Black Semiconductor acquires Applied Nanolayers
The company says its acquisition of the Dutch graphene specialist will advance the timeline for the development of its energy-efficient, high-performance chip technology by two years (Image credit: Deeksha Basavaraju)
Black Semiconductor, a company focusing on chip connectivity integrating photonics and electronics on the same wafer, has announced the acquisition of Applied Nanolayers (ANL), a strategic move to significantly accelerate the development of its integrated graphene photonics (IGP) technology. Black Semiconductor expects the acquisition to speed up its technology development by two years by combining the company’s expertise in chip architectures and photonic process technology with ANL’s specialised knowledge in graphene material production.
With the IGP technology platform, Black Semiconductor’s goal is to leverage the optical properties of graphene for the translation between electronic and photonic domains. The company says this approach will deliver energy-efficient, high-speed data communication solutions in the form of thousands of interconnected chips interacting as if they were one, paving the way for advancements in AI, robotics, autonomous driving, and high-performance computing.
Founded in 2012 and now operating as Black Semiconductor Netherlands, the ANL team has 12 years of experience in developing scalable wafer-level graphene integration technology. Black Semiconductor says this acquisition provides it with a leap forward in processing the highest quality of graphene with a semi-automated 200 mm process platform capable of producing 10,000 wafers per year, which will be scaled up to a fully automated 300 mm process to reach over 1 million wafers per year.
According to the company, the integration of ANL’s expertise perfectly aligns with the opening of Black Semiconductor’s new FabONE headquarters in January 2025, which positions it to build the first IGP 300 mm wafer pilot line in 2025, a significant step towards volume production based on graphene material from 2029. This step not only advances technology development, but also reinforces Black Semiconductor’s commitment to progressing chip technology and strengthening Europe’s position in the global semiconductor landscape, the company adds.
“This acquisition accelerates our technology development, and both teams are mutually excited about the transaction,” said Daniel Schall, co-founder and CEO of Black Semiconductor. “We will provide the industry with an unbeatable integration of photonics and electronics at a very competitive cost and solve the fundamental performance problems of computer systems.”
