QuantumDiamonds

𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺'𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝘃𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆? 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗮 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽. 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 is our number one value, and it means something specific to us: what the failure analysis engineer gets are straightforward magnetic field and 3D current density maps for actionable insights. All the quantum physics is taken care of. So every QDm.1 has to earn that trust before it leaves the building. It runs on real samples, catches real defects, and proves out the same workflows it will run on-site. This latest unit is exactly that: built, tested, and ready to be plugged in at a customer's failure analysis lab.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝘁 𝗤𝗗 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗮 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗽 Our QDm.1 images the tiny currents running through advanced 2.5D and 3D packages. A system like that, in a market this exacting, only works if everyone is an expert in what they're doing, whether that is hardware, software, machine learning, applications, or business. That's why the flow we end up talking about most internally is 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲. And it behaves a lot like the currents we measure: it takes every path it can find, and it prefers the ones with the least resistance. So one of our core values is 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘆. One evening that is Jan Brand over dinner, explaining how to set up internal naming conventions that still hold up once you scale, and where people usually get it wrong. Another week it is Fatima Taleb in our biweekly technical session, taking us through our latest microwave advancements and what those changes actually mean in practice. Neither of those was meant only for the people working on that part of the system. Both were meant exactly for everyone else. 𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗱𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁. It is hard to think three steps ahead when you only ever see your own step. So if you are eager to learn outside your own field, and you want to see a deep-tech company from every angle, QuantumDiamonds is the place to be. Have a look in the comments.

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆. 𝗡𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼𝗼. Last week, a failure analysis engineer watched a measurement come up on the QDm.1's screen, shook his head, and said: "I've never seen data like this." What he was looking at was our new 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 feature. On any measurement, the QDm.1 now draws arrows onto the reconstructed current that show not only 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 it runs, but 𝗶𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 it flows. The feature is 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 into our software and already rolled out to systems in the field. Have a look below to see it in action directly in our UI. 𝗡𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝗰𝗸𝘂𝗽, just a direct screenshot. For failure analysis this changes the workflow. You can follow the current turn by turn, hold it against the design file, tell an intended path from one the design never called for, and trace a short or an open back to its exact source. Reach out via the link in the comments to see the streamlines on your own samples.

𝗪𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗕𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮'𝘀 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝘂𝘁𝘆 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿-𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗔𝗳𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗿𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝘁 The first section of our new Munich facility is 𝘂𝗽 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴, the site set to become the 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱'𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗺 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴. This first section was brought online on a fast track, in just four months. We were glad to show it to Hubert Aiwanger, Bavarian Deputy Minister-President and State Minister for Economic Affairs, and Dr. Irina Kerner of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE). They toured the section, saw the QDm.1 in operation, received a 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, and got a first look at our latest development work toward InLine 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹-𝘄𝗮𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴. During the visit, the German federal government and the Free State of Bavaria also officially handed over the funding decision backing our production ramp-up under the 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝗔𝗰𝘁. A working system, a running facility, and support from federal and state government: this is what turning 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆-𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 looks like. Curious to learn more? Schedule your own demo via the link in the comments.

𝗪𝗲 𝘂𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀. 𝗟𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝘄𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆. Building a machine based on a technology that never existed before is harder than a 6k. And 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗺 𝗽𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗼, by solving hard technical challenges every day, brings a team together just as much. Still, it's motivating to be surrounded by people you can not only crack the toughest problems with, pushing the limits of what's technically possible again and again, but also 𝗽𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗿𝘂𝗻 with. That's why part of our team traded lab coats for running shoes at the B2Run in Munich last week, joining more than 𝟯𝟬,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗿𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 across the city. If that's the ambition and environment you're looking for, we'd love to hear from you. But don't worry, 𝘄𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗿𝘂𝗻 𝗮 𝟲𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄. Find open roles in the comments.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗺𝗗𝗶𝗮𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘀? Last week, we announced our €91M Series A. You might be wondering what we actually do and what the funding is for. In short: we build 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗺 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 that image the electrical current flowing inside advanced chips, 𝗻𝗼𝗻-𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝟯𝗗, where conventional methods can't see. That capability is exactly what modern 3D advanced packaging demands, and this funding takes our product from the lab to large-scale production. Watch the three minutes below for the full explanation and a real sneak peek into our product. PS: We've already shipped new features since this video was made a month ago. Reach out via the link in the comments to experience our newest product version.

€𝟵𝟭𝗠 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁-𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 The world's leading chipmakers need a new way to see inside their most advanced chips, because traditional inspection methods have hit their limits. To serve that demand and put our systems in more chipmaker labs worldwide, we closed our €𝟵𝟭𝗠 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗔, led by World Fund, with Bayern Kapital and our existing investors. As transistors stop shrinking in size, chipmakers keep stacking layer on top of layer, and conventional testing of those 3D chips no longer works. Our solution directly maps the current inside a fully functional chip and shows in 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄𝘀 in 3D. A tier 1 US chipmaker recently described our approach as “the most relevant innovation in chip inspection in the last 20 years”. That is what motivates us: bringing quantum sensing to every fab, helping our customers to manufacture next-gen chips efficiently and accelerate time-to-insight. Three years after spinning out of TU Munich, we have shipped our first product, put systems live in the US and Taiwan, opened a hub in Asia, and broken ground on our first-of-a-kind production facility in Munich, the 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁-𝘂𝗽 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝗔𝗰𝘁 to build one. We see what others can't. And we are only getting started. World Fund Bayern Kapital IQ Capital Earlybird Venture Capital UnternehmerTUM First Momentum Ventures Creator Fund Onsight Ventures

𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗯𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗡𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝟯,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽𝘀 now sit along one 400km stretch of Germany. Forbes asked why, and the answer is exactly why we call Munich home. The corridor combines the capital, hardware engineering heritage, and academic depth found in few other places in Europe. This is the ecosystem you need to build semiconductor inspection systems that image 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀, a capability never available before. It is also where our €𝟭𝟱𝟮𝗠 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 goes live this year. Our CEO Kevin Berghoff and CTO Fleming Bruckmaier explain the rest in the piece. Read the full Forbes feature via the link in the comments, and follow QuantumDiamonds to stay tuned for exciting news ahead.

𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗵 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮 𝟮𝗗 𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲? It is a fair question in failure analysis: the magnetic field is recorded as a vector field in one plane above the package, so how can it tell you how deep a defect sits inside the stack? In our last post we already talked about how the magnetic field spreads in its way up to the sensor. A current source close to the surface leaves a tight, sharp magnetic imprint. The same source buried deeper under the stack leaves a 𝘄𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿, 𝘀𝗺𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁. The width and decay of the signature are set by the standoff distance between the defect and the sensor, in other words, by how deep it lies. The magic lies in our 𝗠𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗵 directly from the magnetic signature. They learn the full mapping from field to source across the kind of real, multi-layer packages where purely analytical inversion hits its limits. The result is not only the lateral position, but the 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟮.𝟱𝗗 𝗼𝗿 𝟯𝗗 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸. You learn which layer to target before a single layer is removed. For an FA lab, that means fewer delayering iterations, less destructive guesswork, and a faster path to root cause. A flat magnetic map already tells you how deep to go. Excited to see it in practice on your samples? Reach out via the link in the comments and stop by one of our tools in Taiwan, Germany, or the US.

"𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝟭 μ𝗺 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝟭𝟬𝟬 𝗻𝗺" It sounds obvious: if your imaging resolution is 1 μm, how could you detect a defect ten times smaller? The physics works in your favor here, because we measure 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗻𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘁𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳. Apply a current, and it follows every path it can. A short adds a path that should not exist. An open stops the current where the connection breaks. Both show up as a clear anomaly in the magnetic map, so the same measurement 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲. And the signal does not stay small. As the field travels up through the package, it spreads out: a 100 nm feature under a 10 μm stack leaves a magnetic imprint several microns wide. But 𝗮 𝘄𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝘃𝗮𝗴𝘂𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗻𝗲. Where it peaks, how it falls off, which way the current turns, all of it is 𝗮 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. We read that fingerprint and reconstruct the current path to a precise position in X, Y, and Z. That is what the QDm.1 puts to use: 𝗮 𝟭 μ𝗺 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲𝘀 𝗮 𝟭𝟬𝟬 𝗻𝗺 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁, 𝗻𝗼𝗻-𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘆, deep inside an optically opaque 2.5D or 3D package. Resolution tells you how sharply you see the field. It is not the limit on the feature size you can find. More on the method, and the measurements behind it, via the links in the comments.