Author: Ida

Celebrating 10 years anniversary for the Flextura PVD platform, we summarize the most important development steps for this platform.

Development Step: Modularity

From the very beginning, one idea has been at the heart of the Flextura® PVD platform: the system should be able to grow with future needs.

Every Flextura process module, whether a sputtering module, an evaporation module, a GLAD module, or an etch and degas station, is designed to work in multiple configurations.

1. Start with a single substrate load lock for focused, standalone research.
2. Step up to cassette loading when throughput demands increase.
3. Connect the same module to a fully automated cassette-to-cassette cluster when your facility is ready for volume production or your product needs multiple process steps without vacuum breaks.

The module itself is the same. Only the system around it grows.

As Christian Kjelde, Sales Manager at Polyteknik, reflects; “designing the Flextura PVD platform from scratch, meant modularity could be made a core priority. One of the greatest long-term benefits for customers”.

Scale up, without starting over

A researcher might begin with a single Flextura Sputter module and a load lock – a compact, high-quality tool that fits in a small cleanroom and delivers serious thin film results from day one.

Years later, as the development matures and production demands follow, that same core module can be plugged directly onto a Flextura Cluster platform, joined by an evaporation module, a high-temperature deposition chamber (up to 1000°C), or in-system analytical module – all without discarding the original investment.

The Flextura 200 Cluster illustrates this thinking at its most complete. A 200mm platform that is truly almost plug-and-play, allowing process modules to be added as the need for capacity or new processes increases. A proven Brooks MAG LEAP robot handles wafer transport between modules, while the platform accommodates everything from standard SEMI cassettes to custom carriers for even greater flexibility.

For research environments, the Flextura R&D Cluster takes the concept further still. It unveils a new way of modular thinking for PVD systems. From a single chamber with evaporation or sputtering as a standalone system, to an efficient research and development cluster tool with multiple advanced processes. Analytical modules can be attached to the cluster, enabling in-situ characterisation without ever breaking vacuum.

All process modules can be integrated into the Flextura Cluster platform or delivered as standalone tools, with single-substrate, cassette, or batch load-lock configurations.

The Flextura way of thinking lets capital investment follow the increasing demands of a facility.

A decade of thin‑film research built on the Flextura PVD platform — designed to grow. 

SINTEF is one of Europe’s largest independent research organisations, with more than 2,200 employees representing over 80 nationalities. At SINTEF’s thin‑film laboratory in Oslo, functional material coatings are developed for applications including gas separation membranes, sensors, batteries, solar cells, and electrolysis cells.

The customer brief: Purpose-built to grow with our research

Ten years ago, SINTEF Industry approached Polyteknik with a clear and concrete challenge: to develop a PVD system tailored for advanced thin‑film research, one that could accommodate a wide range of materials and provide the freedom to explore new material combinations as ideas evolved.

“We needed a system with a high level of flexibility, where we could explore deposition of a wide range of materials and material combinations. It was essential that the equipment did not limit the research, but rather enabled it.”
— Marit Stange, Senior Research Scientist, SINTEF Industry

The Flextura Platform, Modular by design

The Flextura PVD platform was developed to meet the requirements from SINTEF and introduced a new way of thinking: modular, scalable, and designed to grow with the researcher’s ambitions. Start with a single process module, add chambers and analytical tools as needs evolve.  Automated deposition and analysis reduce time spent on routine operation – leaving more time for data interpretation, insight generation, and discovery of the next promising material.

Enabling SINTEF’s Thin‑Film Deposition Platform

The Flextura delivers high-quality, high-uniformity layers of metals and oxides on wafers, with multiple RF and DC magnetron sources in planar or confocal configurations. The system supports deposition ranging from relatively simple metals and alloys to reactive sputtering of oxides and nitrides. High‑temperature deposition up to 800 °C and residual gas analysis (RGA) provide the necessary level of process control.

In addition, an electron beam evaporation chamber dedicated for deposition of silicon for solar cells and battery applications allows growth of silicon at temperatures between RT and 1000 °C.

A partnership built on mutual ambition

Both SINTEF and Polyteknik share the same belief: the best equipment is created in close dialogue with the people who use it. As Flextura marks its 10th anniversary in 2026, SINTEF stands as proof that a platform designed to grow has given the best options for development.

Research that makes a difference

SINTEF Industry was Polyteknik’s first Flextura customer, and today systems are installed at R&D and industrial facilities across Europe.

10 Years of Flextura · Anniversary Series
Issue 01 · 2026