A part of Beyond Gravity in almost every smartphone

Stronger, faster, better. Digitization is continuously increasing the need for more powerful end de-vices or applications, which is why ever more powerful microprocessors will be required over the next 15 years. The drive to reduce the size of microchips while increasing their performance is one of the key drivers in the semiconductor business. The market is booming; forecasts indicate an ex-pected volume for the semiconductor industry of over one trillion US dollars by 2030. As a result, demand for products to manufacture semiconductors is also growing. For almost 20 years, Beyond Gravity has been supplying ZEISS - a leading global technology company in the optical and optoe-lectronic industry - with special stabilizers as well as apertures - technology that was originally de-veloped for space travel. The stabilizers and apertures are required by ZEISS' Semiconductor Man-ufacturing Technology (SMT) division for the production of lithography optics, laser optics and other optical systems.

The basis for modern microprocessors
In turn, ZEISS SMT's customers include manufacturers of machines for the production of micro-chips. Thanks to lithography optics from ZEISS, these machines can expose silicon wafers with na-nometer precision, thus creating the prerequisite for the production of ever smaller, more efficient and more powerful microprocessors. 

"Our new Lithography division is Beyond Gravity's answer to the growing demand in the semicon-ductor business.” Beyond Gravity's high-precision products have been a critical element in the in-dustry's supply chain since 2001. "We see great potential and are investing substantially in building our production capacity. Our collaboration with ZEISS has intensified in recent years and we will do everything we can to continue to support ZEISS as a reliable strategic partner in the future," says André Wall, CEO Beyond Gravity. 

Christoph Hensche, Chief Operating Officer at the ZEISS SMT division, is also certain that the new setup is the right step for profitable growth: "The semiconductor market is dynamic and together with our customers, partners and suppliers we want to serve all market requirements. We welcome the new division of Beyond Gravity and the increase in production capacities, which are welcome to become effective even faster. We look forward to further close cooperation." 

More than just space
In the coming years, the new division will grow from 140 to 180 employees at the Beyond Gravity sites in Zurich and Coswig. The stabilizers and apertures will be produced in state-of-the-art clean rooms that meet the stringent requirements in the lithography sector. The division is headed by Dr. Oliver Kunz, who was previously responsible for global engineering at Beyond Gravity. He empha-sizes: "We are proud to be able to use our expertise in space technology outside of space. We are also proud of the fact that almost every smartphone has a piece of Beyond Gravity in it." 

Information and pictures
Information about ZEISS SMT www.zeiss.de
Picture group photo High Level Meeting