Adisyn Demonstrates Graphene Deposition On Industrial Chip-Making Equipment In Bid To Replace Copper Interconnects

Adisyn has demonstrated full-coverage graphene deposition on an industrial semiconductor manufacturing system, a result the company argues could open the door to replacing copper wiring inside advanced chips.

The demonstration produced a continuous graphene film on a 1cm x 1cm coupon using a standard industrial Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) system, with the process operating at temperatures below 450 degrees Celsius – within the thermal limits used in semiconductor fabrication.

Shares in Adisyn rose as much as 25 per cent on the news, hitting an intraday high of 8.5 cents before settling at 8.2 cents, with 33.5 million shares traded.

The copper interconnect problem

The result is aimed at one of the most widely discussed constraints in advanced chip manufacturing: the performance limitations of copper interconnects.

In modern semiconductor chips, interconnects are the wiring that connects billions of transistors on a single die. As chip geometries have shrunk, particularly below the 2nm node, copper interconnects have become an increasing source of resistance, heat generation and power loss. These effects constrain performance and energy efficiency and limit how far the industry can continue to scale.

The problem is well understood across the semiconductor sector. With the industry producing more than 1 trillion chips annually, and with high-performance segments including AI accelerators, GPUs, CPUs and advanced mobile and networking devices pushing the limits of current designs, finding an alternative to copper has become a significant area of research.

Graphene has long been identified as a potential replacement due to its electrical and thermal properties. The challenge has not been whether graphene could theoretically do the job, but whether it could be manufactured within the constraints of existing semiconductor fabrication processes – using standard equipment, at compatible temperatures and at the scale required for commercial production.

Industrial equipment, not a lab

Adisyn, through its wholly owned subsidiary 2D Generation, carried out the deposition using a standard industrial ALD system rather than laboratory-scale equipment or transfer-based methods. The company argues this distinction is critical.

The semiconductor industry has historically been reluctant to adopt materials that require entirely new manufacturing approaches. Demonstrating that graphene can be formed within equipment already in use in fabrication environments is a necessary precondition for any path toward commercial adoption.

The process is based on Adisyn’s patented ALD methodology and proprietary precursor chemistry, which were developed specifically to enable graphene growth under semiconductor-compatible conditions.

Kevin Crofton, Chairman of Adisyn, described the result as a meaningful step in the context of the industry’s broader efforts.

“This is an important step – not just for Adisyn, but in the context of what the semiconductor industry has been trying to achieve,” Crofton explained.

“Producing graphene on an industrial ALD system, rather than a lab environment and at low temperature, is what starts to make this relevant from a manufacturing perspective.”

Why temperature matters

The sub-450 degree Celsius operating temperature is a significant detail. Semiconductor fabrication involves multiple processing steps, and materials introduced later in the manufacturing sequence must not damage the layers already deposited on the wafer. Industry thermal limits exist specifically to protect those earlier layers.

Previous attempts to produce graphene for semiconductor applications have often relied on processes that operate at temperatures well above what fabrication environments can tolerate, or on methods that involve growing graphene on one substrate and then transferring it to another. Transfer-based approaches introduce defects and are difficult to scale, making them impractical for high-volume manufacturing.

By demonstrating graphene formation within the thermal envelope of standard semiconductor processing, Adisyn is attempting to remove one of the key objections the industry has raised against graphene integration.

What comes next

The company has characterised the films produced in the demonstration and confirmed continuous graphene coverage across the 1cm-squared coupon. However, there is a significant amount of work still ahead before the technology could be considered for commercial use.

Adisyn has outlined that the program will now transition to film optimisation, repeatability testing and scale-up to wafer-level formats. Producing a continuous graphene film on a small coupon is one thing; doing so consistently across a full 300mm wafer, which is the standard size used in modern semiconductor fabs, is a considerably more demanding task.

The company has also indicated that it is now in a position to enter what it describes as the industry collaboration and commercial engagement phase, targeting relationships with major semiconductor manufacturers.

Crofton framed the opportunity in terms of the competitive dynamics within the chip industry.

“The interconnect is now one of the key constraints in semiconductor performance,” he outlined. “If you can solve that, you’re solving a problem the entire industry is focused on.”

The race below 2nm

The timing of the announcement aligns with a period of intense competition among chipmakers to push device geometries below 2nm. Companies including TSMC, Samsung and Intel are all pursuing next-generation process nodes, and the limitations of copper interconnects become more acute at each step down in scale.

If graphene can be successfully integrated as an interconnect material, it could enable further scaling beyond what copper allows, potentially extending the trajectory described by Moore’s Law. However, that is a substantial “if” that depends on solving a range of engineering challenges beyond the initial deposition demonstration.

These include achieving uniform film quality at wafer scale, integrating graphene into multi-layer interconnect structures, demonstrating compatibility with other materials and processes in the fabrication stack and proving reliability over the lifetime of a finished device.

A small company with a large target

Adisyn is a small ASX-listed company with a market capitalisation that reflects its early-stage status. While the demonstration represents technical progress, the gap between a successful lab-to-industrial deposition result and a commercially deployed semiconductor material is wide.

The company’s core focus is the development of its patented low-temperature ALD process for direct graphene growth on semiconductor wafers. It also has interests in advanced composite materials for defence applications, including radar signature reduction for UAV platforms, as well as an IT services business called Adisyn Services that provides managed IT, cloud, cybersecurity and AI solutions to Australian small and medium-sized enterprises.

For the semiconductor industry, the key question is whether Adisyn’s approach can deliver the consistency, scalability and integration required to move from a proof-of-concept coupon to a production-ready material. The company will need to demonstrate repeatable results, attract industry partners and navigate the lengthy qualification processes that chipmakers require before adopting any new material into their fabrication lines.

Industry context

Research into graphene as a potential interconnect material is not unique to Adisyn. Academic institutions and corporate research labs around the world have been investigating graphene and other two-dimensional materials as alternatives to copper for years. The challenge of producing graphene at scale and within the constraints of semiconductor manufacturing has been a consistent barrier.

What Adisyn claims to offer is a method that works within existing industrial equipment and temperature limits, which, if validated at scale, could lower the barrier to adoption. Whether the result holds up under the scrutiny of repeatability testing and wafer-scale trials will determine whether the company can convert a promising demonstration into something the semiconductor industry is willing to act on.

For now, the market response suggests investors are treating the result as a positive signal, though the share price movement also reflects the speculative nature of early-stage technology stocks. The real test will come in the quarters ahead as Adisyn moves through its optimisation and scale-up program and begins engaging with potential industry partners.

Last Updated on April 20, 2026 by Nick Ross