The Archer Materials Ltd (ASX: AXE) share price charged ahead today following a technical progress update on the company's biochip.
At market close, the materials technology company's shares finished 13.89% higher at 82 cents apiece.
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Archer progresses biochip development
Investors drove up the Archer share price after the company announced a technical breakthrough in its biochip technology.
In its release, Archer advised it has successfully achieved 15 nanometre (nm) feature size fabrication by developing advanced lithography processes.
To put that into perspective, a human hair is around 75 microns, or 75,000 nm.
This achievement represents a significant reduction in feature size that would potentially allow for billions of sensors on Archer's biochip.
Notably, the development team has attained miniaturisation from 200 nm prior to April 2021, down to the current state of 15 nm.
The company is targeting miniaturisation for a sub-10 nm biochip fabrication which is considered cutting-edge in the semiconductor industry.
The latest development marks another milestone in Archer's pursuit of commercialising its biochip technology. The global semiconductor industry is one of the most important drivers of the global economy, used in almost all technological applications.
Best-in-class capability in nanofabrication is a global competitive advantage in the multibillion-dollar point of care medical diagnostics industry. One of the reasons why there are few companies in the world developing and commercialising biochips is because it's difficult to achieve precision engineering at the nanoscale.
Archer CEO Dr Mohammad Choucair commented:
Archer's core business is the development of advanced semiconductor technology that is underpinned by the Company's nanofabrication capabilities.
Achieving 15 nanometre feature size is a great outcome. We have now prepared a suite of advanced lithography processes to reliably control fabrication for our device miniaturisation and scaling as we continue to advance towards breaking through the 10-nanometre barrier.
About the Archer share price
Despite today's gains, the Archer share price has fallen 26% in 2022.
The company's shares are more than 70% off their all-time high of $3.08 reached in mid-August last year.
Based on valuation grounds, Archer presides a market capitalisation of around $206 million.
