Swiss Cluster Receives Award for Thin-Film Technology

The Empa spin-off "Swiss Cluster" has been awarded the Swiss Economic Award 2026 in the Production/Trade category. The company develops systems for vacuum-based coating processes, combining physical vapor deposition (PVD) with atomic layer deposition (ALD). This results in functional thin films with high mechanical, thermal, and chemical resistance. Swiss Cluster was founded in late 2020 as a spin-off from Empa. Based in Spiez, the company now employs 15 people and supplies research institutes as well as customers in the watchmaking, optics, electronics, and medical technology industries. The company’s machines are already in use in Switzerland, the U.S., and the U.K. Thin films perform important functions in numerous applications. They protect components from wear and corrosion, enable optical filters, improve the biocompatibility of medical implants, or form the basis of modern microelectronics. While PVD produces particularly hard coatings, ALD enables the production of extremely thin and homogeneous coatings with atomic precision.

Vacuum coating using PVD and ALD processes

Swiss Cluster combines both processes in a single vacuum environment. This allows multilayer nanostructures to be produced significantly faster than with conventional approaches. At the same time, it prevents surfaces from oxidizing or becoming contaminated between process steps. The technology originated from research at Empa and was subsequently developed into an industrially viable platform. In addition to combined PVD and ALD systems, the company also offers systems for so-called batch ALD, which can be used to coat multiple or particularly complex components simultaneously. In addition, Swiss Cluster operates its own coating laboratory where customers can initially test processes as a service. The jury of the Swiss Economic Forum particularly recognized the combination of scientific excellence, industrial applicability, and successful entrepreneurial implementation. The company has grown primarily organically through the sale of equipment and services and did not receive its first external investment until 2025.