Manufacturer and distributor of vacuum components, vacuum chambers and thin-film deposition systems (PVD/ALD)
Kurt J. Lesker Company GmbH
Jefferson Hills, PA (US) · Dresden (DE) · St. Leonards-on-Sea (UK) · Shanghai (CN)New on Amplifa
About Kurt J. Lesker Company
The Kurt J. Lesker Company (KJLC), founded in 1954, is an internationally active manufacturer and distributor of vacuum products and thin-film deposition systems with over 400 employees and six distribution centers worldwide. The Manufacturing Division produces custom stainless steel vacuum chambers (Chamber Builder, Nipple Builder, Hydra~Cool water cooling). The Process Equipment Division develops and builds PVD and ALD systems – from compact laboratory tools (NANO 36, PRO Line) and glovebox systems (SPECTROS) and UHV sputter systems (LAB Line) to cluster systems with robotic sample transfer (OCTOS) and production systems (BATCH, KDF In-Line). The Materials Division supplies sputter targets and evaporation materials with in-house target bonding (indium/elastomer) and precious metal recycling. Further services include pump repair, TORUS cathode rebuild and training systems. Reference customers include European XFEL. The German subsidiary is based in Dresden.
- Site
- Dresden
- Processes
- Magnetron sputtering (TORUS cathodes, reactive sputtering, HiPIMS), Electron beam evaporation, Thermal evaporation, Organic (point source) evaporation, Atomic layer deposition (ALD), thermal and plasma-enhanced (PEALD), Pulsed filtered cathodic arc deposition, PECVD & DLC coating systems (KDF), CVD (process module in the OCTOS cluster)
- Materials
- Gold, Platinum, Palladium, Silver, Iridium, Rhodium, Ruthenium, Rhenium
- Certificates
- ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015
- Founded
- 1954
- Employees
- 400+
- Industries
- Semiconductors, OLED/Flat Panel Display, Photovoltaics, Optics, Medical technology, Quantum technology/superconductors
- 01
Engineering & Design (thin-film systems, vacuum chambers)
- 02
Manufacturing of vacuum chambers & components (stainless steel)
- 03
System assembly & integration (cluster, glovebox, TVAC)
- 04
Target bonding & material preparation
- 05
Service: pump repair, cathode rebuild, decontamination
- 06
Training & support (Lesker U, system service)
Materials & Processes
Stainless steel
Material for vacuum chambers, process gas lines and training systems (e.g. cylindrical chamber with ISO 320 flanges).
Precious metals (gold, platinum, palladium, silver, iridium, rhodium, ruthenium)
Sputter targets, evaporation materials and a reclaim program for precious metal recycling.
Indium / elastomer
Bonding materials for target bonding with backing plates.
AlScN (ferroelectric nitride)
Deposition by plasma-enhanced ALD under ultrahigh-purity conditions.
Pure metals, alloys, oxides, fluorides, nitrides
Sputter targets and evaporation materials in various shapes, sizes and purities.
Locations
Jefferson Hills, PA
USHeadquarters, sales & manufacturing
- Materials
- Stainless steel
- NANO 36 PVD
- PRO Line PVD 75/200/500
- AXXIS GLAD
- SPECTROS
- OCTOS Cluster
- LAB Line UHV
- CMS Series
- BATCH Coater
- ALD150LE/150LX
- TORUS cathodes (service up to 4 m)
Dresden
DESales office Germany (EMEIA)
St. Leonards-on-Sea
GBSales office UK
Shanghai
CNSales office China
Components & Systems
Inside the production
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magnetron sputtering (TORUS cathodes, reactive sputtering, HiPIMS)Surface | – | – | – | – | Sputtering targets: pure metals, alloys, oxides, |
| Electron beam evaporationSurface | – | – | – | – | Evaporation materials: pure metals, alloys, oxides, |
| Thermal evaporationSurface | – | – | – | – | Evaporation materials |
| Organic (point source) evaporationSurface | – | – | – | – | Organic materials |
| Atomic layer deposition (ALD), thermal and plasma-enhanced (PEALD)Surface | – | – | – | – | AlScN (ferroelectric nitride), ultra-high-purity processes |
| Pulsed filtered cathodic arc depositionSurface | – | – | – | – | – |
| PECVD & DLC coating systems (KDF)Surface | – | – | – | – | DLC, functional wear-resistant coatings |
| CVD (process module in the OCTOS cluster)Surface | – | – | – | – | – |
| PLD (process module in the OCTOS cluster)Surface | – | – | – | – | – |
| Glancing angle deposition (AXXIS)Surface | – | – | – | – | – |
| Roll-to-roll thin film deposition for flexible substratesSurface | – | – | – | – | Flexible substrates |
| Vacuum chamber manufacturing (vacuum chambers, Chamber Builder, Nipple Builder)Assembly | – | – | – | – | Stainless steel (chamber training system: cylindrical |
| Target bonding (indium and elastomer bonding, backing plates)Assembly | – | – | – | – | Indium, elastomer |
| Precious metals reclaim services (precious metal recovery)Surface | – | – | – | – | Gold, platinum, palladium, silver, iridium, rhodium, |
| Vacuum pump repair and remanufacturing (rotary vane, rotary piston, scroll, roots blower,Assembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| Magnetron cathode rebuild, repair & retrofit (round and linear, magnetrons up to 4 m long)Assembly | – | 4 m | – | – | – |
| Pump decontamination (HAZMAT certified)Assembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| Systems service & support for thin-film systemsAssembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| Engineering/design of thin-film deposition systems incl. cluster tools with robotic transferEngineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| Thermal vacuum chamber (TVAC)/space simulation systems (custom-built)Engineering | – | – | – | – | – |
17 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PVD coating system (compact, computer-controlled PVD tool) | Kurt J. Lesker Company NANO 36 | – | – | – | – |
| PVD coating systems (R&D, pilot production, production) | Kurt J. Lesker Company PRO Line PVD Series (PVD 75, PVD 200, PVD 500) | – | – | – | – |
| Glancing angle deposition system | Kurt J. Lesker Company AXXIS | – | – | – | – |
| Glovebox-integrated sputter/e-beam/thermal/organic evaporation systems | Kurt J. Lesker Company SPECTROS | – | – | – | – |
| Cluster coating system with robotic sample transfer (up to 10 process modules: PVD, ALD, | Kurt J. Lesker Company OCTOS | – | – | – | – |
| UHV sputter system (up to 15 cathodes, e-beam and thermal options) | Kurt J. Lesker Company LAB Line | – | – | – | – |
| Combinatorial materials science tool (e-beam/sputtering) | Kurt J. Lesker Company CMS Series | – | – | – | – |
| Batch coater (linear and multi-substrate dome) | Kurt J. Lesker Company BATCH Coaters | – | – | – | – |
| In-line coating systems | KDF KDF In-Line Solutions | – | – | – | – |
| PECVD & DLC coating system | KDF KDF PECVD & DLC Coating Systems | – | – | – | – |
| PVD coating systems | VaporTech (support by KDF) VaporTech Coating Systems | – | – | – | – |
| Atomic layer deposition system (thermal) | Kurt J. Lesker Company ALD150LE | – | – | – | – |
| Atomic layer deposition system (thermal or plasma-enhanced, load-locked) | Kurt J. Lesker Company ALD150LX | – | – | – | – |
| Roll-to-roll thin-film coating module | Kurt J. Lesker Company PRO Line Roll-to-Roll Module | – | – | – | – |
| Magnetron sputtering cathode (TORUS), round and linear, service up to 4 m length | Kurt J. Lesker Company TORUS | – | – | – | – |
| Rotary vane vacuum pump | Kurt J. Lesker Company KJLC-RV206 | – | – | – | – |
| Turbomolecular pump (84 l/s, training system) | Kurt J. Lesker Company | – | – | – | – |
Additional services
Reference customers
Quality
Manufacturing and service are carried out under ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015 management systems; repairs of pumps and magnetron cathodes come with a certified 12-month warranty. Every sputter target and evaporation material is delivered with a Certificate of Analysis and SDS; in-house vacuum/leak testing and magnet mapping for cathodes.
| Evidence | Jefferson Hills, PA | Dresden |
|---|---|---|
| ISO 9001:2015 | ||
| ISO 14001:2015 |
History
- 1954
Founding of the Kurt J. Lesker Company; over 65 years of experience in the vacuum industry
- 2021
Documentation of the QAF-206 RMA process (V5.0)
- 2026
HI-TEC Industry Recognition Award (nominated by Penn State CNEU) for the TRAIN001 training system