In order to reach our goals Research and Development and Innovation are integrated parts of a strategy leading to implemenation of manufacturing techniques and development of devices used in various industries.
We noticed that the orders we are getting from our customers are more and more based on project work. In many cases Luma will even become part of projects, by contributing their Know How of handling Thin Wires and their knowledge about electrochemical coating processes.
Luma is an industrial company which has to earn money in order to be able to grow and develop solutions for the markets being served. Consequently we are willing to invest together with our partners. The projects have to have enough potential for all partners involved. Funding is a critical component in order to realize a project. Ideally we are looking for Win-Win situations which are outcoming for all stakeholders. Examples:
Luma will present a project proposal to their potential stakeholders containing following sections:
Typically Luma would contribute with labour, know how and the production and supply of products and invoice these efforts upon agreement. Sometimes a part of the cost could be refunded based on a sales plan if the deliverables are products which will be sold to industry partners. Any industry partner interested in investigating innovative production processes or materials is more than welcome to contact us.
Announcement from August 2024:
Today, we have concluded the Gold Paws project, celebrating a 2-year journey of close collaboration between Luma Wire Techl, Materia Nova, and IONICS.
Leveraging Luma’s expertise in producing and customizing ultrafine wires for electronics, antennas, and medical equipment, combined with Materia Nova’s skills in developing cutting-edge and sustainable technologies, and IONICS’ industrialization capacity for surface treatment techniques, we have achieved extraordinary results by PVD coating of ultrathin wires with the compounds that are not feasible through conventional electroplating.
Applying a homogenous functional coating to ultrafine wires presents significant challenges, however, by specially adapting cathodes and designing a modular system, we were able to successfully develop a process that can be used for industrial-scale coating or ion implantation of such fine wires.
This achievement would not have been possible without the support from M.ERA.NET fund, which enabled this valuable collaboration. We are looking forward to continuing our partnership across future projects and commercial endeavors.
Goal: Developing an In-line Vision system which would allow to have control over the plating process all way long DURING the production process, not only at spot checks.
The aim of this project is to develop a new process to produce gold-plated ultra-thin wires of molybdenum and tungsten with enhanced quality and improved yield. An important part is the development and implementation of a new In-Line Digital Vision System suitable for small wire dimensions (5 – 20 µm). This automated system will enable Luma to control and ensure the quality of production in an efficient manner, thereby delivering higher quality products, improved yields and fewer quality complaints. As a result, Luma’s position in the global market will be strengthened and lead to new applications such as the lucrative and expanding market for satellites, where gold plated ultra fine wires are requested for woven mesh reflectors in space. Also Medical applications are a dynamically evolving area. The project will also generate fundamental knowledge about the importance of surface morphology for the adhesion of gold on these ultra-thin wires. For Luma this is a ”Business by innovation and technology”– project.
Electroplating technology suffers from limited sustainability, due to both its wide-spread reliability wet chemical processes, the use of toxic materials, and high consumptions of energy; at the same time, quality control and thus quality assurance processes leave room for improvement to reach levels that are routine for other parts of the high-tech industries.
To overcome these challenges in the field of electroplated ultra-thin wires, Luma together with a European Research company and a European Industry aim to develop a new manufacturing process, using low pressure plasma technologies, namely a combination physical vapor deposition (PVD) and ion beam implantation, to improve the coating performances, and the sustainability of the process, whilst simultaneously introducing a new quality-control methodology. A successful completion Project will result in the first ever reel-to-reel manufacturing process for ultra-thin wires including a PVD deposition process and an ion beam implantation post-treatment. The process will demonstrate its superiority in sustainability, compared to the conventional wet processes, based on defined sustainability criteria and benchmarks, whilst simultaneously improving the quality of the resulting gold-plated wires and the quality control procedures. In addition, the Project will also contribute to the replacement of cyanide based electroplating processes.
Luma will be able to manufacture and market ultra-thin wires to new segments, as well as strengthen their current market position within medical equipment, communication satellites and the detector industries, based on the following research and innovation (R&I) steps:
Concrete results expected from this targeted business-through-technology Project are:
The realisation of the planned improvement of both process and product is based on the ion beam implantation technology, which – when applied to the gold layers, will achieve the following requirements:
The challenges facing society pertaining to quality of life are driving a demand for more sensitive, reliable, smaller and cheaper devices for use in clinical, industrial, security and environmental diagnostic contexts.
Luma, together with Linnaeus University Centre for Biomaterials Chemistry and other partner organizations, is currently involved in a multidisciplinary cooperative project aiming at the developing of a novel micro wire electrode for use in highly sensitive and robust diagnostic platforms for important medical conditions.
We shall establish novel chemistries for surface derivatisation and polymeric nanoparticel synthesis. These chemistries shall then be sued to produce metal-polymer or metal-bioplymer material hybrids using the Luma exclusive ultra thin wire formats. These shall explore detection of proof-of-concept targets in various platforms.
Candidate systems shall then be used to develop sensors selective for important and difficult-to-measure analytes, in particular:
PEE and Polyamid Multi-Filaments might be an alternative to metal wires one day. At the moment we are depending on conductive materials for coating purposes. By applying different coating methods than the ones we use today (Vaccum-technology based, dry chemistry etc.) we would not be dependend on conductive base materials any longer.
… and Ball bonding processes in general.
Wire bonding is a critical interconnect technology used to create electrical pathways for power and signal transmission. Traditionally, solid gold wires dominated this field, but due to the rising cost of gold, gold-plated copper wires have emerged as a viable alternative. Also Silver wires can be used as a base material.
The gold layer protects the copper core from corrosion while maintaining excellent conductivity. In some cases, silver wires are employed as the base material, with a nickel strike layer added to improve gold adhesion. Luma’s expertise in producing high-quality gold-plated wires supports advancements in this essential technology, which is integral to semiconductor technology and microelectronic devices.
Innovative production of implantable multi-contact electrodes, commonly used for brain activity monitoring of drug restistance epilepsy (DRE) patients and deep brain stimulation (DBS) of pationts with neurological disorders (schizofrenia ….), from demonstration to market uptake
Moly Super Capacitor
Upcoming business case. Is in the planning stage: Molybdenum as “super capacitor”. Luma has published the following scientific article on April 10,2024:
Electrochemistry of Molybdenum Single Crystals and Thin Wires in Cyanide and Gold Cyanide Electrolytes
Authors: 1. Ulrik Palmqvist, 2. Peter Leisner, 3. Elisabet Ahlberg
1.Luma Metall AB., SE-393 56 Kalmar, Sweden
2.Department of Materials and Manufacturing, Jönköping University, SE- 551 11 Jönköping, Sweden
3.Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Gothenburg, SE-41390 Gothenburg, Sweden
Abstract:
Thin wires of molybdenum coated with gold are used for space applications and the adhesion of the gold layer is decisive for their use. The surface morphology of the wires is determined by the manufacturing process and preferential orientation of single crystal surfaces is expected. In this work three different single crystal surfaces were studied together with a 20 μm molybdenum wire to elucidate the importance of surface morphology on the electrodeposition process for gold. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was used to study the molybdenum samples in the absence and presence of gold cyanide complexes. The results show large pseudo capacitance prior to gold deposition, indicating the presence of a thin molybdenum oxide film on the surface. Thus, the electrodeposition takes place on the surface oxide and is afflicted with a nucleation overpotential. The overpotential is only slightly dependent on the single crystal orientation, while it is more negative for the wire. The adhesion of gold on the flat single crystal surfaces is weak but marginally better on the wire. This clearly shows that strong chemical binding to the surface is absent and that other processes, such as physical interlocking of the gold layer is necessary for good adhesion.
Replacement of Nickel and cyanides is ongoing. A Nickel free patentable adhesion promotor. Increases the quality of the adhesion of gold coating onto metallic substrate without Nickel underlayer, can avoid usage of hazardous cyanide and lower environmental impact, use less gold which makes the product cost efficient. The new manufacturing process has the potential to promote disruptive change within the market for ultra-thin wires, extend application area and strengthen the position of LUMA as technological leader in the respective fields.
Replacement of free Cyanide in some electrolytes.
Positive indications. Test results available. Full scale testing is next step.
An EU project has been coordinated, to be completed, with the aim of investigating the possibility to improve the sustainability of the plating process of thin wires and the coating performance, by establishing the first ever reel-to-reel environmentally friendly and dry coating process for wires, based on the combination of physical vapor deposition (PVD) process and on ion beam implantation post–treatment.
The results show positive indications. Experimental evidence is available. Applied research. The first laboratory tests are completed. Changing different coating materials and substrates would become much easier.
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