For decades, chipmakers have tried to make semiconductors faster by Reduce silicon transistors. and packing more of them onto each chip. But reducing the size of transistors brings its own problems: controlling the flow of electrons becomes more difficult, which exacerbates problems such as leaks, energy loss and heat.
Nextstroma semiconductor startup incubated by Xora Innovationbelieves that using two-dimensional (2D) materials instead of silicon is a viable way to solve that problem, especially as the global component shortage driven by data center demand shows no signs of abating.
The Singapore-based company is building equipment and processes that would allow foundries to make extremely thin semiconductors, known as transition metal chalcogenides (TMDs), directly on chip wafers.
Now, TMDs are not really two-dimensional; They are so thin that they are grouped with a large family of materials that are called “2D materials” to illustrate their thinness. TMDs are only a few atomic layers thick, a feature that has attracted attention of chip manufacturers looking for ways to further reduce chip size.
The startup says its product, called North Star, is designed to grow TMD directly on 12-inch (300 mm) wafers used in commercial chip manufacturing.
The startup is not the only one to recognize the potential of using 2D semiconductors to shrink chips even further. TSMC, Intel and Belgium’s IMEC are developing ways to integrate 2D materials into transistors, and equipment and materials companies such as AIXTRON, CDimension and several startups are tackling other parts of the manufacturing chain.
TSMC, ASML and IMEC He recently even showed how 2D material transistors could be used in a 300mm integration process.
Nexstrom, however, is betting that it can make progress in a particularly difficult area: producing these materials for semiconductor production at scale. The company’s technology is based in part on the research of its co-founder and chief scientist Lance Li, who previously led research on post-silicon electronics at TSMC. Li has been working with 2D materials since 2012.
“In the lab, people can get very small, high-quality materials, but only on a very small scale,” Li told TechCrunch. “This is exactly the gap Nexstrom is addressing.”
To that end, the Singapore-based company said Tuesday that it has raised a $12 million seed round from investors including Xora, Foothill Ventures and SEEDS. So far, the company has raised $15 million in total.
But instead of competing with chip manufacturing giants like TSMC, Samsung and Intel, Nexstrom wants to sell its technology to them or work with them as partners. The company says some companies in the industry are already testing samples of its wafers and materials, although it declined to name them.
Still, several issues remain to be resolved before such small semiconductors can be manufactured at scale, the main one being the constant growth of TMD on a full-size wafer.
“At the current stage, our work focuses on delivering quality materials that [industry partners] “We have specified,” Nexstrom CEO Phoebe Tan told TechCrunch. “We have demonstrated material results on wafers using our 12-inch system that was just installed. We have systematically scaled from 2-inch to 6-inch and we will complete our 8-inch and 8-inch by the end of October.”
Nexstrom plans to use the funds to further develop its technology and move its equipment closer to commercial production. Tan said the money will also go towards improving process measurement and control capabilities, expanding its team and supporting qualification programs with potential customers.
The startup expects its equipment to be ready for commercial production between 2030 and 2035.
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