Applied Materials acquires Finnish ALD technology pioneer Picosun for key processes above 45nm

Wafer fabrication equipment giantApplied Materials acquires Picosun, a pioneer in Finnish Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) technologyALD technology developed by the latter is used in chip manufacturing from logic and memory to LEDs, micromechanical MEMS devices and power chips.The company has raised $17.4 million to datebut did not disclose the value of the transaction with Applied Materials.

According to eeNews,ALD has become a key process technology in logic device manufacturing. Since its first use in commercial manufacturing at 45nm, reliance on ALD has expanded to today’s 10nm node and beyond. The 22nm node typically has 10+ ALD steps, while the 10nm node has about 70 ALD steps and is used for high-K dielectrics such as HfOx and AlOx, gate metal layers such as TiN and TaN, etch stop layers, pads and spacers layers such as SiOx and SiNx.

Picosun is expected to be part of the Applied Materials ICAPS (Internet of Things, Communications, Automotive, Power and Sensors) group, the group provides materials engineering systems. Picosun also has strong R&D capabilities, excellent teams, and strong relationships with leading research institutes and universities around the world.

“Picosun is a pioneer in ALD technology with products serving the fast-growing specialty foundry logic market,” said Gary Dickerson, President and CEO of Applied Materials. “The addition of Picosun complements Applied’s technology portfolio and expands our accelerated customer roadmap. Opportunity.”

“The rapid growth in the number of connected devices has fueled a huge demand for chip innovation to connect the analog and digital worlds,” said Sundar Ramamurthy, Group Vice President of Applied Materials and General Manager of the ICAPS Group. “Bringing Picosun’s talented team to Applied Materials , will strengthen our ability to help customers add more intelligence and functionality to a variety of edge computing devices.”