The history of Polyteknik

Two divisions, one foundation

What began as a single contract coating service has grown over three decades, into a company built on two pillars:

PVD Systems designs and builds PVD systems, from R&D-focused platforms to key systems for large-scale industrial production, with a particular focus on the semiconductor industry.
Coating Service operates Polyteknik’s in-house coating facility, producing high-volume metallised thin-film coatings for industrial and scientific applications.

Both divisions trace their roots to the same place: a revived laser in an Aalborg University office, and the conviction that vacuum, gas, and high voltage could be turned into a business.

The link to Aalborg University, and other research facilities, remains alive today, with Polyteknik continuing to recruit graduates and collaborate with researchers on new technology.

Aalborg Universitet og Jens William Larsen. Her starter historien om Polyteknik

From a single laser to a global PVD company

Polyteknik’s story begins with a broken laser.

In the late 1980s, engineering student Jens William Larsen and fellow student approached their supervisor at Aalborg University, Carl-Erik Sølberg, with a bold proposal: let them use their ninth-semester project to revive a laser that had been sitting unused in his office.

They succeeded. By the tenth semester, the pair had built an even more powerful version — one capable of making a brick glow.

It was inside that laser, says Jens William Larsen, that he first encountered the fundamentals that would come to define his company: vacuum, gas, and high voltage.

“Inside that laser was everything that forms the basis of our machines at Polyteknik. That was really where I found the inspiration for what we do.”

That inspiration became Polyteknik AS, founded in 1995 by Jens William Larsen, now a graduate Master of Science from Aalborg University.

Early years: thin-film coating services

1995

Company founded by Jens William Larsen

In the early years Polyteknik focused on contract coating service, applying thin-film coatings to components for customers who needed the work done, but not the means or time to do it themselves.

The company’s first major job was coating of the mirrors of the Ørsted satellite, launched in February 1999.

From the outset, Polyteknik offered customers a choice in how they accessed the technology: have Polyteknik carry out the coating work or invest in equipment to do it in-house.

This dual approach — service on one side, equipment on the other — would go on to define the structure of the entire company.

Building the PVD equipment business

2006

Expansion into PVD equipment development and manufacturing

Polyteknik moved beyond contract coating to begin designing and building our own PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) systems.

2010

First in-house cleanroom

The construction of Polyteknik’s own cleanroom marked a significant step up in capability, allowing us to develop and test systems to the standards required by semiconductor and advanced materials customers.

Polyteknik 3.0

2016

Flextura® PVD and Infinity VB platforms launched

These two platform families would become the backbone of Polyteknik’s systems range, combining flexibility for R&D applications with the robustness needed for production environments.

2017

Flextura® 200 Cluster with GLAD process introduced

The addition of Glancing Angle Deposition (GLAD) capability extended the platform’s reach into advanced nanostructuring applications.

2019

Materials, development, and characterisation cluster

A dedicated cluster system brought together deposition and characterisation in a single platform, reflecting the growing complexity of customer research needs.

2023

Flextura® 300 Cluster introduced

Scaling up to 300 mm wafer compatibility positioned Polyteknik’s systems for semiconductor-scale production environments.

A growing international footprint

2024

Polyteknik GmbH opens in Dresden, Germany

Establishing a subsidiary in one of Europe’s leading semiconductor hubs brought Polyteknik closer to its customers in the German and Central European microelectronics industry.

2026

A new chapter

In 2026, our PVD systems division relocates to its new, purpose-built facility in Hjallerup with space and facilities for further growth

2026 also marks the 10-year anniversary of the Flextura® platform, the system family first introduced in 2016 that has since grown to underpin our modular PVD equipment offering across R&D and production-scale applications worldwide.