Empa Spin-Off Swiss Cluster Advances High-Performance Surface Coating Systems for Research, Watchmaking, Electronics and Optics

Functional sparkle: The spin-off Swiss Cluster enables innovative coating processes. Image: Empa

(IN BRIEF) Empa spin-off Swiss Cluster has received the Swiss Economic Award 2026 in the Industry/Production category for its work in developing advanced equipment for vacuum-based thin-film coating processes. Founded in late 2020 at Empa in Thun by materials scientist Carlos Guerra and electrical engineer Kevin Lücke, the company has created compact systems that combine physical vapor deposition and atomic layer deposition in a single vacuum chamber, enabling exceptionally durable coatings with mechanical, thermal, corrosion-resistant and functional properties. The technology can be used in sectors including watchmaking, optics, electronics, batteries, implants, microelectronics and research. Swiss Cluster’s equipment makes high-tech coating processes more accessible beyond the semiconductor industry, while its Spiez laboratory also offers coating services that allow customers to test applications before purchasing machines. The company now employs 15 people, serves customers in Switzerland, the United States and the United Kingdom, and has deliveries planned for France, Brazil, Italy and China. The Swiss Economic Forum jury praised the company for combining scientific excellence, industrial insight and entrepreneurial execution.

(PRESS RELEASE) DÜBENDORF, 11-Jun-2026 — /EuropaWire/ — Empa spin-off Swiss Cluster has won the Swiss Economic Award 2026 in the Industry/Production category, recognising the company’s work in developing advanced equipment for vacuum-based thin-film processes.

The Spiez-based company creates systems used to produce high-performance thin films that can protect complex components, add functional surface properties and deliver strong mechanical and thermal resistance. Its technology is used by research institutions around the world and is also gaining traction among customers in the watchmaking, electronics and optics sectors.

Bryan Dousse (left) and Carlos Guerra, two of the inventors behind the Swiss Cluster coating devices. Image: Empa

Swiss Cluster was founded in late 2020 as a spin-off from Empa in Thun. The company was established by materials scientist Carlos Guerra and electrical engineer Kevin Lücke, who began developing more robust and durable thin films in the Mechanics of Materials and Nanostructures laboratory led by Johann Michler. From those early laboratory efforts, the company has grown into a 15-person business supported by an international partner network.

Thin films are used across a wide range of industries. They can protect sensitive components from corrosion and wear, reduce glare in optical lenses, enable specialised filters, create decorative colour effects for watch components and improve the body’s acceptance of coated medical implants. In microelectronics, thin-film technologies are essential to the production of transistors, computer chips and displays, which depend on highly precise micro- and nanometre-scale layers of material.

Swiss Cluster’s core innovation lies in combining two vacuum-based coating methods: physical vapor deposition, or PVD, and atomic layer deposition, known as ALD. PVD is a widely used technique in which a material, often a metal or metal oxide, is vaporised in a vacuum chamber and deposited onto the surface of a component. ALD, a newer process, uses alternating gas precursors in a vacuum chamber to build coatings through chemical reactions with atomic-level control over thickness.

Carlos Guerra, CEO of Swiss Cluster, said ALD enables extremely thin and homogeneous coatings that provide strong resistance against corrosion and oxidation, while PVD produces very hard coatings. By combining the two processes, Swiss Cluster can create films that are hard, ductile, thermally robust and resistant to corrosion.

Bringing the two processes together is technically complex. Moving a substrate from one machine to another exposes it to air, causing oxidation and contamination that can weaken the adhesion of later layers. Early work at Empa relied on separate ALD and PVD vacuum chambers, with a doctoral student manually moving substrates between them without breaking the vacuum.

The challenge led to the development of Swiss Cluster’s first machine, which integrates ALD and PVD systems into a single vacuum chamber. Nano-layered structures that previously required a week of laboratory work can now be produced in only a few hours. Guerra said the team realised during prototype development that the system had potential as a commercial product.

Swiss Cluster is not the first company to combine PVD and ALD, but it is focusing beyond the semiconductor industry, where the combined process is already established for specific applications. The company sees opportunities in markets including watches, optical components, batteries, implants and microelectronics, where durable, functional and precisely engineered coatings are increasingly in demand.

For customers interested specifically in ALD, Swiss Cluster also offers a second machine designed for Batch ALD. This version of atomic layer deposition enables faster coating and allows several components, or larger and more complex parts, to be coated at the same time.

Guerra said ALD remains a relatively young industrial process and has only been used commercially for about two decades. He said the company expects the technology to continue growing in importance and expanding into new sectors. While vacuum-based coating processes can be costly, they provide high precision that gives them advantages over conventional coating techniques in many applications.

Swiss Cluster’s systems are designed to be compact and comparatively easy to install and operate, making advanced thin-film processes more accessible outside the semiconductor sector. At its own laboratory in Spiez, the company also offers coating services, working with customers to identify coatings suited to specific applications. This allows customers to test coating processes before investing in equipment, while also helping Swiss Cluster improve its systems.

The company has grown largely through sales of machines and services, with its first external investment secured only in 2025. Its machines are already used by research institutions and companies in Switzerland, the United States and the United Kingdom, with deliveries planned for France, Brazil, Italy and China.

The Swiss Economic Forum jury recognised Swiss Cluster for combining scientific excellence, industrial understanding and entrepreneurial execution. The award marks an important milestone for a company that began with a laboratory prototype at Empa and has since developed into a specialised high-tech business serving international customers.

Swiss Cluster AG was founded in November 2020 and is led by co-founders Carlos Guerra, CEO, and Kevin Lücke, CTO, together with late co-founders Gabriela Sanchez, COO, and Bryan Dousse, CPO. The company is headquartered in Spiez, Switzerland.

Media Contacts:

Dr. Carlos Guerra
Swiss Cluster AG
carlos.guerra@swisscluster.com

Anna Ettlin
Communications
Phone +41 58 765 47 33
redaktion@empa.ch

SOURCE: Empa