Norwegian Startup Lace Raises $40M to Revolutionize Chipmaking with Helium Atom Beams
Lace Lithography, a Norwegian startup founded in July 2023 by physicist Bodil Holst and Adrià Salvador Palau, has secured $40 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Atomico, with participation from Microsoft’s venture arm M12, Linse Capital, Nysnø, and the Spanish Society for Technological Transformation. This investment aims to advance Lace’s innovative approach to chip manufacturing, potentially overcoming limitations of current lithography techniques.
The Challenge with Current Chipmaking
The semiconductor industry relies heavily on lithography, a process using light to etch intricate circuits onto silicon wafers. Currently, ASML’s extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography systems, utilizing light with a 13.5 nanometer wavelength, dominate advanced chip production. These machines are incredibly complex and expensive, costing upwards of $350 million each, and ASML holds a near-monopoly on the market.
Lace’s Innovative Helium Atom Beam Lithography
Lace is pioneering a new lithography method that replaces light with a beam of helium atoms. This beam, approximately 0.1 nanometers wide – roughly the width of a single hydrogen atom – is significantly finer than the light used in EUV lithography (135 times finer). According to Bodil Holst, CEO of Lace, this technology has the potential to create chip features up to ten times smaller than currently achievable, enabling “ultimately atomic resolution” in transistor and circuit design. Reuters reports that this approach could allow for chip designs that are ten times smaller than what is currently possible.
Potential Impact and Future Outlook
The development of helium atom beam lithography could significantly impact the semiconductor industry, allowing for denser and more powerful chips. John Petersen, scientific director of lithography at Imec, notes the potential to create features, such as transistors, at an “almost unimaginable” degree of smallness. Lace has already developed prototype systems and aims to have a test tool operational in a pilot chip fabrication plant by around 2029. Silicon Republic highlights that the funds raised will be used in the advancement of its unique semiconductor technologies.
Company Details
Lace Lithography is headquartered in Bergen, Norway, with a secondary location in Barcelona, Spain. The company was founded by Bodil Holst and Adrià Salvador Palau.
Related reading