Project description
Exploiting graphene on an industrial scale
At one atom thickness, graphene is the thinnest and strongest compound and the lightest material known. It’s also the best conductor of heat and electricity. While the possibilities for graphene appear endless, it still can’t replace electronic chips due to the lack of suitable production and transfer technology that delivers high quality graphene via large scale production processes. The EU-funded SPRING project will assist the company Applied Nanolayers (ANL), founded in 2012 by seasoned industry professionals and material scientists from Leiden University, to scale-up and automate its 2D material foundry technology, bringing it to commercialisation stage.
Objective
The global economy depends on semiconductor devices – electronic chips – in everything from smartphones to cars, the internet to lifesaving medical equipment. This market has been driven by an exponential increase in capacity achieved through miniaturisation, now reaching its physical limits. Graphene, a one-atom thick carbon layer is seen as having the greatest potential for semiconductor improvements. However, the adoption of graphene is impeded because there is no production and transfer technology which delivers high quality graphene and is suitable for large scale production processes. Applied Nanolayers (ANL) - founded in 2012 by seasoned industry professionals & material scientists from Leiden University - is unique in developing the technology to produce and exploit quality graphene on an industrial scale. Large tool vendors, supplying tools that enable semiconductor companies to get maximum performance from the current silicon technology, have not built growth and transfer tools for graphene. Therefore, in addition to developing a production methodology, ANL has built its own tools, using existing tool platforms. This means that the ANL processes can be seamlessly integrated into mainstream industry fabrication partners. ANL has a proven automated growth process as well as a dry transfer process (TRL6). The latter is not yet fully automated. ANL’s Delft foundry location with access to the facilities of the TU Delft EKL Laboratory and world class material scientists enables ANL to propose an innovative industrial foundry service for graphene. With the SPRING project, ANL aims to scale-up and automate its 2D material foundry technology, bringing it to the commercialisation stage (TRL9). Within 5 years from the project ending, ANL expects to obtain revenues of €54m and an EBIT of nearly €9m. ANL’s mission is to be the leading global foundry for integrating 2D materials in the designated markets.
Fields of science
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencesinternet
- engineering and technologynanotechnologynano-materialstwo-dimensional nanostructuresgraphene
- natural sciencesphysical scienceselectromagnetism and electronicssemiconductivity
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringinformation engineeringtelecommunicationsmobile phones
- natural scienceschemical sciencesinorganic chemistrymetalloids
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
SME-2 - SME instrument phase 2Coordinator
2514 HP Den Haag
Netherlands
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.