ASX-listed Adisyn has successfully demonstrated full coverage graphene on a 1 cm by 1 cm coupon using an industrial Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) system, with the deposition process having been conducted well below the semiconductor industry’s thermal ceiling of 450 ˚C.

This represents a key step toward addressing one of the semiconductor industry’s most persistent and widely recognised challenges – the performance limitations of copper interconnects in advanced chips.  

In the most advanced semiconductor chips, the interconnect – the wiring that connects billions of transistors – has emerged as a critical bottleneck.

As device geometries shrink, copper interconnects suffer from increasing resistance, heat generation and power loss, constraining performance, energy efficiency and further scaling.

The industry has known for a long time that graphene could address interconnect challenges, but the difficulty was getting there in a way that fits within existing manufacturing environments.

In an industry already producing more than one-trillion chips a year, Adisyn is targeting the high-performance segments of AI, graphics processing units, central processing units and advanced mobile and networking.

Graphene has long been identified as a potential solution owing to its superior electrical and thermal properties. However, the industry has been unable to establish a manufacturing process capable of producing graphene within the constraints of semiconductor fabrication, particularly using standard equipment and temperature limits.

“This result demonstrates graphene formation within an industrial ALD system under semiconductor-compatible conditions, providing a pathway toward integration into semiconductor manufacturing.

“If this solution is deployed it will empower those who adopt it to win the ‘sub 2nm’ scale-down race and allow the industry to continue Moore’s Law,” Adisyn explains. 

Through its wholly owned subsidiary 2D Generation, Adisyn has produced graphene using a standard industrial ALD system, rather than laboratory-scale techniques or transfer-based methods.

The semiconductor industry typically does not adopt materials that require entirely new manufacturing approaches.

Demonstrating graphene formation within equipment already used in fabrication environments is a necessary step toward real-world adoption,” Adisyn points out.

The process is based on Adisyn’s patented ALD methodology and proprietary precursor chemistry, developed specifically to enable graphene growth within semiconductor manufacturing constraints.

Adisyn chairperson Kevin Crofton deems this process an important step both for the company and in the context of what the semiconductor industry has been trying to achieve.

“Producing graphene on an industrial ALD system, rather than a lab environment and at low temperature, is what starts to make this relevant from a manufacturing perspective.”

Crofton concludes that if the interconnect constraint can be solved, then an entire semiconductor industry problem can be solved.  

Adisyn will now start engaging with semiconductor industry participants to explore collaboration, validation and integration pathways, while optimising its process for consistent repeatability.