Atomica announces new brand, $50 million equipment acquisition

May 14, 2021

Atomica, formerly known as Innovative Micro Technology, (IMT), a global leader in micro electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), has acquired $50 million of cutting-edge semiconductor processing tools. This massive capability upgrade advances Atomica to the forefront of the MEMS industry, supporting the domestic production of critical sensors, photonics, and biochips.?The new brand signifies a repositioning of the company following major strategic changes over the past two years.

Atomica’s brand promise is to successfully commercialize its customers’ life-changing technologies in cloud computing, autonomous vehicles, cell therapy, molecular diagnostics, genomics, 5G, Internet of Things (IoT), and more. “Our customers are on missions to cure disease and revolutionize sensing and communications. We are resolved to get them there,” said Eric Sigler, CEO of Atomica.

To help its customers successfully navigate the journey from prototype through volume production, Atomica leverages a unique collaborative methodology. Its business model is flexible, and includes bespoke process development, diverse materials, and a range of program sizes. Finally, it utilizes rigorous project management to optimize resources, mitigate risks, and deliver predictable results.

The new name, Atomica, reflects the company’s mission to help address major problems in the world by unleashing the power of MEMS. The company’s material science experts draw from the richness of the periodic table to engineer and manufacture innovative solutions. These MEMS components are typically a fundamental part or “atomic unit” of the groundbreaking products of Atomica’s customers.

Atomica has undergone a two-year transformation initiated with a change of ownership in late 2018, followed by a new executive team, improved systems and an 8” wafer line. The purchase of more than 300 state-of-the-art semiconductor processing tools marks a key milestone in the company’s transformation. It expands Atomica’s capability to develop and manufacture sophisticated micro devices. Examples of the new 200 mm-compatible equipment include:

Applied Materials Endura PVD for precise sputtered films
Veeco Phoenix atomic-layer deposition (ALD) system enabling atomic-scale high quality conformal coatings
Evatek Evaporator for high-volume deposition of evaporated films and optical coatings
Plasma-Therm High Density PECVD for high quality lower-temperature dielectric films with superior gap fill
Plasma-Therm RIE etch cluster for a variety of production uses
Multiple production-grade lithography systems from Suss and OAI
Over 100 new advanced metrology systems including automated optical inspection
Nearly a dozen new automated wet benches.

Complementing this new equipment is Atomica’s appointment of Rick Glasmann as Vice President of Process and Equipment Engineering. Mr. Glasmann is a world-class semiconductor executive with over 25 years of semiconductor equipment and operations experience. He most recently served as COO of Deca Technologies. He was previously an engineer with Applied Materials, followed by 20 years at International Rectifier (Infineon).