Many industries, particularly those that deal with our crucial electronics, couldn’t function without ALD. ALD Solutions are offered by Picosun Group.
In this interview, we’ll learn more about Picosun Group from the CEO, Jussi Rautee.
Tell us about the Picosun Group.
Picosun Group is the leading supplier of AGILE ALD® (Atomic Layer Deposition) thin-film coating technology to the semiconductor, medical, and other industries. We work with some of the most well-known microelectronics and photonics firms in the world, and we also provide cutting-edge R&D ALD solutions to the world’s best research universities and institutions.
One could argue that we wouldn’t have computers, cellphones, wireless communications, or industrial automation without ALD. ALD is still a relatively new technique in the medical industry, nevertheless. On medical devices and implants, macroscopic coatings made of polymers, metals, or ceramics are frequently employed. Due to the successive surface interactions it establishes between co-reacting gases, ALD is a cutting-edge, advanced vacuum coating method that produces films that are only a few nanometers thick, have the highest homogeneity and conformality, and are intrinsically pinhole- and crack-free.
Digital replication of the film-growth procedure allows for sub-nanometer-level control of the film’s composition and thickness. ALD uses materials that are usually temperature- or chemically-sensitive as well as microelectronic components, making it ideal for medical devices and implants. A number of ALD materials are bioactive and/or compatible with living things, and low temperatures can be used to apply the coatings.
Our company, Picosun Group, follows the “AGILE ALD” philosophy, which declares that our main goal is to “take ALD where it has never gone before.”
Industry applications for the PicoMEDICALTM ALD solutions from Picosun Group include the production of medical implants and the functionalization of drug surfaces. ALD coating on the drug particle’s surface enables control over the timing of the drug release, and in dental implants, bioactive ALD coating hastens the osseointegration process to hasten the implant’s bonding with the bone. Other potential medical ALD uses include protective coatings for various implantable sensors, neuroprosthetics, and other devices for remote, digital, and bio-electronic healthcare.
Implanted devices need to be protected from body fluids because they are corrosive to them. Additionally, the body must be protected from any rejection reactions triggered by the implant and/or any potential metal ion leakage from it. Using ultra-thin, extremely conformal, impermeable, and pinhole-free ALD coatings, as opposed to “conventional” coatings, the implanted device can be hermetically sealed off and removed from the environment of the human body. This extends the device’s useful life, dependability, safety, and patient comfort (perhaps requiring fewer “maintenance” or replacement surgeries).
Picosun Group has a distinguished past and present in the ALD sector. ALD was created and patented in 1974 for use in industry by Dr Tuomo Suntola, a member of the Picosun Group Board; as a result, Picosun Group today represents nearly four decades of ground-breaking, pioneering experience in the field. Unlike many other coating technology businesses, we solely concentrate on ALD because it is what we do best.
Doctors in ALD research with years of collective experience in the field, from both academia and various businesses, make up our core team. We have also been involved in many ALD patents. Our products are already part of Finland’s sixteenth generation of cutting-edge ALD coating machinery.
As the innovators and forerunners of the technology, we aspire to advance ALD continuously by working directly with our clients. The medical industry is one of our most recent significant strategic markets. We are eager to collaborate with new companies in this industry to offer our ALD solutions and assist them in developing better, safer, more durable, and more user-friendly products for developing healthcare markets. ALD technology has enormous potential to address some of the most pressing issues facing medical device manufacturers.
The Picosun Group has offices and companies in Germany, the United States, Singapore, Taiwan, China, Korea, Japan, India, and France in addition to Finland, which serves as the country’s administrative centre. In addition to our websites, we have a global network of distributors and representatives to ensure a precise and detailed response to our customers’ inquiries.
What challenges did you first face?
The typical challenges a young, expanding business faces.
It can be challenging to find the perfect candidates at times to complete our workforce portfolio because the demand for our ALD solutions from a variety of industries has grown so quickly. Scaling up and simplifying our operations is a challenging task when the business environments we operate in change and grow quickly. However, things are currently going really nicely for us. For instance, we are increasing the number of employees and extending our production space.
International companies and R&D can take use of Picosun Group’s turnkey, production-tested ALD thin film coating solutions.
What was the pivotal event that caused Picosun Group to grow?
It may be said that interest in ALD technology has recently exploded in the industrial setting and hasn’t subsided. The superiority of ALD coatings over coatings made using “traditional methods” enables a variety of entirely new, advanced products, adds value and novel features to ones that already exist, and perhaps saves materials, manufacturing costs, and the environment because the same effect can be achieved (with ALD) with much thinner coatings than what can be provided by “traditional methods.”
Our company, Picosun Group, follows the “AGILE ALD” philosophy, which declares that our main goal is to “take ALD where it has never gone before.” This is made possible by our extensive network of contacts and interactions with businesses and academic institutions, as well as by our staff members’ varied backgrounds, high levels of expertise, and experience, as well as their spirit of invention and creativity.
What factors contribute to your company’s ongoing success?
Again, “AGILE ALD”. Naturally, we have our tried-and-true products and services for our core industries, but we are also constantly looking for new ALD applications and opportunities that might make the technology disruptive as well as developing fresh ALD solutions for a range of businesses. We are equipped to provide services to clients with a variety of needs and backgrounds while swiftly adapting to shifting business circumstances.
We have a strong reputation as a partner you can rely on to keep your obligations, and every area of our operation is geared around meeting the demands of the customer. Even the most prestigious sectors in the world turn to Picosun Group for cutting-edge coating solutions, confirming our clients’ trust in us as shown by the continually increasing percentage of repeat business.
Products and Services
What types of products and services does Picosun Group prioritise? What distinguishes your services from those provided by rivals?
International companies and R&D can take use of Picosun Group’s turnkey, production-tested ALD thin film coating solutions. After offering early application counselling, analysis, and discussions about the client’s requirements and how our technological solutions may help the client’s firm expansion, we also build a strategic partnership with the client in addition to delivering the actual coating equipment. The actual gear will next be delivered, installed, and put to use using ALD techniques that have been specifically designed for the customer’s purpose.
Additionally, we provide a selection of modular, highly customizable training courses that can be tailored to the needs of different ALD equipment users, including operators, developers, and technical and maintenance workers. Our comprehensive ALD solution must, of course, include full life-cycle management services and after-sales support.
Our PICOSUN®ALD equipment portfolio includes fully automated, large scale industrial batch and cluster ALD systems for up to 300 mm wafer size, with a focus on cost-effective, turnkey manufacturing solutions for up to 200 mm wafer markets and non-wafer based applications such as medical devices and implants, coins, watch parts and jewellery, and mechanical parts, such as automotive and aerospace.
To support customers throughout their ALD journey, from applications consulting through equipment delivery, staff training, and full lifecycle management, our ALD solutions combine the best process quality, the most agile, compact, and creative equipment design, and the broadest strategic relationship. What sets us apart from our competitors in the market is our distinctive background and position as the inventors and forerunners of ALD, together with our sole attention to the technology. These elements combine to create a comprehensive, strategic partnership with our clients.
How do you decide whether to broaden the range of products and services your business offers?
by always monitoring what’s going on in the ALD community and our key markets. We actively participate in conferences, expos, and other events, work with and network with the international ALD, semiconductor, and medical communities, participate in numerous research initiatives and projects that are overseen by the EU, and review the most recent market reports from the most significant ALD application areas.
In order to maintain our market leadership and constantly deliver the best and most innovative ALD products to support the expansion of our clients’ operations, this guides the direction of our R&D, process, and product development.
Exist any brand-new products or services on the list? Do you have a story to tell that is exciting?
In the 300 mm wafer markets, Picosun Group is introducing something innovative, but it is still a “secret” and won’t be made public until later this year.
