Approach

Reciprocal Engineering - RE Oy, based in Helsinki, develops electrically insulating, optically transparent and ferromagnetic thin‑film materials that open new, highly efficient pathways for electronic device fabrication. Our materials enable direct patterning of functional regions within a single film, reducing the number of semiconductor processing steps while meeting strict environmental and regulatory requirements. This work addresses key sustainability challenges in modern electronics manufacturing.

Our work is grounded in fundamental physics and chemistry and carried out in collaboration with leading research laboratories. This includes the development of crystallographic modelling tools, research in electromagnetics, and the application of advanced materials science to new device concepts. We have extensive experience in translating structure–property relationships into functional materials with measurable, real‑world performance.

Crystal‑structure data are routinely engineered in reciprocal space — the foundation behind our company’s name.

We invest in materials, instrumentation and computational modelling tools

Developed in close collaboration with leading research laboratories.

A breakthrough platform for energy‑ and cost‑efficient manufacturing

Our verified magnetic, electrically insulating thin films enable efficient fabrication of sensors, memory elements, magneto‑optical components and RF/microwave structures for portable and embedded electronics. These materials support applications ranging from smartphones and IoT systems to specialized medical and automotive technologies.

The platform originates from the development of new functional materials characterized using neutron and synchrotron X‑ray scattering, X‑ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and magnetic and electrical measurements at leading research laboratories. This scientific foundation has evolved into advanced thin‑film growth, characterization and device‑level implementation, enabling solutions to critical technical and environmental challenges.

Structural sustainability challenges in semiconductor manufacturing

The semiconductor sector frequently highlights “sustainable governance,” “corporate responsibility” and “green chip initiatives,” yet the underlying manufacturing paradigm remains largely unchanged. Incremental improvements to legacy processes cannot deliver meaningful sustainability gains. Achieving real progress requires fundamentally new materials and patterning approaches.

Below are key structural challenges in electronics manufacturing — significant, but solvable with the right materials platform.

Energy consumption of connected devices

The number of connected devices continues to grow, and the associated energy footprint grows with it. Estimates place ICT energy use at 5–9% of global electricity consumption, with projections reaching up to 20% by 2030. Reducing device‑level power consumption is essential for any credible sustainability roadmap.

Realities of modern chip manufacturing

Modern patterning remains rooted in lithography — a technique whose core principles date back more than two centuries. Despite numerous refinements, the process is still slow, expensive, irreversible and environmentally intensive. Large‑scale investment and national subsidies reinforce this legacy approach, leaving limited room for disruptive alternatives.

Modern semiconductor manufacturing also depends on complex photolithography flows involving photoresists, multiple etching and cleaning steps, ultrapure water and high‑global‑warming‑potential (GWP) process gases. Etching commonly uses fluorinated gases such as SF₆, NF₃ and CF₄ — industrial gases with global‑warming potentials more than 10,000–20,000 times higher than CO₂ over a 100‑year horizon. These gases are difficult to abate, persist in the atmosphere for thousands of years and contribute significantly to the environmental footprint of chip fabrication.

Lithography accounts for 30–50% of total chip manufacturing costs.

A single CMOS wafer may undergo 50–100 lithography cycles, each requiring substantial energy and large volumes of ultra‑pure water. Major manufacturers consume electricity on the scale of entire nations and hundreds of thousands of tons of water per day. Photoresists and associated chemicals introduce additional environmental and health risks.

An extensive ecosystem of suppliers — mask aligners, etch tools, resists, developers and specialty chemicals — is required to sustain incremental progress. The resulting cost structure is accessible only to a small number of heavily subsidized companies.

Meanwhile, an entire ecosystem of suppliers — mask aligners, etch tools, photoresists, developers, and specialty chemicals — is required to sustain incremental progress. The result is a cost structure that only a handful of heavily subsidized companies can support, ultimately passed on to end users.

A 5 mm × 5 mm fixed block from a foundry can cost €252,000 per mm² — a barrier to innovation.

Rare earth mining

Rare‑earth elements are widely used in electronics, particularly in magnetic materials. Maintaining supply requires new mining operations with environmental, health and geopolitical consequences. Many applications do not inherently require REEs; improved material design can eliminate them entirely. Reliance on “recycled REEs” reflects a lack of genuine innovation rather than a long‑term solution.

Waste generation

Electronic waste is one of the fastest‑growing waste streams. Valuable elements may be recovered, but toxic materials — including lead, cadmium, and beryllium — often are not. Recycling is complex, energy‑intensive, and costly. According to the World Economic Forum, approximately 50 million tons of e‑waste are generated annually, yet only 20% is formally recycled. Without intervention, this could exceed 120 million tons per year by 2050.

Recycling itself consumes significant energy and chemicals. Extending device lifetime through upgradeable materials is a far more sustainable path.

A different path

We take a fundamentally different approach. Our material platform:

• can be adopted to the extent each customer requires. The films can function as stand‑alone patterned layers or integrate into hybrid process flows alongside conventional lithography and deposition. This flexibility allows customers to replace or modify only the portions of their workflow that benefit most, while maintaining compatibility with proven industrial infrastructure.
• can be patterned directly and rapidly at room temperature through a scalable process — without photoresists, exposure, etching, deposition, cleaning steps, or expensive equipment, and
• can be reset to its pre‑patterned state when needed. Resetting is more sustainable than recycling or manufacturing new chips.

Disruptive solutions do not emerge from incremental improvements to legacy processes. They require scientific depth, engineering rigor, and a willingness to rethink the fundamentals. Our technology is built from basic research upward — not from the constraints of existing practice.