ALD tool will be used to fabricate ultra-thin, highly uniform and conformal material layers for new and emerging customer applications

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — September 7, 2023 — SkyWater Technology (NASDAQ: SKYT), the trusted technology realization partner, today announced it will offer customers a new semiconductor processing tool for atomic layer deposition (ALD), the Applied^® Picosun^® Morpher^TM. Many devices, such as sensors and emerging memory technologies, require thin layers that can be deposited uniformly across the entire silicon wafer. By offering the Applied Picosun Morpher ALD tool from Picosun, an Applied Materials company, SkyWater will provide customers access to this unique capability. By leveraging SkyWater’s Technology as a Service (TaaS) business model, customers can develop and produce new and innovative technologies through the company’s advanced technology services (ATS) and wafer services (WS).

ALD is an advanced thin film deposition process which is used to fabricate ultra-thin, highly uniform and conformal material layers for various applications. The ALD film is dense, crack-, defect-, and pinhole-free. Thickness, structural, and chemical characteristics can be precisely controlled on an atomic scale. The ALD process is highly repeatable and it can be performed at relatively low temperatures of 100C - 300C.

The tool being installed at SkyWater is configured with two thermal batch chambers for maximum capability and production throughput. One chamber will deposit metals (Ti,/TiN, and AlN). The other chamber will deposit oxides (SiO2, Al2O3, Hf2O3, TiO2, and ZrO2). The two chambers are attached to a central loadlock so stacked metal/oxide/metal films can be deposited in-situ without vacuum break. There is one unused chamber slot for future expansion, based on customer needs.

“SkyWater is pleased to offer this new capability to our customers through our TaaS model,” said Steve Kosier, SkyWater’s Chief Technology Officer. “ALD applications in semiconductor processing have grown exponentially over the past few years and this trend will continue. ALD is the preferred method for depositing very thin material layers while still retaining the highest quality, uniformity, conformality and structural integrity. Our customers will use this technology in various biosensor, bolometer, photonics, and extreme CMOS applications. We look forward to process development and production ramp using this new capability.”

About SkyWater Technology

SkyWater (NASDAQ: SKYT) is a U.S.-based semiconductor manufacturer and a DMEA-accredited Category 1A Trusted Foundry. SkyWater’s Technology as a Service (TaaS) model streamlines the path to production for customers with development services, volume production and heterogeneous integration solutions in its world-class U.S. facilities. This pioneering model enables innovators to co-create the next wave of technology with diverse categories including mixed-signal CMOS, ROICs, rad-hard ICs, power management, MEMS, superconducting ICs, photonics, carbon nanotubes and interposers. SkyWater serves growing markets including aerospace & defense, automotive, biomedical, cloud & computing, consumer, industrial and IoT. For more information, visit www.skywatertechnology.com/.

SkyWater Technology Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements that are based on the Company’s current expectations or forecasts of future events, rather than past events and outcomes, and such statements are not guarantees of future performance. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions, which may cause the Company’s actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Key factors that could cause the Company’s actual results to be different than expected or anticipated include, but are not limited to, factors discussed in the “Risk Factors” section of its annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and in other documents that the Company files with the SEC, which are available at http://www.sec.gov. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release.

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SkyWater Company Contact: Tara Luther | 952.851.5023 | tara.luther@skywatertechnology.com
SkyWater Media Contact: Lauri Julian | 949.280.5602 | lauri.julian@skywatertechnology.com