“ALD rings are not necessarily the leading application of Additive Manufacturing (AM) in the semiconductor industry, but they are the most innovative,” Johannes Homa, CEO and founder of Lithoz, told 3D ADEPT Media. “Their significance lies in how well they demonstrate AM’s value in addressing key challenges of semiconductor fabrication.”
That bold statement immediately raised a dozen “why” questions in my mind. Fortunately, Homa took 50 minutes out of his Wednesday shift to clarify these gray areas.
For this June 2025 interview, we focus on semiconductor equipment, beyond Lithoz’s medical applications. The Semiconductor Industry Association reported 1.15 trillion semiconductor units shipped in 2021. This indicates the scale of chip production, not the addressable market for 3D-printed equipment parts.
Our feature “How AM and the semiconductor industry can help each other”, in the January/February 2025 edition of 3D ADEPT Mag, examines equipment performance and supply constraints with Veeco. Moore’s law concerns changes in component density and should be distinguished from logistical disruption. The discussion with Johannes Homa focuses here on ALD rings.
Why ALD rings?
The gas distribution rings considered here are used in atomic layer deposition (ALD) equipment, which deposits thin films on a substrate. Chip manufacturing involves many repeated operations. Deposition, photoresist coating, lithography, etching, ion implantation and packaging are examples, not a complete six-operation production sequence.
If an ALD ring malfunctions, is misaligned, or causes non-uniform deposition, it can contaminate the wafer, cause film thickness variation, or result in wafer rejection (scrap).
“The ring controls the flow of gases used to deposit ultra-thin layers of material (often just a single atomic layer thick) onto the wafer surface. It plays a crucial role in the whole machine, especially in the deposition process and in the etching and buildup of materials during chip fabrication. Traditionally, this was a very time-consuming process because etching and deposition occurred in separate steps, requiring the wafer to be moved between different machines or the chamber conditions to be changed repeatedly, which slowed down throughput.
What we learned from the new FALP (Fast atomic layer processing) developed by Dr. Stephan Wege from Plasway, is that innovations in ALD equipment design—beyond the ring itself—allow etching and deposition to happen within the same machine and process cycle without breaking vacuum or swapping tools.
Historically, these rings were made from metals with nozzles designed to evenly distribute gases inside the chamber. The only thing is, metal rings often face two major challenges: corrosion resistance and ensuring consistent gas distribution. Since ALD works at the scale of single atomic layers, reproducibility in manufacturing these rings is therefore critical,” Homa explained.
AM offers a route to investigate gas-flow geometry and component reproducibility. Its value depends on the design, material and manufacturing process used as the baseline.
Why Lithoz’s lithography-based ceramic manufacturing (LCM) in particular?
Several AM processes can produce metal or ceramic equipment parts, but suitability for a ring in a particular ALD system cannot be assumed. This interview focuses on the ceramic LCM example.
The conversation with Lithoz considers three criteria: manufacturing capability, operating time and cost. Meaningful comparisons require the same application and defined operating conditions.
Manufacturing capabilities
LCM shapes ceramic particles dispersed in a photosensitive binder by light exposure, layer by layer. Debinding removes the organic phase before sintering densifies the ceramic. Inspection and any finishing steps depend on the intended application.
“Where we are most active is in the core functional zones of the semiconductor equipment — the areas where critical processes like etching, material deposition, and wafer cleaning take place. These zones are exposed to extremely harsh chemical and thermal environments. That’s precisely where high-performance ceramics, and by extension LCM (Lithography-based Ceramic Manufacturing), come into play,” the CEO points out, speaking of ALD ring applications.
Homa’s comments describe, in particular, an architecture combining deposition and etching. They do not imply that every ALD system performs both operations in a plasma: thermal and plasma-assisted ALD variants exist. The environment and material requirements depend on the process.
For the example discussed, Lithoz highlights complex internal channels designed to distribute gases more effectively. Ring geometry and atomic-scale film control are distinct measures; the latter depends on the operation of the complete equipment.
“While alumina remains the key material for manufacturing ALD rings, aluminum nitride (particularly for components like heating plates), YAG, yttria, and silicon carbide are other technical ceramics that can be explored for semiconductor applications,” Homa emphasizes.
Time
A Lithoz application sheet dated October 2024 gives two separate comparisons for a 380 mm alumina ring: three times the production output of a conventional ceramic ring, and an increase in operating time from one to nine months relative to a metal ring. These are supplier-reported results for that application, not a general guarantee of throughput or service life.
Cost
The economic case depends on replacement intervals, avoided downtime and the number of conforming parts produced. Component cost, qualification, maintenance and the comparison period must also be included.
A design change may improve gas distribution, operating time or yield. A percentage improvement must nevertheless refer to a measurable quantity: a “0.01% change in design” does not, by itself, define a change in yield or availability.
The question is, how much?
The scenario of $240,000 saved per day in the original version of this article is not accompanied by a reproducible calculation, the number of tools involved or a documented cost baseline. It cannot therefore be treated as a demonstrated result. A useful estimate requires these parameters and a like-for-like comparison of performance before and after the change.
For this specific application, Homa told 3D ADEPT that “up to 100 CeraFab System printers can be synchronized, independent of their location, qualifying this rapidly scalable technology as a valuable factor in the reshoring of semiconductor production.”
Other applications of AM in the semiconductor industry
Beyond rings, Homa identifies gas equalizers, gas distribution nozzles, heating plates and cooling plates as potential ceramic AM applications. Each component requires its own technical and economic assessment.
These are just the first steps in a broader journey for Lithoz in the semiconductor sector. Stay tuned as we uncover what’s coming next from the Austrian company.
This content has been created in collaboration with Lithoz. Johannes Homa’s words have been edited for brevity and clarity. Discover more about Lithoz’ technology capabilities in these “FOCUS” articles.
THE 3D ADEPT WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
The industry moves fast. Stay ahead.
Every week, the latest additive manufacturing news, in-depth features and real-world applications, straight to your inbox. Plus, be the first to know when a new issue of 3D ADEPT Mag is out.
Free · One email a week · Unsubscribe anytime
Clicking loads our email provider’s sign-up form, including its analytics and Google’s anti-bot protection. You’re only subscribed if you complete the sign-up. Read our privacy policy.