Silicon Genesis

About Silicon Genesis

Silicon Genesis Corporation, operating as SiGen, was established in 1997 to commercialize layer-transfer inventions from UC Berkeley. The company was co-founded by Professor Nathan Cheung of UC Berkeley's Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences department and Francois Henley, who served as the initial President and CEO. Henley holds MSEE and BSEE degrees and has an extensive background in quantum electronics and semiconductor materials science, authoring over 30 papers and holding over 140 patents. The firm's inception was aimed at leveraging a novel layer-transfer approach combined with PIII implant technology to produce Silicon-on-Insulator (SOI) wafers with improved specifications at a lower cost. In 2021, the company was acquired by Lake Street Capital and its management.

SiGen provides substrate technology, processes, and equipment for the semiconductor, solar, display, and optoelectronics markets globally. The company's business model is multifaceted, revolving around the sale and marketing of a combination of licenses, royalties, services, and proprietary equipment. This approach involves deep engagement with a limited number of major global customers, often playing a consultative role to develop custom-engineered substrates. Revenue streams include process licenses for their intellectual property, application engineering services for custom process development, equipment sales for R&D and high-volume manufacturing, and support services for training and installation.

The company's core offering is its layer-transfer technology, which enables the production of engineered multi-layer structures like SOI, strained-silicon products, Silicon-on-Quartz (SOQ), and Silicon-on-Glass (SOG). A key technology is NanoTec™, a low-temperature process that facilitates the transfer of high-quality thin films to various substrates, used for applications like Direct Silicon Bond (DSB) and 3D wafer packaging. More recently, SiGen has focused on the emerging market for Three-Dimensional Integrated Circuits (3DIC), using its NANOCLEAVE™ Layer Transfer Process for wafer-scale stacking of active IC layers. This process allows for the creation of active layers that are two to five times thinner than what can be achieved with traditional methods, enabling higher signal bandwidth and better thermal conductivity. The firm's products include a Stand-Alone Plasma-Activation (SPA) Tool and a Debond and Cleave (DB&C) Tool, designed for layer transfer applications in high-volume manufacturing.