Startup Alchimer aims at top slot

SAN FRANCISCO: Like many other startups entering the market with a lot of enterprise and ability, Alchimer S.A. (Massy, France) too claims it has the right formula to shake up the market.

According to information released at Semicon West, Alchimer said that Panasonic Corp. has become an equity investor in the company. Sources say that the Panasonic Venture Group, a Silicon Valley-based unit of Panasonic R&D Co. of America, has facilitated funding.

The French company is attempting reportedly trying to revolutionize the market. The wet chemistry technology that the company offers, dubbed electrografting (eG), is an electrochemical process that enables the growth of polymer and metal thin films on both conducting and semiconducting surfaces. This will reportedly reduce overall cost of ownership for high-aspect-ratio through-silicon-via (TSV) metallization by up to two-thirds compared to conventional dry processes. The technology also enables nanometer scale thickness control from 2 to 500-nm, uniformity at wafer scale and conformal coating on patterned surfaces, even at very high aspect ratios (18:1).

Sources say that the company has also gained a foothold in MEMS and other markets. It has an alliance with MEMS foundry Dalsa Semiconductor. Insiders say that the Alchimer aims at occupying the top spot in the industry, displacing Applied, Novellus and other PVD toolmakers.

In June 2009, Alchimer raised $10 million in Series D funding to expand customer-support programs and pursue new IP development.

This February, Alchimer announced a multilevel collaboration with KPM Tech Co. Ltd., a South Korean manufacturer of plating materials and systems. KPM Tech obtained exclusive rights to produce chemicals in Korea for Alchimer's technology.