Atomel

The rapid growth of AI, EVs, and data centers calls for new generations of integrated circuits. To meet industrial and consumer demands, modern microchips must undergo further miniaturization, evolve from 2D to 3D architectures, and incorporate novel materials. These trends make it increasingly difficult to control quality.

Nanoscale chips (<7 nm nodes) represent 0.2% of the market in volume but more than half in value. For those chips, defects cost billions of dollars yearly in manufacturing scrap, yield loss, in-field failures, and product returns.

Many nanoscale defects escape detection because metrology techniques are reaching their limits due to lack of resolution (spatial averaging over large areas), restricted capabilities (e.g., measuring only the top surface of 3D structures), and indirect measurement constraints (requiring models).

ATOMEL addresses this crisis with breakthrough instrumentation designed for atomic-scale characterization of thin films. In modern chips, films can be a few atoms thick and are essential to reliability and performance, bringing, for example, insulation, thermal stability, resistivity, mechanical strength, or moisture resistance. Our innovative technique enables direct thin film thickness measurement with sub-nanometer resolution and is compatible with 3D architectures, enabling access to narrow areas and measurements on non-horizontal surfaces.  

While the invention is primarily designed for semiconductor metrology, it is scalable to other industries, including solid-state batteries, biosensors, and photovoltaics. 

ATOMEL answers the need for novel thin film metrology techniques able to keep pace with next-generation semiconductors. Users can reduce scrap costs, increase margins, mitigate liability risks, and secure the foundational reliability of the modern digital age.