The Dutch technology company SALD BV (Eindhoven) reports increasing demand for lab tools from the USA. The company name stands for "Spatial Atomic Layer Deposition" (SALD) and refers to a process for applying coatings on an industrial scale that are as thin as a single atom. By applying several layers of different substances on top of each other, which undergo controlled chemical reactions, properties can be created that bring about fundamental advances in numerous industries. The range of industrial applications extends from chip production to battery cells, solar panels, textiles and medical products to ultra-thin, tear-resistant films for packaging in the food and consumer goods industry.
From Lab to Fab
With Labtools, companies can adapt the technology to their industry and company-specific requirements before going into industrial mass production. In this way, different substrates with different layer thicknesses can be applied to varying carrier materials in order to test new properties and optimize products.
"A labtool is an experimental tool for engineers, a creative workshop where they can quickly try out new and possibly completely crazy material combinations," explains SALD CEO Frank Verhage. He explains the reasoning behind this: "In doing so, they often discover and develop new types of coatings that no one has ever tried before. If the creative engineers come across a particularly interesting combination, they can use it to drive innovation in their industry and give their company a significant competitive edge. Labtools thus represent the preliminary stage to the large-scale industrial use of SALD technology. We call this 'from Lab to Fab'."
Cross-sectional and key technology for numerous industries
Atomic coatings are considered a cross-sectional and key technology similar to digitalization with the potential to revolutionize numerous industrial manufacturing processes and thus entire branches of industry. Visions of the future include e-cars that can drive well over 1,000 kilometers on a single charge, smartphones that last a week without recharging, solar panels that are efficient enough to power a car or house independently, techno-textiles that are thinner, more durable, more weatherproof or "just" more stylish and tear-resistant film packaging that can be disposed of without leaving any residue after use.
Frank Verhage: "Made in Europe is at the forefront."
"We are delighted that our technology made in Europe is attracting growing interest in North America," says SALD CEO Frank Verhage. He explains: "It may well be that Europe is lagging behind when it comes to digitalization. But in other important areas of technology, such as nuclear coating, Europe is obviously at the forefront."
The essential foundations for atomic layer deposition (ALD) technology, as the stacking of atomic layers is known in scientific jargon, were laid by Russian and Finnish scientists in the 1960s and 1970s. Modern computer chips would be unthinkable without ALD. The spatial ALD application (Spatial Atomic Layer Deposition) has only attracted increasing attention in recent years. The decisive advantage of "Spatial Atomic Layer Deposition" compared to the conventional ALD process is the much higher speed. This is particularly important for industrial applications. CEO Frank Verhage explains: "The leap from lab to fab can only succeed if the production speed is high enough for the given precision and the costs are correspondingly low." According to SALD BV, it is the only company in the world that already has extensive experience in the large-scale use of Spacial ALD in industrial production environments.
"This unique market position with patented processes at the interface between science and industry is the reason for the increasing demand from the USA," says SALD CEO Frank Verhage. "Even in the USA, there is no other technology company that is as advanced as we are when it comes to SALD," he says confidently.
With "Spatial Atomic Layer Deposition", SALD(www.spatialald.com) has developed a globally unique, patented process for applying coatings on an industrial scale that are as thin as a single atom. These atomic coatings will revolutionize entire industries, including the production of battery cells for cars and smart devices, the textile/fashion industry and the solar energy sector.
