Finnish Deep Tech company SisuSemi is going through exciting times. After years of research, they are now introducing a new surface cleaning technology, which they believe is going to revolutionise the semiconductor industry.
If we want to keep on making ever smaller and more effective electronic devices, we need cleanliness on an atomic level. This is what the technology startup SisuSemi aims to prove.
– With our technology, we are helping the semiconductor industry to make better products, which consume less energy and last longer, Chief Marketing Officer Markku Lammassaari says.
Semiconductor components, such as capacitors and transistors, are essential building blocks of all electronic devices. The semiconductor industry has always fought against defects: tiny impurities or errors in the structure of semiconductors that can disrupt their performance.
As electronical devices get smaller and performance requirements grow, it becomes ever more crucial to clean the semiconductor surface. With SisuSemi’s technology, this is done with high precision.
– In history, clean room production has enabled the reduction of dust and fine particles. We are going one step further and cleaning on an atomic level, Chief Executive Officer Erkki Seppäläinen says.
SisuSemi was founded in late 2024 by nine people, five from the University of Turku, four from industry and business life. Six of the founders now work for SisuSemi, three operate as scientific advisors.
Making a successful business out of a Deep Tech innovation is a slow process, where one must convince both the investors and the industry that the new technology is worthwhile. Photo: SisuSemi
Research Coming to Life
The woman behind SisuSemi’s new technology is Chief Technology Officer Zahra Jahanshah Rad. She has developed the Ultra-High Vacuum technology as a part of her PhD work at the University of Turku.
She stresses that the innovation is based on the high-quality surface physics research, facilities and equipment at the University of Turku. She also highlights the role of docent Pekka Laukkanen, her PhD supervisor and one of SisuSemi founders.
– Pekka gave me the freedom to choose my research topic and to follow what I saw interest in. He also saw the business potential in this and steered us towards it, Jahanshah Rad says.
SisuSemi has recently secured one million euros in seed funding. Now the company is introducing the new technology to the market and developing industrial-size equipment in customer pilots.
– It feels great to be able to implement the societal impact of the research. It is also in line with my values, trying to make the world more sustainable with less power consumption, Jahanshah Rad says.
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Hard Work Ahead
Founding a university spin-off was a joint effort. Jahanshah Rad praises the help they got from the University Innovation Services for instance with patents and other IPR. She says that transferring the intellectual property rights of the patents from the university to SisuSemi was a smooth process.
– Innovation Services also helped in forming the company team, Jahanshah Rad says.
– The University of Turku decided not to become part of the company, so we had to buy the IPR ourselves. I think the university should reconsider their decision not to invest in university startups, Chief Business Development Officer Raimo Malila adds.
Commercialising a Deep Tech innovation is not an easy task. It requires popularising complex research and summarising its benefits and business potential to investors.
Developing industry-compatible technology requires time and funding. According to Seppäläinen, it will take a few years for SisuSemi to be profitable, because the equipment development at this quality and purity level is demanding.
In addition, taking on new technology is a big decision for any semiconductor industry player. Thus, SisuSemi must proof first that their technology is mature enough.
– These decisions take a long time, because they have a big impact on for example the customers’ production lines, which are not cheap, Lammassaari says.
Great Business Potential
According to Erkki Seppäläinen, Business Finland funding has had an important role in getting SisuSemi this far. He also welcomes Finland’s aim to increase R&D expenditure to four percent of the gross domestic product by 2030.
– We believe that this is the only way to secure results in innovation also in the future.
The SisuSemi team has strong confidence in their technology’s success. Seppäläinen compares it to ALD (Atomic Layer Deposition) technology, developed by the Finnish physicist Tuomo Suntola in the 1970s.
At first, the industry was suspicious of the ALD technology because of its slowness. Nowadays it is used in electronics manufacturing all over the world. The SisuSemi team believes that their technology will have similar challenges and business potential.
– In a couple of years, we have shown the industry that our technology is an enabling technology: that it is not possible to make smaller and smaller chips without our technology, Seppäläinen says.
Text: Heidi Pelander
Photos: Heidi Pelander / SisuSemi
This article is part of the TKI-kompassi project, funded by the Regional Council of Southwest Finland.
