HELIOS: High Throughput Object Coating System

The HELIOS industrial range is a high throughput object coating system that helps apply low cost atomic layer deposition (ALD) coatings to components spanning from microns to meters.

The HELIOS coating systems bring atomic-level control, film qualityand conformal performance of ALD to commercial manufacturing, paving the way for new possibilities and allowing innovative applications, such as the protection of functional surface-engineered objects.

Key Features

High throughput growth at 60 to 150 Å/minutes

Deposition chamber measures up to 1 x 1 m in size

Can be maintained at 500-µm intervals

Consumables have up to 90% efficiency

Zero-waste abatement system

Applications

OLED displays and sensors

Electronic devices

Medical devices and sensors

ICs, PCBs, CoBsand modules

Solar and display technology

Optical coatings

Encapsulation for corrosion, environmentaland high voltage insulation

Photo-catalytic coatings

Forge Nano supplies the HELIOS systems worldwide to facilitate a new range of sophisticated technologies. The HELIOS coating systems come with world-class service and best-in-class maintenance from Forge Nano’s dedicated team of U.S.-based scientists and engineers.

Basic Specifications and Configurations

Performance

The HELIOS coating system has been designed to provide efficiency with “zero-waste” processing. It has a small footprint and considerably reduces power consumption in factories. A patented, built-in abatement ensures less maintenance and surpasses the all-time records of legacy PVD and CVD equipment.

The HELIOS coating system is simple, modularand flexible, delivering unrivaled productivity and performance at a low cost of ownership. For the first time, low stress, pin-hole-freeand incredibly conformal ALD films are now available at sub-second cycle times and high productivity that match with industrial application needs.

The patented SMFD-ALD™ from Forge Nano delivers productivity and performance without affecting the quality of films.

Capabilities

Affordable ALD films are available, such as ZnO, ZrO₂, Al₂O₃, ZnBO, ZnAlO, TiO₂, SiO₂, BN, TiN, TiAlO, Nb₃N₅, etc. They allow reproducible and flawless film engineering with nanocomposite and nanolaminate capabilitiesand have adhesion of over 1000 PSI to several different substrates, such as copper, gold, tin, polyimides, FR4, various solder mask materials, adhesives, ceramics, polyurethanes, etc.

Design

The HELIOS coating system integrates Forge Nano’s millisecond response ALD manifold that combines 10 of the company’s patented Fast Pneumatic Valves (FPV) to provide more than 100 million hassle-free cycles of nanolaminated and composite ALD films. This is the only ALD manifold that can change the composition of each cycle without affecting the throughput.

Forge Nano’s valves, which have proven in the field since 2005, set records in terms of safety, speed, lifetimeand reliability. The ALD valves from Forge Nano are the only spill-free, doubly contained UHP valves available on the market.

Configuration

The HELIOS coating system can accommodate components with several different sizes and shapes with the combination of parts-specific and modular tooling and a general loader. The typical size of a chamber ranges from 1.5 to 80 L or up to 1 x 1 m panels (custom sizes are also available).

Chemistry

Well-regulated and effective vapor delivery from proprietary and novel sources allows rapid, low cost deposition of films that need low volatility precursors. More proprietary and novel on-demand sources are employed to safely manage and deliver the otherwise extremely reactive or short-lived reactants.