Bavarian Minister of Economic Affairs Hubert Aiwanger emphasizes: “The new location in the east of Munich is a strong signal for the future of our microelectronics ecosystem. With its cutting-edge analysis technologies, QuantumDiamonds shows how important innovation is for Europe’s competitiveness in the semiconductor sector. The planned funding from the federal government and the Bavarian state government is an investment in high-quality jobs, technological sovereignty and the progress of our region.”
The explosive demand for high-performance AI chips has exacerbated a key challenge for the semiconductor industry: as the density and performance of chips increases, the yield decreases. This reduces supply, drives up costs and slows down innovation. Traditional test methods have not kept pace, and finding a solution has become an industry obsession.
“Non-destructive defect isolation in advanced packages is an incredibly difficult challenge that the industry is still working to solve,” says Dr. David Su, former head of TSMC’s defect analysis team and now a consultant at QuantumDiamonds. “This technology holds great promise for closing that gap. By detecting magnetic fields to track current, it offers a potential way to visualize defects that are currently undetectable with traditional thermal or X-ray tools.”
QuantumDiamonds’ QDM systems use nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in diamonds to map electrical current with micron accuracy – non-destructively and within seconds – in even the most complex chip packages. This capability is especially important for advanced 2.5D and 3D architectures that are the foundation for AI, mobile devices and automotive electronics.
“Our tools give fabs layer-specific insight into current paths in TSVs, microbumps and chiplets without having to open the package,” said Dr. Fleming Bruckmaier, CTO and co-founder of QuantumDiamonds. “As heterogeneous integration becomes the norm, this level of inspection is no longer optional, it’s essential.”
After successful proof-of-concept projects with 9 of the world’s top 10 chip manufacturers, QuantumDiamonds is seeing increasing demand for its systems. The first deployments have been completed in Europe, with further installations planned for the first quarter of 2026 in the United States and Taiwan.
Europe currently produces only around 10% of the world’s semiconductors, but is home to some of the largest consumers of high-performance chips and is highly exposed to supply chain and geopolitical risks. The European Chips Act reflects the strategic goal of doubling this share to 20% by 2030.
“This investment plan is a strategic commitment to Europe’s technological sovereignty,” said Kevin Berghoff, CEO and co-founder of QuantumDiamonds. “We are transitioning from research to global production and plan to do so in Germany.”
The European Commission highlighted in an assessment report that “QuantumDiamonds has the potential to create the next ASML”, a reference to the Dutch company that is a world leader in semiconductor lithography and a key contributor to the European high-tech industry.
The announcement by QuantumDiamonds follows the announcement that GlobalFoundries plans to invest €1.1 billion in chip production in Dresden. Together, these announcements mark a significant strengthening of the German government’s commitment to help shape the global semiconductor market.
By locating production in Europe, the project will help preserve steps in the value chain, build domestic capabilities and strengthen Europe’s position in the global semiconductor landscape.
“Early support from programs such as the EIC Accelerator and SPRIN-D has laid the foundation for this expansion,” Berghoff added. “With the expected funding from the Chips Act, we will move from pilot projects to volume production, helping to secure Europe’s role in the future of the semiconductor industry.”
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Further links
👉 www.qd-st.com
Photo: QuantumDiamonds
