imec selects PLD production equipment from Solmates

5th May 2016

Solmates

Barney Scott

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Solmates has received a high profile order for its Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) equipment from nanoelectronics research centre imec. The system is scheduled for delivery to imec in Leuven, Belgium during Q2 2016. Solmates’ advanced PLD equipment is fundamental in helping to accelerate the entry of new processes into commercial products, playing a key role in the development of future chip designs and the integration of new materials for next-gen transistors.

Solmates will become a member of imec’s Industrial Affiliation Program (IIAP) Beyond CMOS. This program focuses on the integration and benchmarking of novel device concepts beyond traditional transistor scaling. These include piezoelectrics for alternative computing devices and 2D materials such as graphene and MoS2 for ultimate scaling.

“This important and significant deal fits our roadmap towards mainstream CMOS compatibility,” commented Solmates’ CEO Arjen Janssens, “Imec is a world-leading center for nanoelectronics with significant global partnerships and therefore represents the perfect gateway to this key market.”

Solmates’ PLD platform is the next disruptive deposition technology following the adoption of atomic layer deposition (ALD) for thin film manufacturing. The technology uses a laser to create a plasma of the material to be deposited, enabling industrial quality deposition of new generation materials. An automated tool offers high yield, customised deposition of various ‘More than Moore’ materials on a wide variety of different substrates. The technology is already in use at various customer sites and several processes are qualified for (Piezo) MEMS, LED and PowerIC applications. Solmates owns key patents related to PLD technology and processes.