Penn State and Kurt J. Lesker Company (KJLC) are launching a strategic partnership to develop new ways to create and shape the extremely thin layers of specialized materials that form critical parts of semiconductor, advanced packaging, quantum, photonic and other next-generation technologies. As these technologies become smaller and more complex, researchers need increasingly precise control over the materials they are made from, in some cases down to the scale of individual atoms.
Key to the partnership is the establishment of the Kurt J. Lesker Company Atomic Scale Processing Center of Excellence located at Penn State (ASPIRE). ASPIRE will serve as a globally unique atomic scale processing research and workforce development hub, bringing together KJLC equipment, process expertise and Penn State's world-class nanofabrication, characterization and materials research capabilities, according to University and company leadership. Team members celebrated the launch by signing a memorandum of understanding and holding a ribbon cutting ceremony for ASPIRE at the Millennium Science Complex at University Park on Sept. 9.
KJLC is a Pennsylvania-based company specializing in vacuum science and equipment used to create and shape extremely thin layers of materials. These thin films are essential components in semiconductors and other advanced technologies.
A central goal of the partnership is to develop and validate atomic-scale processing recipes, or detailed instructions for creating thin films with specific properties. These recipes could ultimately be shared with KJLC customers and academic researchers around the world.
