Oxford Instruments to supply KAUST with hardware upgrades and ALE systems

Significant partnership with KAUST: hardware upgrade and support its cutting-edge ALD research with the addition of ALE capability

Oxford Instruments Plasma Technology has announced a significant agreement with the Saudi Arabia-based King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) Core Labs, a system of multidisciplinary and interconnected research laboratories. Under the agreement, KAUST’s Core Labs and Research Infrastructure benefits from the addition of two Oxford Instruments PlasmaPro®100 Cobra® atomic layer etch (ALE) systems to add to its existing Oxford Instruments FlexAL® atomic layer deposition (ALD) capability. 

With both ALE and ALD modules, KAUST is now even better positioned to develop its world-leading technology research and bridge the gap between academia and industry, by enhancing projects like their cutting edge research on Oxford Instruments ALD equipment GaN HEMT Origin of Interfacial Charges and GaN HEMT Highly Suppressed Interface Traps.

Press release: Significant partnership with KAUST - Oxford Instruments (oxinst.com)

ALD Stories Ep.20 - The story behind AlixLabs and ALE Pitch Splitting

Jonas Sundqvist joined the ALD Stories podcast again to talk about his company, AlixLabs! Check out their Atomic Layer Etch Pitch Splitting tech and how it challenges traditional patterning techniques.

Spotify - https://lnkd.in/djrMbZ-v
Apple - https://lnkd.in/d93sW3JK

AlixLabs proudly announce its Advisory Board

AlixLabs from Lund, Sweden, has developed a new, innovative method for manufacturing semiconductor components with a high degree of packing, eliminating several steps in the semiconductor manufacturing process - Atomic Layer Etch Pitch Splitting (APS)*. The method makes the components cheaper and less resource-intensive to manufacture in high-volume semiconductor wafer fabrication and can open up a new path for a more sustainable mass production of electronic products. The method also makes it possible to manufacture tiny semiconductor components accurately and efficiently with more manageable wafer fab equipment investments.

The company is pleased to announce an Advisory Board with long-term semiconductor industry and business experts and academic leadership. In a statement from Dr. Jonas Sundqvist, CEO and co-founder of AlixLabs, he said, "Our Advisory Board adds a new level of engagement with the semiconductor industry and leading research centers needed to transfer the APS technology into high volume manufacturing. Besides strategic business decisions, we must build an ecosystem around our disruptive patterning technology. With their support, we will be able to deeply engage the semiconductor ecosystem on all levels and in all supply sectors, from materials and equipment suppliers to the wafer fabs and recognized R&D labs and institutes in this amazing industry".

Lita Shon-Roy – President/CEO and Founder of TECHCET—has worked throughout the semiconductor supply chain, leading strategy, business development, marketing, and sales for chip designers, equipment OEMs, and material suppliers for over 30 years. Her experience spans from process development of SRAMs to business development of gases & precursors. She developed new business opportunities for companies such as RASIRC/Matheson Gases, Air Products & Chemicals, and IPEC/Speedfam, and managed marketing and sales in companies such as Air Products/Schumacher, Brooktree/Rockwell, and Hughes Aircraft. Ms. Shon-Roy is considered one of the leading experts in electronic materials market analysis and business development. She has authored and co-authored 100’s of articles, reports, and texts on semiconductor process materials markets, trends, and worldwide supply chain issues. She holds an Masters Business Administration (MBA) from California State University, Dominguez Hills, a Master of Science (MS) in Electrical Engineering with a specialty in Solid State Physics from the University of Southern California, and a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Chemical Engineering from UC San Diego.

Prof. dr. Fred Roozeboom is emeritus/guest professor in the Inorganic Membranes group at the University of Twente and consultant to the high-tech industry. From 2007 until Dec. 2021 he was a part-time, full professor at TU Eindhoven in the group Plasma & Materials Processing, and from 2009-2021 he was Senior Technical Advisor at TNO Holst Centre, Eindhoven, aiming at new applications in Atomic Layer Deposition and Etching, area-selective ALD, Li-ion micro-batteries, and EUV optical lifetime. From Sept. 2021 - Sept. 2022 he was a Research Fellow at LionVolt, a start-up, working on pilot line production of 3D thin-film Li-batteries on metal foil. Fred is co-/author of >200 publications (h-index 42), 5 book chapters, 39 granted US patents, co-/editor of 51 conference proceedings on semiconductor & microsystems processing, and executive

editor of open access journal Atomic Layer Deposition. He was or is active in conference committees for the Materials Research Society, Electrochemical Society, American Vacuum Society, IEEE, DPS-Japan, and SEMI Europe Semiconductor Technology Programs Committee.

Dr Jacques Kools has over 35 years of experience in nanotechnology R&D, focusing on capital equipment and process for vacuum etch and deposition processes. He started his career at Philips Research, Eindhoven, The Netherlands, working on reactive ion beam and laser etch processes and magnetic materials. He worked in various roles in the semiconductor equipment industry in Silicon Valley, most recently as Vice President of Technology and Director of Strategic Marketing at Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ: VECO). His current position is CEO and founder of Encapsulix, a supplier of Atomic Layer Deposition ( ALD) equipment and process technology. Dr. Kools holds a Ph.D. from the Eindhoven University of Technology. He has published extensively with more than 100 refereed papers, including more than 10 invited reviews and more than 20 US patents (h index of 30 and i10 index of 60).

Oxford Instruments and ITRI report GaN HEMT device performance by ALD and ALE

GaN HEMT device performance - Oxford Instruments and ITRI announce breakthrough development in GaN HEMT device performance

Oxford Instruments alongside its research partner Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) can today share new and exciting technology developments that will significantly benefit key hyper-growth electric vehicle, datacentre and 5G markets. The technology developments allow critical transistor components to operate at higher voltages which increases performance and reliability, while also achieving a safer and more energy efficient (normally off ‘E-mode’) operation compared to existing devices. The new GaN (gallium nitride) HEMT device architecture is defined by a recessed and insulated gate junction into the AlGaN layer, and this device is referred to as GaN MISHEMT.

In September 2021, Oxford Instruments Plasma Technology and ITRI announced a cooperative research program for next-gen compound semiconductors. This latest breakthrough is an example of that collaboration delivering on its goal of accelerating technology to benefit the partners, their regions and wider global markets. Since that announcement, Oxford Instruments has also unveiled an exclusive supply deal with Laytec, who’s endpoint technology is used to control the GaN MISHEMT recess gate depth. Recess depth accuracy and repeatability is critical to tune the device performance characteristics, and LayTec’s technology is designed specifically for this application achieves target depth accuracy of ±0.5nm. ITRI provides pilot production and value-added services, including process verification and product development. ITRI’s integration services, especially this GaN development project, have proved incredibly beneficial, which quickly proved out the higher performance of GaN MISHEMT and provided a lower risk and faster route to market for the device.

Klaas Wisniewski, Oxford Instruments Strategic Business Development Director commented: “We have excellent strategic partners and customers like Enkris, ITRI, LayTec and ROHM, and our GaN solutions are positioned strongly to serve, grow and gain from big opportunity markets. Our leading Atomic Layer Etch (ALE) and Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) technology is raising material engineering performance to achieve new levels of surface quality and defect reduction, to meet the growing demand for higher performing devices.” Klaas also added: “With our technology partner ITRI, high volume GaN manufacturing customers and our focussed investment into high value and proprietary process solutions, we expect the GaN device market to be a key driver for our business and technology roadmap.”

Klaas Wisniewski presented a talk entitled “Enhancing GaN HEMT Performance for Power Electronics Applications with Atomic Scale Processing Production Solutions” at Semicon Taiwan Sept 14-16, 2022, TaiNEX 1, Taipei, Taiwan. Please get in touch with us to discuss our latest data and opportunities for partnership and collaboration.

AlixLabs AB today announced that the company has been granted a second patent in the USA relating to Atomic Layer Etch Pitch Splitting (APS) for semiconductor manufacturing

MON, SEP 12, 2022 21:19 CET. AlixLabs from Lund, Sweden, has developed a new, innovative method for manufacturing semiconductor components with a high degree of packing, eliminating several steps in the semiconductor manufacturing process - Atomic Layer Etch Pitch Splitting (APS)*. The method makes the components cheaper and less resource-intensive to manufacture and can open up a new path for a more sustainable mass production of electronic products. The method also makes it possible to manufacture tiny semiconductor components accurately and efficiently with manageable wafer fab equipment investments.

The company is now pleased to announce having been granted a second patent in the USA. USA is one of the most important markets for leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing, a huge industrial and consumer market for the most advanced electronic products and hence crucial for AlixLabs to protect its innovative APS process by IP.

In a statement from Dr. Dmitry Suyatin, CTO and co-founder of AlixLabs on the origin of the invention and R&D activities in Lund, he said "Our key technology is based on a surprising discovery that sidewalls act as a topographical mask in Atomic Layer Etch Processes. This technology has been proven for such different materials as Gallium Phosphide (GaP), Silicon (Si) and Tantalum Nitride (TaN) – all being critical materials to the semiconductor and optoelectronic industry. Besides already having secured a granted the first US and Taiwan patent, we are now delighted to announce that our second US patent has also been granted and that we have more patent applications in the pipeline".

AlixLabs: Amin Karimi, Reza Jafari Jam, Yoana Ilarionova, Jonas Sundqvist and Dmitry Suyatin.

Dr. Amin Karimi, R&D and Operation Manager, added, "I am delighted to add that ALixLabs has been finalized a 1 Million SEK Vinnova funded project to verify the APS technology in the fabrication and electrical characterization of nanowire test transistor architectures this summer". Dr. Jonas Sundqvist, CEO and co-founder of AlixLabs, concluded that "The strategy as we advance is to successfully transfer the APS technology to 300 mm wafer processing and making it readily available for process demonstration for the leading IDMs & Foundries. We don't only hope to cut cost in semiconductor manufacturing but also to reduce the energy and clean water demand and output of greenhouse gasses during chip manufacturing considerably. This is not by itself a Green Fab Technology. However, it takes one small step in the right direction."

* Atomic Layer Etch Pitch Splitting (APS). As previously reported (April 30, 2021), The US Patent Office has approved AlixLabs's patent application for nanofabrication by ALE Pitch Splitting (APS). The US Patent Office has issued a patent (US10930515) on February 23, 2021 and now the second patnet (US11424130) on August 23, 2022. The patents covers methods to split nanostructures in half by a single process step using Atomic Layer Etching (ALE). The method can have a significant impact on the semiconductor industry by enabling sustainable scaling of electronic components and shrink chip designs further in a cost-effective way. The method is complementary for single exposure Immersion and Extreme UV (EUV) Lithography and corresponding multiple patterning technologies like self-aligned double and quadruple patterning (SADP resp. SAQP) as well as multiple exposure lithography-etch and directed self-assembly (DSA).

Jonas Sundqvist, CEO of AlixLabs, phone +46 767 63 94 67, email jonas@alixlabs.com.

AlixLabs (www.alixlab.com) is an innovative startup founded in 2019 in Lund, Sweden, enabling the semiconductor industry to scale down Logic and Memory components in a cost-effective manner by the use of ALE Pitch Splitting (APS).

Supply Tightening Expected for Specialty Electronic Gases

Demand to outpace supply for NF3 and WF6 unless alternatives come into play

San Diego, CA, August 31, 2022: TECHCET—the electronic materials advisory firm providing business and technology information— reports that the supply of Specialty Gases, nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) and tungsten hexafluoride (WF6) for electronics could tighten amongst high projected demand by 2025-2026. This forecasted steep trajectory will challenge supply-chains to keep pace. However, alternatives being developed could interrupt this trend. Both NF3 and WF6 are part of a larger US$5 billion specialty gas segment forecasted to grow 30% over the next 5 years, to total US$6.5 billion by 2026. As shown below, NF3 is expected to grow even more steeply, 72% over the forecast period (as highlighted in TECHCET’s 2022 Critical Materials Report™ on Electronic Gases).

Alternatives for these gases are currently in development which could cause a shift in growth trends. The increasing demand for NF3 in electronic manufacturing, including flat-panel displays, has triggered concern among atmospheric scientists over emissions of nitrogen trifluoride, a potent greenhouse gas. Particularly, NF3 gas has a high Global Warming Potential (GWP) compared to other gases. Consequently, the electronics industry is looking at and considering processes for on-site fluorine generation that can use F2, in place of NF3, for chamber cleaning.

...

To read the full article, click here: https://lnkd.in/g25Fa3f2

For more information on the electronic gases market outlook, check out our newest Gases Critical Materials Report™ here: https://lnkd.in/gb95EBC

#semiconductorindustry #electronics #gases #supplychain #electroniccomponents

Equipment Suppliers Brace For GaN Market Explosion - including Atomic Layer Etch (ALE)

According to a recent article in Semiengineering Power Electronics and RF will drive volume for equipment suppliers, with many new uses underway. According to industry experts interviewed, also ALD and ALE will benefit

“Through an ongoing development program, Lam Research has been establishing a suite of enabling process solutions for GaN semiconductor device fabrication,” said David Haynes, vice president of specialty technologies in Lam Research’s Customer Support Business Group. 

“Key to these capabilities is an atomic layer etch-based process that can provide ultra-low damage, atomic scale precision etching of GaN and related materials. The new, optimized processes can reduce the post etch sheet resistance of the as-etched GaN/AlGaN [aluminum gallium nitride] whilst the surface roughness of the etched material remains comparable to that of the incoming epitaxial layers. Such high-precision, low-damage etch capabilities are critical to the formation of p-GaN or recessed gate high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) architectures used to fabricate normally off GaN devices for power electronics applications.”

Lam’s Kiyo45 reactive ion etch (RIE) tool offering ALE processes of GaN and SiC materials Source: Lam Research

According to the article, Lam has developed proprietary solutions to speed up the ALE process and its ALE chambers can be used in both RF and power GaN fabrication.

Lam sees GaN on SiC RF devices as well established and will remain very important for high power applications in telecommunications infrastructure and defense. Fast development of GaN-on-Si epitaxy will move towards high volume applications for consumer products according to Haynes and explained further: “These will evolve alongside GaN-on-Si power devices that share many of the same process challenges. Today, most GaN-on-SiC RF devices are still made on 150mm or even 100mm wafers. The opportunity for GaN-on-Si devices to be readily processed on 200mm and in the future 300mm wafers, as well as the potential to use complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) foundry capacity and even develop integrated solutions with CMOS, will all be key drivers for this transition.”

The Lam Research was early in high volume manufacturing with ALE (2016 BALD Engineering - Born in Finland, Born to ALD: Lam Research - New Atomic Layer Etching Capability Enables Continued Device Scaling) ALE chambers are now also part of their Kyo45 reactive ion etch product platform and offers (lamreserch.com):

• Superior uniformity and repeatability enabled by a symmetrical chamber design, industry-leading electrostatic chuck technology, and independent process tuning features
• High productivity with low defectivity on multi-film stacks enabled by in-situ etch capability, continuous plasma, and advanced waferless auto-clean technology
• Improved critical dimension uniformity using proprietary Hydra® technology that corrects for incoming patterning variability
• Corvus® plasma sheath tuning for maximum yield of wafer-edge dies
• Atomic-scale variability control with production-worthy throughput enabled by plasma-enhanced ALE capability
• Upgradable products for low cost of ownership over several device generations

Sources: 

- Equipment Suppliers Brace For GaN Market Explosion

Equipment Suppliers Brace For GaN Market Explosion (semiengineering.com)

- Lam Research www.lamresearch.com

AlixLabs at AVS ALD ALE 2022 in Ghent, Belgium

AlixLabs AB participated and presented at The AVS 22nd International Conference on Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD 2022) featuring the 9th International Atomic Layer Etching Workshop (ALE 2022) in Ghent, Belgium June 27 to 29.

Yoana gave her oral presentation in session LE1-TuA-4 In-situ Optical Emission Spectroscopy as a Tool to Characterize Cyclic Quasi-Atomic Layer Etching, Yoana Ilarionova, Lund University, Sweden; M. Karimi, AlixLabs, Sweden; D. Lishan, D. Geerpuram, Plasma-Therm LLC, USA; R. Jafari Jam, D. Suyatin, J. Sundqvist, AlixLabs, Sweden; I. Maximov, Lund University, Sweden

Jonas gave an invited talk for TECHCET LLC CA in: AA2-TuM2-1 High ALD Equipment and Precursor Demand and 5-Year Forecast Due to Continued Semiconductor Device Scaling and Fab Expansions.

Dmitry as part of the AVS ALE Scientific Committee moderated the session ALE1-TuA In situ Studies, Mechanisms, and Modeling of ALE. We had a fantastic time and met a lot of old friends and made new ones!

Team photo: Reza Jafari Jam, Jonas Sundqvist, Yoana Ilarionova and Dmitry Suyatin.

Reza and Yoana taking on the ALD / ALE industrial exhibition.

Ghent by night, view from the Beneq party in the main castle - Gravensteen.

Dinner in a Castle.

Boat trip in beautiful Ghent

New slim line of MFCs and Valves from Fujikin.

Dmitry and Jonas met up with AlixLabs' long-time supporters Prof. Fred Roozeboom and Dr. Jacques Kools.

Yoana getting questions from Prof. Steven .M. Geroge himself.

Yoanas title slide.

ALE - the icing on the cake

Angélique Raley from Tokyo Electron USA giving the best ALE talk!

AlixLabs sponsored the Social Media Chair 2022 - please check Twitter by the Social Media Chairs @Mick__geek and @hacp81

 for more famous ALD and ALE people 

AVS ALD ALE 2022 Page: ald2022.avs.org/

NCD supplied ALE and ASD equipment to Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

NCD has recently supplied ASD (Area Selective Deposition) equipment to Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Following ALE (Atomic Layer Etching).

This is the cluster system which consists of two process modules (PMs) and a wafer transfer module (TM) and applies a running program for process integration. In addition, it is equipped to process at high temperatures up to 500℃ and process with ozone and plasma for developing the next semiconductor devices.

ALE is able to etch a deposited layer by atomic scale as opposed to ALD and ASD can only deposit on the selective area not grow the whole area of substrates by ALD.

Today, lots of universities, institutes, and companies have actively been developing future high-tech and highly integrated devices using ALE and ASD processes.

NCD expects that the ALE/ASD system will contribute very much to the development of high-end semiconductor technology and is going to do all of the efforts to the best ALD equipment company with new challenges and continuous R&D.

<Lucida M200PL Series ALD System>

Launch of the ALD & ALE ReviewBase – An easy-to-access overview of all ALD and ALE review papers

The scientific and technological interest in atomic layer deposition (ALD) and atomic layer etching (ALE) has been surging in the last decade and the sheer volume of ALD and ALE papers can make it difficult to get a clear overview. Now AtomicLimits and Prof. Kessels launched the ALD & ALE ReviewBas in Dresden at the annual EFDS ALD for Industry conference.

Link to the new site: ALD & ALE reviews – Atomic Limits

Tutorial and launch of the ReviewBase - ALD: materials, process technologies and applications Prof. Erwin Kessels, TU Eindhoven, NL.

Call for Papers for the 242nd ECS Meeting, to be held from Oct. 9-13, 2022, symposium G02: Atomic Layer Deposition and Etching Applications

Dear colleagues in Atomic Layer Deposition and Etching,

We hereby send you the Call for Papers for the 242nd ECS Meeting, to be held from Oct. 9-13, 2022, in Atlanta (USA). Especially interesting for you will be symposium G02: Atomic Layer Deposition and Etching Applications 18 that we* are organizing on an annual basis.

*organizers: Fred Roozeboom, Stefan De Gendt ; Jolien Dendooven ; Jeff Elam ; Oscar van der Straten ;Andrea Illiberi ; Ganesh Sundaram ; Rong Chen ; Thorsten Lill ; Oana Leonte ; Matthias Young

Below, you can find the Call for Papers and instructions to submit your abstract.

The due date for submission is Friday April 8, 2022.

Students can apply for (partial) travel support.

More details can be found right below this message.

Kind regards, also on behalf of my co-organizers.
Fred

Prof. dr. Fred Roozeboom
Group Inorganic Membranes
Faculty of Science & Technology
University of Twente
PO Box 217
7500 AE Enschede
The Netherlands
Mobile: +31 6 51375283
f.roozeboom@utwente.nl

AtomicLimits: Atomic Layer Etch Carves the Path to More Efficient Computing

Here is a good blog post by Intermolecular at atomic Limits on advances in ALE and future prospects

• High-volume manufacturing (HVM) of atomic-scale semiconductor devices requires new approaches to deposit and etch materials in complex nano-architectures. Next-generation logic devices, including gate all-around (GAA) transistors and the conductors that link them together, must be engineered with atomic precision.
• The selective removal of materials also enables efficient integration schemes which mitigate costly lithography issues and could lead to new ways to make memory devices. Thermal atomic layer etching (ALE) of metals, dielectrics, and semiconductors provides atomically precise isotropic etching in 3D device structures. 
• ALE processes must be selective to the materials to be etched, have robust process parameter windows, and leave minimal residues or surface damage. The complexity of experimental design requires close collaboration between chemists, process & integration engineers, and device designers, as well as new methods for combinatorial etch testing and smart data handling.
• Meeting these requirements will ensure high device yields, a necessary outcome for success in the extremely competitive semiconductor market.

LINK: Atomic Layer Etch Carves the Path to More Efficient Computing – Atomic Limits

Examples of ALE of a trench structure, with poor kinetic control of the ALE process leading to inconsistent etch (top), or good control of the ALE process leading to a surface-limited reaction and consistent etching at high aspect ratio (bottom). (Source: Intermolecular, AtomicLimits.com)

2022 Atomic Layer Processing Modelling Workshop

Pedersen group is organizing a work shop on modelling of atomic layer processes in Linköping 15-16 March next year with a Tutorial by Ray Adomaitis. Possibility to join via Zoom. 

Webpage: https://lnkd.in/gNUxY5Mg 

Welcome to a forum where experimentalists and modellers from academia and industry meet to collaboratively push the boundaries of multi-scale modelling.

Predict the Future of Thin Films

Is complete in silico development of new materials and methods a utopia or just around the corner? Join us on-site or online and discuss state-of-the-art scientific methods to model atomic layer processes such as CVD, ALD and ALE, from reactorscale to atomic level.

The conference will have a mix of contributed talks, describing the latest in ALP modelling (atomic layer processing) and industry lectures presenting areas that need modelling. 

Tutorial

Prof. Raymond Adomaitis, from University of Maryland, will describe his way of modelling ALP in the tutorial “Reaction network analysis of ALD processes: Is this a true ALD cycle? What rates can be measured?”.

 

Date and time: March 15-16, starting on Tuesday at 12.00. 

Place: Planck, Fysikhuset. You will also be able to participate online via link.

Abstract deadline: February 2022.

The conference is free of charge but to participate you will have to register. Registration and Abstract aplication will soon be available here.

Webinar RIE and ALE Processes for Quantum Devices

Optimise the Fabrication Process for Quantum Devices, 2nd December, 4 pm (GMT)

Dr Russ Renzas, Quantum Technology Market Manager

The fabrication of superconducting qubits, quantum photonic elements and diamond-based quantum sensors require highly controlled, stable processes that will not damage the surface and leave no residues. Plasma-based Reactive Ion Etch and Atomic Layer Etch processes are critical for the fabrication of these quantum devices.

In this webinar, Dr Russ Renzas will give an overview of the available plasma etch solutions and how each one of them can be used to overcome some of the processing roadblocks, providing specific examples of how they are applied during the fabrication process

This webinar will give an introduction of:

• The various etch platforms that are available and their differences
• How each etch system can be used to overcome some of the processing roadblocks
• Quantum-specific examples of what can be done and why it should be done during device fabrication process

REGISTER NOW

AlixLabs, Breaking through the Crisis – Startups

While the world is dealing with the semiconductor shortage, startups are gearing up to fill in the gap with their innovative offerings to ensure that crisis doesn’t last long. In this interview, the co-founder and CEO of AlixLabs, Dr. Jonas Sundqvist discusses about what led us to this crisis, how to fix it and what role startups have in ensuring interrupted supply of silicon. He also discusses about what next when this crisis is fixed? Is there another crisis that may arise?

AlixLabs Granted Patent in Taiwan - The Unmatched Leader of the Global Semiconductor Industry

TUE, OCT 12, 2021 21:01 CET -- AlixLabs AB today announced that the company has been granted a patent in Taiwan relating to Atomic Layer Etch Pitch Splitting (APS)

AlixLabs from Lund, Sweden, has developed a new, innovative method for manufacturing semiconductor components with a high degree of packing, eliminating several steps in the manufacturing process - Atomic Layer Etch Pitch Splitting (APS)*. The method makes the components cheaper and less resource-intensive to manufacture and can open up a new path for a more sustainable mass production of electronics. The method also makes it possible to manufacture tiny semiconductor components accurately and efficiently, which means that smaller production facilities in, for example, Europe will be able to manufacture the components with manageable investments. Today, basically all production of leading-edge semiconductors takes place in the USA and Asia, and mainly in Taiwan and South Korea.

The company is now pleased to announce the first granted patent in Tawan. Taiwan is one of the most important markets for leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing and hence crucial for AlixLabs to protect its innovative APS process by IP. The Taiwanese semiconductor industry, including IC manufacturing, design, and packing, forms a significant part of Taiwan's IT industry. Due to its strong capabilities in fab wafer manufacturing and a complete industry supply chain, Taiwan has distinguished itself from its competitors and dominate the global marketplace. Taiwan is the unmatched leader of the worldwide semiconductor industry, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) alone accounting for more than 50% of the global market. In 2020, the sector accounted for US$115 billion in output. Recently, Terry Tsao (曹世綸), global chief marketing officer and Taiwan president of SEMI, said the country's semiconductor equipment spending is expected to continue to grow in 2022 and replace South Korea as the world's largest market next year.**

As previously announced (September 28, 2021), Almi Invest and private investors, including NHL professionals Michael, Alexander and William Nylander, are participating in the issue for a total of SEK 9 million (USD 1 million) investment in AlixLabs. The funds will be used for product development and validation of the APS technology.

In a statement from Dr. Dmitry Suyatin, CTO and co-founder of AlixLabs on the origin of the invention and R&D activities in Lund, he said "Our key technology is based on a surprising discovery that sidewalls act as a topographical mask in Atomic Layer Etch Processes. This technology has been proven for such different materials as Gallium Phosphide (GaP), Silicon (Si) and Tantalum Nitride (TaN) – all being critical materials to the semiconductor and optoelectronic industry. Besides already having secured a granted US patent, we are now delighted to announce that our Taiwan patent has also been granted and that we have more patent applications in the pipeline".

The Diploma to AlixLabs for the recently Granted Patent (TW I739812) in Taiwan issued by The Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO, 經濟部智慧財產局)

Dr. Mohammad Karimi, R&D and Operation Manager, added, "I am delighted that ALixLabs has been granted a 1 Million SEK project to verify the APS technology in the fabrication of FinFET and GAA-FET transistor architectures by Vinnova in June 2021".. Dr. Jonas Sundqvist, CEO and co-founder of AlixLabs, concluded that "The strategy as we advance is to successfully transfer the APS technology to 300 mm wafer processing in Dresden, Germany and making it readily available for process demonstration for the leading IDMs & Foundries. We don't only hope to cut cost in semiconductor manufacturing but also to reduce the energy and clean water demand and output of greenhouse gasses during chip manufacturing considerably. This is not by itself a Green Fab Technology. However, it takes one small step in the right direction."

* Atomic Layer Etch Pitch Splitting (APS). As previously reported (April 30, 2021), The US Patent Office has approved AlixLabs's patent application for nanofabrication by ALE Pitch Splitting (APS). The US Patent Office has issued a patent (US10930515) on February 23, 2021. The patent covers methods to split nanostructures in half by a single process step using Atomic Layer Etching (ALE). The method can have a significant impact on the semiconductor industry by enabling sustainable scaling of electronic components and shrink chip designs further in a cost-effective way. The method is complementary for single exposure Immersion and Extreme UV (EUV) Lithography and corresponding multiple patterning technologies like self-aligned double and quadruple patterning (SADP resp. SAQP) as well as multiple exposure lithography-etch and directed self-assembly (DSA).

** Wikipedia

*** September 15, 2021-Hsinchu News, SEMI (International Semiconductor Industry Association) https://www.semi.org/zh/world_fab_forecast_fabuctor Industry Association) https://www.semi.org/zh/world_fab_forecast_fab

Jonas Sundqvist, CEO of AlixLabs, phone +46 767 63 94 67, email jonas@alixlabs.com

AlixLabs (www.alixlab.com) is an innovative startup founded in 2019 in Lund, Sweden, enabling the semiconductor industry to scale down Logic and Memory components in a cost-effective manner by the use of ALE Pitch Splitting (APS).

Post Doc position in ALE and Steven M. George Lab, Boulder Colorado

Department of Chemistry, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309 

We seek a highly-motivated individual for a postdoctoral position, available immediately, to join the laboratory of Prof. Steven George in the Department of Chemistry, at the University of Colorado in Boulder, CO. The successful candidate will conduct experiments on a quadrupole mass spectrometry molecular beam system designed for exploring reaction pathways in thermal atomic layer etching (ALE). 

A link to a recent publication showing research from this system can be found at the bottom of this posting. The successful candidate will operate as part of team, collaborating with researchers on other ALE experiments and with theoretical chemists. Additionally, the successful candidate should have experience with vacuum hardware, a strong track record of research, and capable interpersonal skills. A Ph.D. in chemistry or a related field (materials science, engineering, or physics) is required. 

Jonathan Partridge and Ann Lii-Rosales exchanging substrates on a quadrupole mass spectrometry molecular beam ALE system.

At the foot of the Rocky Mountains, Boulder, CO is known for its scenic beauty, high quality of life, and active lifestyles. 

For more information about the George Research Group please see:

https://www.colorado.edu/lab/georgegroup/ 

Please send a cover letter, CV and the names of two references to Prof. Steven George at

Steven.George@Colorado.edu

.

https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemmater.1c01950

Call for Research ArticlesSpecial Topic Collections:Atomic Layer Deposition and Atomic Layer Etching

Call for Research Articles
Special Topic Collections:
Atomic Layer Deposition and Atomic Layer Etching
Manuscript Deadline: November 15, 2021

The Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology A is soliciting research articles for publication in Special Topic Collections on Atomic Layer Deposition and Atomic Layer Etching. These special topic collections are planned in collaboration with the annual ALD meeting and ALE Workshop.

Each year, in concert with the annual Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) meeting and Atomic Layer Etching (ALE) Workshop, the Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology A publishes collections of articles covering the most recent developments and experimental studies in ALD and ALE. These ALD and ALE Special Topic Collections will include papers presented at the annual meeting and Workshop, as well as other ALD and ALE research articles that were not presented at the conference but are submitted to the collections. The collections feature articles dedicated to the science and technology of atomic layer controlled deposition and etching.

Authors are encouraged to use the JVST article template. During submission, you will have an opportunity to tell us that your paper is a part of one of the Collections by choosing either the Special Topic or Conference Collection on “Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD)” or “Atomic Layer Etching (ALE).” See recent collections: ALD 2021, ALE 2021, ALD 2020, and ALE 2020.

Swedish Semiconductor Startup AlixLabs Raises USD 1 Million Seed Capital

TUE, SEP 28, 2021 00:01 CET, Almi Invest is investing close to SEK 3 million in AlixLabs, which is developing a new method for manufacturing semiconductor components cheaper and faster. Private investors, including NHL professionals Michael, Alexander and William Nylander, are also participating in the issue for a total of SEK 9 million (USD 1 million). The funds will be used for product development and validation of the APS-technology.

Semiconductor components build up the computer chips found in virtually all electronic products, such as smartphones, servers, game consoles, computers and cars. They can be described as the brain and memory that make electronic products work.Today's semiconductor components are extremely small, making them more difficult and expensive to manufacture. The industry is working to cope with this challenge through new and innovative approaches. Common to these new methods is that they are complex and in most cases extremely expensive.

Now AlixLabs from Lund, Sweden, has developed a new, innovative method for manufacturing semiconductor components with a high degree of packing, which eliminates several steps in the manufacturing process - Atomic Layer Etch Pitchsplitting (APS)*. The method makes the components cheaper and less resource-intensive to manufacture and can open up a new path for a more sustainable mass production of electronics. The method also makes it possible to manufacture extremely small semiconductor components in an accurate and efficient way, which means that also smaller production facilities in, for example, Europe will be able to manufacture the components with manageable investments. Today, basically all production of leading edge semiconductors takes place in the USA and Asia, mainly in Taiwan and South Korea.

Dr. Jonas Sundqvist, CEO of AlixLabs AB.

- AlixLab's disruptive manufacturing method has enormous market potential and enables continued technology development and more powerful electronics that are at the same time much more resource-efficient, says Anna Gisselsson, Investment Manager at Almi Invest.The company's method is covered by an approved patent in the United States* and it has additional patent applications in other countries.

- Thanks to this investment, we can take the company to the next level, says Dr. Jonas Sundqvist, CEO of AlixLabs. Today, we have a number of ongoing negotiations with R&D actors, equipment and semiconductor manufacturers to create a basis for further cooperation for the development of our products. In the longer term, we want to create an ecosystem covering the complete value chain for APS and we hope to have a strong base in Europe with a global reach.

.- The R&D from these funds will allow us to strenghten and expand our IP portfolio for our properitary APS-technology, says Dr. Dmitry Suyatin, CTO of AlixLabs.

From left to right, Dr. Dmitry Suyatin, CEO, Dr. Mohammad Karimi R&D and Operations Manager, and Dr. Jonas Sundqvist, CEO.

AlixLabs Board of directors: https://www.alixlabs.com/who-we-are

* Atomic Layer Etch Pitch Splitting (APS). As previously reported (April 30th, 2021) The US Patent Office has approved AlixLabs’s patent application for nanofabrication by ALE Pitch Splitting (APS). The US Patent Office has issued a patent (US10930515) on February 23, 2021. The patent covers methods to split nanostructures in half by a single process step using Atomic Layer Etching (ALE). The method has the potential to have a big impact on the semiconductor industry by enabling sustainable scaling of electronic components and shrink chip designs further in a cost-effective way. The method is complementary for single exposure Immersion and Extreme UV (EUV) Lithography and corresponding multiple patterning technologies like self-aligned double and quadruple patterning (SADP resp. SAQP) as well as multiple exposure lithography-etch and directed self-assembly (DSA).

Jonas Sundqvist, CEO of AlixLabs, phone +46 767 63 94 67, email jonas@alixlabs.com

AlixLabs (www.alixlab.com) is an innovative startup founded in 2019 in Lund, Sweden, enabling the semiconductor industry to scale down Logic and Memory components in a cost-effective manner by the use of ALE Pitch Splitting (APS).

Tier 1 semiconductor automotive supplier selects Oxford Instruments Plasma Technology’s ALE technology for it’s GaN power electronic program

Oxford Instruments Plasma Technology announced May 25, 2021, (LINK) that a leading German semiconductor manufacturer to the automotive industry has selected its PlasmaPro®100 Cobra® system for the development of next generation GaN power electronic devices.

The PlasmaPro®100 Cobra® system is designed for superior uniformity, high- precision and low-damage process solutions. The production-proven system allows for rapid change between wafer sizes up to 200 mm and the cost of ownership is one of the lowest in the market.

The PlasmaPro®100 Cobra® system will be incorporated into the R&D section and will be used for development of GaN power devices. GaN power devices are gaining market share in fast charger applications and offer benefits in Electric Vehicle power management systems.

We continue to see very encouraging signals in the form of increasingly proactive customer engagement and clear market preparation and positioning activities from significant industry players for the emerging Wide Band Gap power electronic market.

"Our Atomic Scale Processing etch solution being selected by this world leading manufacturer for their GaN power electronics programme is an important strategic win for Oxford Instruments Plasma Technology" comments Klaas Wisniewski, Plasma Technology’s Strategic Business Development Director, who also added: "The GaN based power electronic market is very dynamic with improvements to both performance and cost expected at each design iteration.. This reiterates the importance of our strategy to focus on atomic scale processing solutions such as atomic layer deposition (ALD) and atomic layer etching (ALE). We are pleased that such a leading automotive semiconductor company recognizes the benefits our solutions deliver.

The PlasmaPro 100 ALE delivers precise process control of etching for next-generation semiconductor devices. Specially designed for processes such as recess etching for GaN HEMT applications and nanoscale layer etching, the system's digital/cyclical etch process offers low damage, smooth surfaces.

• Digital/Cyclical etch process – etching equivalent of ALD
• Low damage
• Smooth etch surface
• Superb etch depth control
• Ideal for nanoscale layer etching (e.g. 2D Materials)
• Wide range of processes and applications