneq Spatial ALD

Here is yet another update from Beneq on their new Spatial ALD technology: In November last year, we shared the first news about our new spatial ALD equipment that works with moving sheet substrates. We also promised our dear readers more information later about how we would make spatial ALD bigger, faster and more flexible. Now we have been running pilots with different materials for a couple of months, and it is time to keep that promise and share more details.

Foll post can be found here on the Beneq Blog: http://www.beneq.com/blog/201602/size-matters-and-speed-too.html


Friday, February 5, 2016

Amtech’s & SoLayTec’s solar tool orders boosted in South East Asia

Amtech Systems Inc., who recently bought Dutch Spatial ALD equipment manufacturer SoLayTec reports: TEMPE, Ariz., Feb. 4, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Amtech Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASYS), a global supplier of production equipment and related supplies for the solar, semiconductor, and LED markets, today announced its solar segment, consisting of Tempress Systems, Inc., R2D Automation, and SoLayTec, received approximately $12 million in new solar orders in January, including orders for SoLayTec's ALD systems. The orders are expected to ship within the next six to twelve months.

Fokko Pentinga, Chief Executive Officer of Amtech, commented, "We are pleased with the strong level of bookings to start to our fiscal second quarter, and continue to see healthy quotation activity within our solar segment."

  SoLayTec in Eindhoven, Netherlands,  develops, produces and services production systems for ultrafast, spatial Atomic Layer Deposition, a promising technology for ultrathin Al2O3 passivation layers on solar cells. (www.solaytec.com)

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

UPDATE: Jusung Engineering launches SDP R2 Revolution-Rotation ALD System at SEMICON Korea

JUSUNG Engineering Co., Ltd., incorporated founded in 1995, is one of the leading equipment makers in global semiconductor, flat panel display and solar cell markets from South Korea. Today at SEMICON Korea Jusung announced a new cool ALD platform (Press release, Korean) and in English below (supplied by Jusung Engineering).


SDP R2(Revolution/Rotation Atomic Layer Deposition System), featuring entirely new concept chamber to realize high-quality film even at an ultra-low temperature (Picture from Jusung Engineering Korean Press release).


JUSUNG Engineering (Ticker 036930; CEO Chul Joo Hwang) will participate in the SEMICON Korea 2016, an international semiconductor equipment and material expo held in the Coex for three days starting from January 27th 2016 to showcase its next-generation semiconductor equipment.

JUSUNG plans to launch its state-of-the-art products including SDP R2(Revolution/Rotation Atomic Layer Deposition System), featuring entirely new concept chamber to realize high-quality film even at an ultra-low temperature.


 The SDP R2 is new concept equipment that enables revolution for the main disc and rotation for the water simultaneously in order to fulfill the demanding technical requirement in the multi-patterning process at the tech-migration which is at the verification test stage on the mass- production line of a customer.

The equipment allows film quality deposition without using plasma even at an ultra low temperature below 80℃, causing no damage to film quality at infrastructure, and enables the plasma function at the treatment process, realizing the merits of both thermal deposition and plasma deposition processes at the same time. Above all, the most notable feature of the equipment is the ability to control the uniformity of the deposition material in a 20nm or smaller micro semiconductor structure through revolution and rotation function, ensuring excellent film quality without regard to the complexity of the infrastructure.

Once the new concept technology is applied to mass-production, the application will be widely extended to processes such as next-generation memory semiconductor, DRAM and Flash thanks to improved semiconductor film quality profile along with reduced time requirement for deposition, leading to higher productivity as well as lower cost.

An officer from JUSUNG Engineering said, “We showcase new concept equipment that is optimized to the tech migration process at an event where you can see the recent technology trends in the semiconductor industry at a glance…We will do our utmost to keep our technology well ahead in the industry with new product development to overcome limitations of existing equipment for next-generation semiconductors.”

Monday, November 16, 2015

BENEQ launches fast large area Spatial ALD

Following some of the other ALD companies (e.g. Veeco, SoLayTec, Levitech, Lotus, ALD NanoSolutions) BENEQ announced last Friday on their new Blog the coming of new spatial ALD equipment that is now going in to piloting. They will be sharing more information about the pilot runs with their new spatial ALD equipment later in through their blog : http://www.beneq.com/blog/201511/fast-large-area-spatial-ald-here.html



"The result is a revolutionary spatial ALD solution that takes the whole concept of continuous ALD to the next level, with processing scale and throughputs that have not been possible before. The ALD process now is like an automated car-wash, where the substrates move on a production line and each phase of the treatment is applied on the move. Based on the first results, it looks like we will completely redefine what high speed in ALD manufacturing means."

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

3M licensing agreement with Lotus Applied Technology TransFlexALDTM spatial ALD

As reported today : 3M has entered into a licensing agreement with Lotus Applied Technology to access Lotus’s TransFlexALDTM spatial Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) and barrier materials patent portfolio. TransFlexALD technology enables high-speed, low-cost deposition of single layer “ultra-barrier” coatings on rolls of polymer film using ALD. These coatings play a critical role in the encapsulation of moisture- and oxygen-sensitive electronics, such as OLED (organic light emitting device) lighting and displays, quantum dot films, photovoltaics, and flexible electronics.



“We are pleased to partner with Lotus AT and for the potential of their ALD technology to expand our ultra barrier film solutions portfolio as we integrate it with 3M’s proven technology strengths,” said John Banovetz, vice president of 3M’s Corporate Research Laboratory. “This licensing agreement and our continued product innovation will help 3M increase the performance of our ultra barrier films and offer cost-effective barrier solutions that will allow our customers to provide more competitive products in the flexible electronics markets they serve.”

3M is a leading manufacturer of flexible, transparent ultra barrier films providing encapsulation solutions for display (3M™ Flexible Transparent Barrier Film) and other sensitive electronic applications.



“We are excited to partner with 3M, a distinguished technology leader in the field of ultra barrier films,” said Eric Dickey, president of Lotus Applied Technology. “This technology offers the opportunity to radically improve the performance of single-layer barrier coatings, and 3M’s experience and expertise in this field will enable its rapid deployment in a field of applications that have been demanding higher performance at lower cost.”



(http://lotusat.com) Founded in 2007, Lotus Applied Technology was formed through a spinoff of the thin film process group within Planar Systems, Inc., a pioneer in Atomic Layer Deposition technology and manufacturing. Housed in a fully dedicated 20,000 square foot thin film processing and R&D facility in Hillsboro, Oregon, our team of technologists has been working together for over 20 years, developing innovative solutions to thin film processing challenges. Our equipment set includes a wide array of thin film deposition, lithography, and patterning equipment, including a versatile set of ALD equipment:

  • Six P400 Conventional Pulse-Based Batch ALD reactors
  • Roll to Roll ALD Research Scale Reactor
  • TransFlex Roll to Roll ALD Pilot Scale Reactor
  • Vortex Rotary Batch Reactor

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

SoLayTec garners repeat ALD orders from China for PERC production

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) equipment specialist SoLayTec, a subsidiary of Amtech Systems has secured orders from two China-based PV manufacturers. Image: SoLayTec.


Atomic layer deposition (ALD) equipment specialist SoLayTec, a subsidiary of Amtech Systems has secured orders from two China-based PV manufacturers.

Critically, SoLayTec has received its first follow-on order for its modular InPassion system from an existing customer, since first evaluating ALD technology in 2011. The customer entered volume production using the technology in 2014, resulting in a repeat order for production later in 2015. The company said that tool delivery was planned for June.

The second order is for an R&D evaluation with a new client with the expectation of taking the technology from lab to fab in the future. SoLayTec said that in principle the new customer would commence R&D activities with one module, which can handle at least 600wph. However, after pilot testing and validation, the tool can be upgraded to mass production by adding the other modules to reach a maximum throughput of 3,600wph.

Roger Görtzen, co-founder of SoLayTec and manager marketing and sales said: “Since 2011 SoLayTec is working very closely with this Tier one customer and SoLayTec is proud that they have accepted our InPassion ALD in full production last year. They started PERC research with our InPassion LAB tool in 2011 and moved towards mass production in 2014, starting with our InPassion ALD system with three modules (1800wph). This was accepted within three months after which they purchased another three modules upgrading the tool to 3600wph and at the same time showing the advantage of our modular tool set-up. So now SoLayTec has reached its next milestone by repeat orders. This clearly shows the equipment readiness for mass production for the PV market.”

ALD competed with PECVD and APCVD deposition techniques to provide tightly specified thicknesses of Al2O3 for surface passivation of both the front and real cell in a PERC configuration. Tighter deposition control can produce higher efficiency cells.

Financial details were not disclosed.

Monday, June 15, 2015

SoLayTec InPassion ALD for Al2O3 2015 Promotion Video

The In Passion Spatial ALD tool from SoLayTec is just one of the coolest ALD tools on the martket. These guys also produces the best promotion videos. Check out the latest one! What a concept - swapping chambers in full production.



SoLayTec is a spin-off company of the Dutch research organisation TNO and established in 2010. SoLayTec is part of the Amtech Group (Nasdaq ASYS). The company develops, delivers and services machines for atomic layer deposition (ALD) on solar cells worldwide. The SoLayTec ALD machines are designed for mass production in the solar market. In the field of solar cell ALD equipment, SoLayTec has a leading 

Saturday, May 9, 2015

ALD Technology on top by PV Magazine - The 2nd ALD Boom?

ALD equipment manufacturing technologies came in on top in the 50 Technology Highlight report by PV Magazine as published in the 2015 April issue. Both SoLayTec (#2) and AVACO (#8) made the top 10.


Not only did these two ALD companies make it to this honorable list they also made some major progress business wise. So the question is now will 2015 be like 2005 when ALD made it in to high volume manufacturing for a commodity product in the Semiconductor Industry at the introduction of high-k dielectrics for the DRAM memory cell capacitors - The 2nd ALD BOOM!

"Mr. Fokko Pentinga, Chief Executive Officer of Amtech, commented, 'We made much progress in the quarter including the successful close of the BTU acquisition and the integration of both BTU and SoLayTec is progressing according to plan. Bookings continued at a healthy rate in the quarter and our backlog is at the highest level in the last three years. The mix of product in our backlog, including PECVD, ion implant, and atomic layer deposition systems (ALD), is a direct result of our decision several years ago to invest in expanding the size of our served available markets through product development and acquisition. Global solar installations continue to grow and the balance between supply and demand continues to improve. With strong growth of the market in 2015 and beyond, we see an increase in activity among top tier solar cell manufacturers to expand production both inside and outside of China and we are pleased to fully participate in the industry's selective capacity expansion and technology adaptation.'"




According to earlier reports in April "AVACO received additional volume order for PV manufacturing line that will be installed in China from one of the major solar manufacturer in the U.S. AVACO specializes in the manufacturing sputtering (PVD) vacuum deposition equipment, SuVAS™, and atomic Layer deposition (ALD) equipment AEON™. With the expertise in providing the turnkey manufacturing solution, AVACO boosts the PV market momentum."


Saturday, May 2, 2015

Spatial ALD vs Temporal ALD - HERALD workshop on Fundamentals of ALD at TU/e

As reported earlier, there will be a Cost Action "HERALD" workshop on Fundamentals of ALD - June 8 & 9, Eindhoven organized by Erwin Kessels Professor in Applied Physics at Eindhoven University of Technology. June 8 (start at noon) to June 9 (end mid-afternoon). Please see http://www.nanomanufacturing.nl/ .

One of the sessions will be on Spatial ALD vs Temporal ALD as described by this two pager (here) and briefly summarized below. 



"Spatial Atomic Layer Deposition is an ALD method that emerged the past few years, allowing high throughput ALD for a number of applications and processes. It relies on a spatial separation of precursor exposures instead of temporal separation in conventional ALD. Spatial ALD has found use particular in large - area and/or flexible electronics, such as photovoltaics, OLED lighting and displays, where the unique qualities of ALD are a clear asset, but where high throughput processing (e.g, roll-to-roll) is required. There are several different ways to do Spatial ALD (atmospheric vs low-pressure, R2R, S2S, plasma, etc.)but in all cases it is an equipment enabled method and they share a common feature: it is all ALD."


A Spatial ALD reaction scheme where the precursors are dosed simultaneously and continuously in half-reaction precursor zones separated by inert gas zones. Moving the substrate through two half-reaction zones completes one ALD cycle (Poodt et al., J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 30, 010802 (2012))

The following topics will be addressed during the introduction:
  • Basic introduction Spatial ALD and comparison with conventional ALD
  • Time scales in ALD, and what does “deposition rate” mean in ALD
  • Atmospheric vs. low-pressure ALD
  • Kinetics of Spatial ALD
  • The balance between deposition rate, uniformity, performance and costs