Smoltek Semi has acquired and commissioned a plasma-enhanced Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) system in the cleanroom of Chalmers MC2 laboratory, enabling high-quality, in-house ALD film deposition. With this capability, Smoltek Semi can now complete a full coating cycle within a single day - reducing development time for its CNF-MIM capacitors from up to a month to a single day.

"By bringing ALD in-house, we gain the freedom to innovate and develop proprietary dielectric stacks, tailored to our technology. This is a key step toward building our own intellectual property within dielectric stacks and strengthening Smoltek's long-term competitive position," said Farzan Ghavanini, CTO at Smoltek.

Previously, ALD coatings were performed by external service providers, a process that was both time-consuming and costly. Bringing this capability in-house dramatically increases iteration speed and shortens time to market.

The acquisition marks an important strategic milestone, giving Smoltek full control over its process development and enabling the creation of proprietary ALD recipes optimized for carbon nanofibers-an expertise not available externally. This strengthens the company's technology leadership and expands its IP portfolio within advanced dielectric stack development.

Brief background 
Smoltek's CNF-MIM™ technology enables the fabrication of ultra-thin capacitors for high-performance applications such as AI and HPC. The ALD process is crucial as it creates the insulating dielectric layer that determines the capacitor's performance and capacitance.

Facts: ALD and PEALD 
Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) is a thin-film deposition method that enables extremely thin and uniform material films, where material is built up atomic layer by atomic layer. Plasma-enhanced ALD (PEALD) uses plasma to activate the so-called `precursors', which enables deposition at lower temperatures without compromising film quality. This opens more material choices and makes it possible to coat more types of surfaces.