NCD Contracted with Risen Energy to supply 1.8GW solar cell ALD equipment

NCD recently signed the largest contract with Risen Energy, a Chinese solar cell manufacturer, to provide ALD equipment in the next six months. This agreement is to supply 1.8GW solar cell manufacturing equipment, so it indicates that the superiority and reliability of NCD’s ALD equipment has been fully proven to the customer.

This system is (Lucida GS Series + Automation), the main product of NCD's solar division, to increase the efficiency of solar cells by depositing high quality Al2O3 ALD thin films. Lucida GS Series is batch type ALD deposition equipment that forms backside passivation of Al2O3 on multiple wafers and can process more than 4.500 wafers (@ 4nm thickness) of 156mm x 156mm size per an hour. By applying Lucida GS Series in the production of solar cells, customers can dramatically lower the production cost of high efficiency solar cells due to the high-volume productivity, high yield, efficient gas consumption and low maintenance cost compared to competitors.

Lucida GS Series has become the first choice for ALD process in high efficiency solar cell manufacturing, based on its advantages and excellence. NCD expects to record the best sales by the rapid sales growth in the solar sector in 2018. 

(Lucida GS Series + Automation)

Training School on the Chemistry of ALD 19 and 20 march in Luxembourg

HERALD COST action (MP1402: Hooking together European research in Atomic Layer Deposition) and MASSENA doctoral program (Materials for Sensing and Energy harvesting) co-organize a Training School entitled “Chemistry of Atomic Layer Deposition” (https://www.list.lu/en/event/belux3/ ) the 19 and 20 march in Luxembourg.

Experts from ALD-complementary fields animate a two days’ interactive training school about aspects associated with the chemistry behind the ALD process.

The following aspects will be addressed:

1-ALD opportunities and challenges by Dr. Elisabeth Blanquet, Univ. Grenoble Alps, Research Director, SIMAP, France

2- Precursor design and its impact on the ALD chemistry and kinetics  by Dr. Jean-Marc Girard, CTO and Head of R&D at Air Liquide Advanced Materials, France

3- Modelling aspects and tools by Dr. Alain Estève, Research Director, Head of NEO group “Nano-Engineering and integration of metal-Oxide-based nanostructures and their interfaces” LAAS-CNRS, France

4- In situ investigation of the ALD process by Dr. Martin Knaut, Institute of Semiconductors and Microsystems, Dresden, Germany

5- Approaches for area-selective ALD by Dr. Christophe Vallée, CEA – LETI - MINATEC, Grenoble, France. Head of the material department of Polytech Grenoble, Professor at Grenoble Alpes University and at Tsukuba University (Japan).

 

Limited number of travel grants (650 €/participant) will be given upon evaluation of applications. Participation from ITC countries is strongly encouraged. Thank you to inform us of your application in the registration form.

COST Action MP1402 - HERALD Hooking together European research in Atomic Layer Deposition

ISAC Research - South Korean ALD OEM

Today I came across a South Korean ALD OEM that I have not descovered previously. Possibly this company is well knwon elsewhere - ISAC Research. According to their web they supply a full range of ALD equipment covering all wafer sizes up to 300 mm, batch processing for CIGS and also powder processing.

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SEMICONDUCTOR  

• Patterning spacer (SiO, SiON, SiOC, SiN)  
• Gate high-k (HfO)
• Capacitor high-k (ZrO)
• Diffusion barrier (TiN,TaN)

OLED

• Moisture barrier (AlO)
• ITO etching barrier (AlO)
• Transparent conducting oxide (ZnO, Al:MgO, SnMgO)

PV

• AlO passivation for c-Si solar cell
• ZnOS buffer layer for CIGS thin film solar cell

MEMS/NEMS

Powder

• ALD coating on micro- and nanosized particles (Pt, Ru)
• Functional coating

Flexible

• LiBS coating (AlO)
• Moisture barrier (AlO)

Surface protection

• Anti-corrosion coatings for metal

Beneq Roll-to-roll for continuous ALD film deposition

Roll-to-roll for cost-effective ALD

[From Beneq Blog] The implementation of roll-to-roll is important for cost-effective ALD in several areas. One of the most important applications areas is ALD coatings as barriers for polymer substrates. The barrier films are critical for encapsulation and moisture barrier protection for flexible organic light emitting diodes (OLED) displays and thin film solar cells.

Internal Beneq results confirmed by independent laboratories have shown that Al2O3 ALD coatings using TMA and ozone form excellent gas barriers with WVTR values of about 1x10-5 g/m2/ at 38C/85% relative humidity.

Beneq WCS 600

The Beneq WCS 600 is the ideal option for customers looking for a large and cost-effective ALD roll-to-roll system. Typical non-uniformities are less than 2% across the web width for a typical Al₂O₃ coating.  A WVTR of 10-4 g/m² day can be expected at a web speed of 0.25 meters/minute.

The Beneq WCS 600 a large and cost effective ALD roll-to-roll system (Beneq.com)

 

Full article: Roll-to-roll for continuous film deposition

 

Learn more

• Learn more about Beneq WCS 600 here
• Read the latest Beneq Science Letters

EQP for the analysis of positive and negative ions, neutrals, and radicals from plasma processes

The Hiden Analytical EQP system is a combined mass spectrometer and energy analyser for the analysis plasma ions, neutrals and neutral radicals. The EQP instrument includes operating modes for positive ion, and negative ion analysis. Threshold ionization and electron attachment ionization modes are available for detailed neutral radical studies, for analysis of both electro-positive and electro-negative plasma radicals.

EQP Product page : LINK

The EQP system is now available with integrated MCS – multi channel scalar data acquisition with time resolution to 50 nano seconds providing for fast data acquisition in pulsed plasma applications.

Understanding ALD, MLD and SAMs as they enter the fab

[Solid State Technology LINK]As the world of advanced manufacturing enters the sub-nanometer scale era, it is clear that ALD, MLD and SAM represent viable options for delivering the required few-atoms-thick layers required with uniformity, conformality, and purity.

BY BARRY ARKLES, JONATHAN GOFF, Gelest Inc., Morrisville PA; ALAIN E. KALOYEROS, SUNY Polytechnic Institute, Albany, NY

Device and system technologies across several industries are on the verge of entering the sub-nanometer scale regime. This regime requires processing techniques that enable exceptional atomic level control of the thickness, uniformity, and morphology of the exceedingly thin (as thin as a few atomic layers) film structures required to form such devices and systems.[1]

 Full article : Solid State Technology LINK

Call for Abstracts - 3rd Area Selective Deposition Workshop (ASD 2018)

Call for Abstracts Extended to March 5, 2018 Click for Abstract Guidelines & Submission Website Hotel Sponsors The principal chemical processes and mechanisms that enable Area Selective Deposition (ASD) are rapidly becoming critical in several areas of materials and technological advancement. Most notably, the semiconductor industry will likely need new ASD processes to enable “chemical alignment” to complement traditional physical alignment (i.e. lithography) to allow transistors to scale to less than 10 nm dimensions. Other fields are also exploring chemical selectivity in materials to achieve precise targeted performance. Catalytic materials, for example, which are commonly employed to promote chemically selective reactions, are now being designed and constructed using site-selective deposition reactions. In addition, the growing complexity of energy generation and storage materials are also driving the need for new site- or area-selective processes to control heterogeneous material structures. To share advances in these areas, the 3rd Area Selective Deposition Workshop (ASD 2018), will be held on April 29 – May 1, 2018, at North Carolina State University in Raleigh North Carolina USA. The Workshop will bring together leading international scientists and engineers from academia and industry from all regions to share results and insights into: 1) fundamental principles and barriers to area selective deposition; 2) technological needs and challenges of ASD; 3) new chemical approaches and processes to address the expanding needs; and 4) surface characterization techniques and metrology innovation for ASD. Based on successful workshops at the Eindhoven University of Technology in 2017 and at IMEC in Leuven Belgium in 2016, ASD 2018 will consist of two days of presentations and discussions, preceded by a welcome reception at North Carolina State University on April 29. The program will include a series of invited and contributed speakers, a panel discussion, as well as a poster session reception on the evening of April 30. Topics: Chemical selectivity in surface reactions Mechanisms and surface-dependent thin film nucleation and growth Surface passivation for controlled nucleation and growth Patterned deposition resists, including organic monolayers, for selective deposition Chemical activation for nucleation enhancement Selectivity in thin film etching, including atomic layer etching (ALE) Processes and mechanisms for area-selective chemical vapor deposition (CVD) Processes and mechanisms area-selective atomic layer deposition (ALD) Metrology for Area-Selective Deposition Applications for area-selective deposition in electronics manufacturing Applications for area-selective processing in catalysis, energy generation and storage, and other emerging areas Surface characterization techniques for defects formation and mitigation Invited: Rohan Akolkar, Case Western University, USA Silvia Armini, IMEC, Belgium Sean Barry, Carlton University, Canada Yves Chabal, University of Texas, Dallas, USA Steve George, University of Colorado at Boulder, USA Jessica Kachian, Applied Materials, USA Joerg Lahann, University of Michigan, USA Junling Lu, University of Science & Technology of China, China Adrie Makus, Eindhoven Technical University, The Netherlands Chuck Winter, Wayne State University, USA Panel Discussion: As area selective deposition becomes critical for multiple uses, loss of selectivity and defect formation continue to be obstacles to practical implementation. New surface characterization and metrologies are needed for better mechanistic understanding of defect formation and mitigation. This panel will bring experts from academia, industry and consortia to discuss these challenges and potential solution paths. Click for Abstract Guidelines & Submission Key Deadlines: Abstract Submission Deadline Extended to: March 5, 2018 Author Acceptance Notifications: March 26, 2018 Early Registration Deadline: April 6, 2018 Hotel Reservation Deadline: April 6, 2018 Program Chair Gregory Parsons North Carolina, State Univ., USA Organizing Committee Adrie Mackus Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands (ASD 2017 Chair) Annelies Delabie IMEC, Belgium (ASD 2016 Chair) Dennis Hausmann Lam Research, USA

AVS | 125 Maiden Lane, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10038

2017 was a year of recovery in ALD business driven by 3DNAND according to ASMI

Today was the ASM International NV (OTCQX:ASMIY) Q4 2017 Earnings Conference Call for analysts. The call has been transcripeted by Seeking Alpha (LINK). All in all 2017 was a good year for ALD single wafer market and showed recovery from 2016.  Here is some important take aways from Peter van Bommel - CFO, during teh call:

• Looking at the company's financial performance, 2017 was a year of recovery in our ALD business. In particular, driven by strong increases in the 3D NAND segment. 2017, we also successfully increased our addressable market in epitaxy as we rolled our first leading high volume manufacturing customer for our new Intrepid too. Initial cost related to new product launches impacted to the gross margin but we still increased our operating profits by 38% in 2017.
• In terms of product lines, the key driver was our ALD business, at some distance followed, by Epi and PECVD. Our net sales in 2017 increased by 23% to a new record high of €737 million. Sales were led by our ALD product line, which continued to represent clearly more than half of our equipment revenue.

ASM earnings call slide (sceeen dump from Seeking Alpha LINK)

• By industry segment, the revenue stream in the fourth quarter was led by memory customers, largely 3D NAND, followed by foundry. Looking at the roadmaps of our customers, the introduction of complex 3D devices structures and new materials and further scaling, will drive the need for more precise deposition of ultrathin and highly comfortable films. This place is the strength of ALD. And as a leader in the single wave of ALD market, our company remains well-positioned to capture the growth expected in this market.

Looking ahead the addressable market for single wafer ALD will grow according to Peter van Bommel since the advanced node share  (14, 10 and 7 nm) will grow to roughly 50% in revenue by 2020-2021 of the total wafer fab equipment spending, when ASM expect the single wafer ALD market to reach  USD 1.5 billion annual revenue (see graph below, Gartner Dec 2017).

ASM earnings call slide (sceeen dump from Seeking Alpha LINK) 

Not touched upon too much was the Large Batch furnace segment which is dominated by the competitors Tokyo Electron and Hitachi Kokusai. This segment is however much smaller than the single wafer ALD segement, maybe 70:30 ratio or so. The patent disagreement with the Hitachi Kokusai was briefly mentioned but nothing substantial was said since it is an ongoing issue (LINK).

Beneq offers online training in Atomic Layer Deposition

Train yourself online on ALD  - Introducing Beneq Thin Film Solutions webinar series

As experts of Atomic Layer Deposition and thin film coatings, we get a lot of questions about ALD from our customers and partners as well as students and other people with an interest in nanotechnology. The questions and information requests range from very general questions about the ALD technology and its application possibilities to extremely detailed thin film research problems. 

 

 

We will of course try to help the best we can, but it is not always possible to answer personally to everybody, which is why we try to share information about the benefits of ALD in our blog and the technology and research pages of our website.

 

1. Beneq TFS 200 ALD research equipment - Options and Upgrades
Wednesday, March 21^st at 3.00 PM EET

In this webinar, Timo Rantasalmi, Head of Customer Services, will walk you through the available option and upgrades with concrete examples of their use and benefits.

2. Introduction to Beneq Coating Services
Wednesday, April 4^th at 3.00 PM EET

In this webinar, Dr. Erik Østreng, Head of Coating Services, will explain the benefits of using Beneq Coating Services, introduce the typical coating service solutions and tell you how to get started.

Beneq Webinar Page for full details LINK

 

ALD/CVD Chemielaborant/in bei Fraunhofer IKTS in Dresden

Die Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft ist die führende Organisation für angewandte Forschung in Europa. Unter ihrem Dach arbeiten 72 Institute und Forschungseinrichtungen an Standorten in ganz Deutschland. Mehr als 25 000 Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeiter erzielen das jährliche Forschungsvolumen von 2,3 Milliarden Euro. Davon fallen knapp 2 Milliarden Euro auf den Leistungsbereich Vertragsforschung. Rund 70 Prozent dieses Leistungsbereichs erwirtschaftet die Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft mit Aufträgen aus der Industrie und mit öffentlich finanzierten Forschungsprojekten. Internationale Kooperationen mit exzellenten Forschungspartnern und innovativen Unternehmen weltweit sorgen für einen direkten Zugang zu den wichtigsten gegenwärtigen und zukünftigen Wissenschafts- und Wirtschaftsräumen.

In der Arbeitsgruppe Dünnschicht-Technologien werden hauptsächlich chemische Gasphasenabscheidung (CVD) für verschiedene Anwendungsfelder eingesetzt bzw. entwickelt. Dabei kommen die Verfahren thermische CVD-Prozesse bei reduziertem oder Atmosphärendruck (LPCVD, APCVD), plasmagestütztes CVD (PACVD) und Atomlagenabscheidung (ALD) zum Einsatz. Werkstoffseitig stehen Hartstoffschichten, Schichten aus gerichteten Carbon Nanotubes (CNT) und nanoskalige Dielektrika auf der Basis von Hafnium-, Zirkon- und Titanoxiden sowie von Perowskiten im Mittelpunkt. Die Anwendungen reichen vom Verschleißschutz über die Aktorik, Sensorik, Batterie- und Energietechnik bis hin zur Mikroelektronik. Die Herstellung neuer Dünnschichtmaterialien erfordert auch die Modifizierung bekannter bzw. die Entwicklung neuer CVD-Technologien. Dies umfasst den Test neuer Precursorsysteme sowie die Durchführung detaillierter Parameterstudien. Unterstützt werden die Untersuchungen durch thermodynamische Berechnungen und durch eine umfassende Charakterisierung von Zusammensetzung, Struktur und Eigenschaften der Schichten.

Künftig umfassen Ihre Aufgaben hierbei

• Eigenständiger Aufbau, Betrieb und Wartung von Laboraufbauten und Versuchsdurchführung nach Ablaufplan
• Mitarbeit bei der Auswahl und Definition der wissenschaftlichen Ausrüstung und Chemikalien
• Anpassung der Laboranlagen an Projekterfordernisse
• Unterstützung bei der Fehlerbehebung an Anlagen
• Bereitstellung und Pflege technischer Dokumentationen
• Auswahl und Koordination externer und interner Lieferanten und Dienstleister
• Bestellung von Bauteilen und Wartung von für den Anlagenbetrieb notwendigen Zusatzgeräten

ASM International announces response to Hitachi Kokusai´s counterclaim

ASM International N.V. (Euronext Amsterdam: ASM) today responds to press reports of a patent infringement suit against ASM filed by Hitachi Kokusai in Federal District Court for the District of Oregon on February 20, 2018. The claim follows an earlier suit for patent infringement filed by ASM against Hitachi Kokusai and ASM's earlier initiation of an arbitration against Hitachi Kokusai alleging breach of a license agreement between the parties. ASM will diligently prosecute its cases against Hitachi Kokusai and will vigorously defend against Hitachi Kokusai's claims, which, ASM believes lack merit.

In 2007, ASM and Hitachi Kokusai entered into a licensing agreement, according to which ASM granted usage of its ALD patents in the field of use of batch ALD to Hitachi Kokusai.

On August 30, 2017, ASM initiated an arbitration with the American Arbitration Association against Hitachi Kokusai for breach of the license agreement between the parties. It is not yet known when the arbitration will be completed. 

 

Following the expiration of the parties' patent license agreement, ASM filed, on December 1, 2017, a suit for patent infringement against Hitachi Kokusai and its U.S. subsidiary in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. ASM asserted three patents. ASM has requested both an injunction and monetary damages.