A message from Edmonton Global:
From borrowed lab space on the University of Alberta campus, back in the fall of 2016, to running a company with a global customer base in 30 countries, Dr. David Antoniuk is proving that cutting-edge nanotechnology developed in the Edmonton region can power some of the world's most advanced industries.
David is the CEO of Applied Quantum Materials, a local nanotechnology company that spun out of the University of Alberta. David credits AQM's early success with the fact that the technology they had developed was able to address a specific need from the semiconductor industry — the ability to manufacture extremely pure materials capable of creating the tiny patterns found on computer chips. AQM's technology produces advanced silicon-based materials that are incredibly small — tens of thousands of times thinner than human hair.
These tiny particles are integral to making microchips, improve energy storage in batteries, and enhance the strength and durability of materials used in everyday products. As industries push for smaller and more efficient devices, materials like the ones AQM makes are helping meet that demand.
David explained that AQM's core strength is the ability to control the shape, size, and structure of the tiny particles it creates. This level of precision at the nano scale means customers can use AQM's materials in the same production systems they already have for standard processes — while getting better results, enhanced sensitivity, faster chips, stronger functional materials, and improved performance that larger particles simply can't match.
"The primary thing that we sell is silicon-based nanomaterials … we make materials and polymer compounds that don't exist anywhere else on the planet," David said.
In the early days of AQM, word spread quickly: researchers who had struggled to source these advanced materials informed colleagues who faced similar challenges. At the same time, conference papers generated fresh leads. "It started off a lot by word of mouth," David recalled. "We built up relationships with our distributors and then people came to us."
Today, AQM's global client list ranges from university and national labs to Fortune 100 manufacturers of quantum computers, photonic and memory chips, sensors, and smart textiles.
Learn more about the "Star Trek stuff" that AQM is working on and how Edmonton's post-secondary institutions have supplied skilled hires to bring that future to life.
The Trade Heroes series from Edmonton Global highlights companies in the Edmonton region that have "exportitude" — the mindset and commitment to think globally when it comes to their business.