Tag Archives: award

ASM’s Haukka ALD Award

Dr. Suvi Haukka, executive scientist at ASM International, located in Finland, was awarded the ALD Innovation prize at the ALD 2016 Ireland conference (Figure), as chosen by the conference chairs. Haukka has had a lifetime career in Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD), starting at Microchemistry Ltd. with ALD pioneer Dr. Tuomo Suntola in 1990, and now holding over 100 patents.

Conference co-chairs Simon Elliott, Tyndall National Institute of Ireland (left) and Jonas Sundqvist, Lund University of Sweden (right) acknowledge Suvi Haukka from ASM International N.V. (center) as recipient of the "ALD Innovation Prize" at the 16th International Conference on Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD 2016) held last month in Dublin, Ireland. (Source: ALD 2016)

Conference co-chairs Simon Elliott, Tyndall National Institute of Ireland (left) and Jonas Sundqvist, Lund University of Sweden (right) acknowledge Suvi Haukka from ASM International N.V. (center) as recipient of the “ALD Innovation Prize” at the 16th International Conference on Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD 2016) held last month in Dublin, Ireland. (Source: ALD 2016)

Since ASM bought Microchemistry in 1999, Haukka has worked on the manufacturability of ALD processes for the semiconductor industry. Today, ALD technology is essential for the high-volume manufacturing (HVM) of advanced ICs, with growing demand for the fabrication of nanoscale 3D devices such as finFETs and 3D-NAND Flash cells.

As reported by Riikka Puurunen in his ALD History Blog, Haukka joins a short list of technology luminaries who have been previous recipients of the prize:
* 2011 Roy Gordon (Harvard University),
* 2012 Markku Leskelä (University of Helsinki),
* 2013 Steven George (University of Colorado),
* 2014 Hyeongtag Jeon (Hanyang University), and
* 2015 Gregory Parsons (North Carolina State University).

More on the ALD 2016 conference can be read in the travel report blog.

[DISCLAIMER:  Ed Korczynski and Jonas Sundqvist also work for TECHCET CA, and were co-chairs of the 2016 Critical Materials Conference.]

—E.K.

RFID Playing Cards “Best Product” at Printed Electronics Europe

Cartamundi, imec and Holst Centre (set up by imec and TNO) recently won the Best Product Award at Printed Electronics Europe for their ultra-thin plastic RFID technology integrated into Cartamundi’s playing cards. In each card, the RFID chip has a unique code that communicates wirelessly to an RFID reader, giving the cards in the game a unique digital identity. The jury recognized the potential of this technology to enhance printed electronics applications for the Internet-of-Things (IoT), as well as being a gamechanger <RIMSHOT> for the gaming industry.

Cartamundi-imec_RFID_PrintedChris Van Doorslaer, CEO of Cartamundi, said, “The new technology will connect traditional game play with electronic devices like smartphones and tablets. As Cartamundi is committed to creating products that connect families and friends of every generation to enhance the valuable quality time they share during the day, this technology is a real enabler.” Imec and Cartamundi engineers will now explore up-scaling of the technology using a foundry production model.

“This is a thrilling development to demonstrate our TOLAE electronic technology integrated in the product of a partner company. TOLAE stands for Thin, Oxide and Large-Area Electronics”, stated Paul Heremans, department director of thin-film electronics at imec and technology director at the Holst Centre. “Our prototype thin-film RFID is thinner than paper—so thin that it can be invisibly embedded in paper products, such as playing cards. This key enabling technology will bring the cards and traditional games of our customer in direct connection with the Cloud. This achievement also opens up new applications in the IoT domain that we are exploring, to bring more data and possibilities to applications such as smart packaging, security paper, and maybe even banknotes.”

—E.K.