by Rebecca Engmann"

Ever since 1965, worldwide semiconductor production has been steered by Moore’s Law - the groundbreaking theory that the number of circuits per semiconductor would continue to increase through time. Ever since Gorden Moore made his famous prognosis four decades ago, semiconductor production has continued to challenge the laws of physics, straining Moore’s Law to produce smaller, faster transistors for the semiconductor industry. But what if you could uphold Moore’s Law while keeping costs down? An emerging company based in Greater Copenhagen, Nanion, is developing technology that could pave the way for tiny transistors at a fraction of the price.

The company has already unveiled two technologies aimed at addressing the challenges listed in the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors, a document elaborated by the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) that predicts the main trends in the semiconductor industry spanning 15 years into the future.

With its first-ever product, an Electrical Impedance Spectroscope (EIS), Nanion was able to simplify engineering’s traditional spectroscopy method, offering engineers a single measurement method for silicium wafers and IC structures, and one that provides all of the electrical parameters necessary for measuring semiconductor material and silicium wafers on the market for in-situ wafer inspection.

Strategic patents

Nanion has also invested its expertise in the development of a complete "next generation lithography" technology, based on its own, patented planar electron emitters. PEBL provides a cost-effect way of manufacturing integrated circuits with node sizes of 45 nm, 32 nm, and 22 nm, and - according to Nanion - even smaller.

Nanion has in addition developed a groundbreaking Planar Electron Emitter. Rather than using a light source in the lithographic process, known as IC-circuit production, Nanion’s discovery allows for the use of a two-dimensional electron stream to transmit an image on a silicon wafer. The discovery is a revolutionary technology that could herald the development of cheap, planar electron emitters for precision lithography for the semiconductor industry, IC-circuit producers, or flat-screen computer producers.

A Danish-Czech success story

Though its products are designed for the semiconductor industry rather than the computer layman, the implications of its new technology are already turning heads in the tech media.

Late last fall, the Danish "The Engineer" ran a feature article on Nanion’s efforts to make cheaper semiconductors. Nanion was also featured on the Danish Tech Tour from 27-29 August 2003, a two-day event sponsored by Fortune magazine to provide cutting-edge, emerging Danish tech companies with the opportunity to network with 60 professionals representing venture capital companies, investment banks, corporate consultants, and blue-chip tech companies.

Nanion, based in Hedehusene, north of Copenhagen, is also a story of imported international expertise. The firm was founded in 1998 by Professor Petr Viscor and Michael Jensen, on the basis of technology developed in the 1980’s by Dr. Viscor and his colleagues in the Czech Republic. Viscor spent several stints working in Denmark, and has been permanently based at Roskilde University Center since 1986. Last year the company took on Rolf Andersen as CEO to bring the company forward. Rolf has some years back managed the Philips Semiconductor division in Denmark.

Sensational semiconductors

The company has just received 1 million euro in capital from a consortium consisting of Vækstfonden, Symbion Capital, Technological Innovation, and Inn Fund.

The company’s technology is so promising that, as Vækstfonden spokesman Jimmy Fussing Nielsen told "The Engineer", Nanion’s electron emitter could allow semiconductor producers to maintain Moore’s Law under 45 nanometres without resorting to costly technologies. The discovery could potentially revolutionize the semiconductor production industry, and Fussing Nielsen says, the company has a good shot at success.

The semiconductor industry is on the verge of abandoning the traditional optical lithographic technology in favour of electrons - and here’s where Nanion’s patented technology could prove pivotal. As the industry moves away from 130 nm technology to 90 nm technology, the even more miniscule wafers will require even shorter-wave light sources in the ultraviolet spectrum. If the components become as small as 45 nm in the future, electron-beam lithography based on Nanion-style technology may replace optical lithography as the industry standard. And that’s a whole new scientific revolution.

This article was originally published by Øresund IT Magasine (nr. 4 - 2004). You can download the magazine in PDF format on Publications.

*Rebecca Engmann is an American journalist living in Copenhagen.