Forge Nano triples ALD tool production space
Forge Nano, an atomic layer deposition solution provider, has completed its new semiconductor cleanroom. The 2,000-square-foot cleanroom enables the company to manufacture multiple commercial TEPHRA ALD cluster tools to meet growing equipment demand from the semiconductor market.
Forge Nano announced the expansion of its semiconductor ALD business in 2024 with the launch of TEPHRA. The company's ability to coat single wafers at 10x the throughput of traditional ALD systems has significantly grown customer demand – thus requiring an expansion of the manufacturing capacity.
“The Forge Nano TEPHRA can enable conformal metal barrier seed layers for through silicon and through glass vias at aspect ratios greater than 25:1 at production speeds,” says Matt Weimer, Director of R&D at Forge Nano, in a press release. “With this new cleanroom, Forge Nano will be able to showcase the capabilities of our ALDx atomic layer deposition processes to our customers and further our solutions for advanced packaging and 3D chip integration.”
The new cleanroom provides a Class 10 (ISO 4) space for processing sensitive customer samples and includes a metrology lab for advanced thin-film measurement and particle inspection. The remainder of the cleanroom will house Forge Nano’s internal TEPHRA tool and provide space to build multiple customer tools, serving as a dual operating space for demonstrations and manufacturing. In addition to increased manufacturing space, this expansion is poised to accelerate Forge Nano’s ability to provide proof-of-concept and commercial solution validation to manufacturers planning to integrate new ALD processes. According to the company, the expansion has tripled the semiconductor ALD tool production space.
