Atomate Corporation shot briefly into the nanotechnology headlights in the last
few months of 2004 when Technology Review and Small Times focused on Brian Lim's 10 person team that produces specialised CVD equipment for a research world intent on nanotubes and nanowires production.

Atomate compound wires & tubes

In fact CVD rather underplays Atomate’s expertise, which encompasses not only thermal CVD, but LPCVD, laser-assisted CVD, PECV, MOCVD and has “a lot of customers interested in adding modules to our chamber” according to Lim, who has been quietly building an extensive IP portfolio, following that well-tried semiconductor axiom, that the greatest IP lies in the equipment that commercialises the devices.

Here the undeniable talents are Thomas Tombler, CTO and Jon Lai, VP product development, who have generated a number of unique inventions improving control over the synthesis of nanostructures. Atomate has filed for patents on a number of these inventions.

And while the focus is single- and double-walled tubes and nanowires, it’s noteworthy that there is (inevitable) customer interest for GaN and ZnO structures, in metal oxides, and in a chunk of compounds such as GaAs GaP,

Atomate's founder and CEO Brian Lim and CTO Tom Tombler

InP and InAs
The Automate team spun out of the atomic force microscope maker NanoDevices, acquired by Veeco in 2003. But in its earlier work expertise the group also encompasses the culture and disciplines of Sun Microsystems, NASA, Stamford, MIT and UCSB.

Atomate’s market is within the research community and it has a sound understanding of the academic and corporate lab researcher’s needs. Witness one of its earliest devices being the inclusion of a vacuum seal between quartz chamber and its metal flanges, providing an airlock to prevent leaks, which top researchers spent weeks trying to plug, according to Lim.

Without dedicated equipment suppliers the nanotech community has tended to ‘mix and match,’ taking equipment from semiconductor and biotech suppliers, then customising it. That may provide flexibility, but can be an expensive time waster. “A researcher might spend $100,000 or more on a silicon fabrication machine, then invest another $50,000, plus several valuable months, modifying it, before carrying out any experiments.” says Lim. Aware of equipment grants, budget constraints and research needs, Atomate can provide a baseline tube system at around $32,000, “that can build up to larger systems in the $500,000 bracket and work at 150mm wafer sizes.”

Aligned castle towers of ZnO

The company is also not solely reliant on the US market. It has been quietly and successfully working in Asia acquiring customers. In April, Atomate picked Matsubo Corporation as its exclusive distribution partner in Japan. Matsubo distributes Atomate’s fullerenes (Carbon-60 or Bucky-Ball molecules) to scientific researchers.

Three months later Atomate partnered with A-Tech System Co of Korea for nano-technology customers. A-Tech became an exclusive distributor of Atomate products in Korea, and Atomate for A-Tech System equipment in the US.
Both companies now collaborate on the joint development of wafer-level processing equipment for R&D and the production of nanotubes and nanowires. Atomate also has other partnerships in the works.

Lim says, “Samsung Electronics recently announced the completion of a 30”
diagonal FED display, using carbon nanotubes. A-Tech has been building systems for Korean research labs such as Samsung, SKKU, SNU, and KAIST. In fact, A-Tech was introduced to us by one of Korea’s top nanotube researchers.

"Our partnership has incredible potential, and our combined product lines cover most applications that require synthesis of nanotubes and nanowires, from small R&D systems in academic research to fully scalable production equipment for use in fab environments.”

Atomate has installed two complete systems at Pohang University of Science and Technology in Korea. These are optimised for research in the synthesis of SW carbon nanotubes.

In under two years, with an angel investment of about $1m, Atomate is believed to be close to breakeven.

Its straightforward corporate mission statement “solutions for researchers who want complete systems, and those who wish to enhance existing systems ... helping focus efforts on the science,” looks to be a sound a route into the still tentative business of nano wires and tubes.