As transistors continue to shrink, traditional silicon materials are facing increasing challenges with leakage, power consumption, and heat dissipation. Singapore-based startup Nexstrom is addressing this issue by leveraging two-dimensional semiconductor materials, with a focus on enabling mass production in wafer fabs.
Targeting 300mm wafer manufacturing
The company is developing equipment and processes to directly grow transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) on 300-mm wafers used in commercial chip manufacturing. TMDs, which are only a few atomic layers thick, are considered one of the potential candidate materials for the post-silicon era.
Nexstrom’s product is called North Star. Its core idea is not to create small-scale samples in a lab, but to push ultra-thin materials into manufacturing processes closer to wafer-factory standards. The company believes that what the industry truly lacks is not proof of concept, but scalable production capacity.
The industry has already begun deploying two-dimensional materials.
Two-dimensional semiconductors are not a new direction. TSMC, Intel, and Belgium’s imec are all advancing the integration of these materials with transistor structures. ASML, AIXTRON, and other equipment and materials companies are also positioning themselves across various segments of the manufacturing supply chain.
Recently, TSMC, ASML, and IMEC demonstrated a pathway for integrating two-dimensional material transistors into 300-mm fabrication processes. This indicates that the related technology is no longer confined to isolated research but is beginning to align with existing wafer manufacturing systems.
Funding is used to advance preparations for mass production.
Nexstrom announced on Tuesday the completion of a $12 million seed round led by Xora, Foothill Ventures, and SEEDS. The company’s total funding to date now stands at $15 million.
The company stated that it does not intend to directly compete with TSMC, Samsung, or Intel, but rather aims to sell its technology to these major chip manufacturers or establish partnerships with them. Nexstrom said that several industry companies are already testing its wafer and material samples, though it did not disclose their names.
The current challenge remains achieving consistent TMD material generation across large-area wafers. Phoebe Tan, CEO of Nexstrom, said the company has achieved wafer-scale material results on its newly installed 12-inch system and has successfully scaled from 2-inch to 6-inch systems, with plans to complete the 8-inch phase by the end of October.
The funds will be used to continue developing equipment, enhancing process control and measurement capabilities, expanding the team, and supporting validation projects with potential customers. According to the company’s roadmap, its equipment is expected to be ready for commercial production between 2030 and 2035.