At ICTF 2023, we had the privilege of speaking with Victor Bellido Gonzalez, the R&D Manager at Gencoa Ltd. Victor shared his extraordinary journey from Spain to the United Kingdom and provided insights into the remarkable growth story of Gencoa. It all began in the mid-’90s when he crossed paths with Dermot Monaghan while both were working at Teer Coatings in the UK.
In this exclusive interview, Victor offers insights into his background and the company’s foundation, providing a unique perspective on their journey. Here’s a glimpse of our discussion:
About Victor Bellido-Gonzalez:
Victor Bellido-Gonzalez has been R&D Manager at Gencoa Ltd since joining the company in 1996.
With a career spanning back to the mid-1980s, Victor possesses a wealth of experience in thin film technology. Alongside an impressive collection of international patents, he boasts a significant body of work in the domains of Inorganic Chemistry, Plasma Assisted Chemical Vapour Deposition (PACVD), and Physical Vapour Deposition (PVD), as evidenced by his numerous publications.
Interview Questions
PhotonExport:
Can you tell us more about your background and how you ended up in the UK, being from Irun, Basque Country in Spain. And can you also tell us a little bit about the company Gencoa.
Victor B:
Gencoa was founded in 1994-1995 by Dermot Monaghan.
I met Dermot a couple of years before I came to the UK. I came to the UK, not as a student, but as an experience mainly to learn English, with one of our partners from our European project. That partner was Teer Coatings, and so that is where I met Dermot.
Dermot was part of the sales effort at Teer Coatings, and I was starting in the R&D area there. We were actively involved in the development and growth of the company, filled with ideas. Eventually, Dermot left to set up his own business in Liverpool.
At the time Liverpool was a good European region to start a business, price wise, because it had lost a lot of its population compared to the 60’s.
So there was money for European businesses to regenerate the area. The idea was to offer companies a small floor space rent free for three years to set up and start up a business there.
So, that marked the beginning.
And at this point this was the only money coming to the company, basically a free floor space, and that was it.
We eventually achieved success in Gencoa. One significant success was supplying magnetron sputtering sources for the Gemini telescope. Gemini was an 8-meter-high telescope project in Hawaii and in Chile.
Additionally, as part of our growth, we started introducing some of our coatings into the field and expanding our solutions. This was a time of significant changes as the funding for telescope businesses in the UK was being restructured, and the government had closed down the Royal Greenwich Observatory.
Those who could implement coating technologies into these projects were fortunate. We were pleased to provide these coatings. There were challenges, as with any project, but over the years, it became a success with the coating technologies we developed and employed.
Those who could implement coating technologies into these projects were fortunate. We were pleased to provide these coatings. There were challenges, as with any project, but over the years, it became a success with the coating technologies we developed and employed.
In Chile, developed by the team lead by Maxine Boccas at Gemini South, Cerro Pachón, Chile, we were using Zerodur substrate (NiCr/Ag/NiCrN/SiN). Nickel chromium nitride, pure silver sandwiched between NiCr and NiCrN, and silicon nitride on top, as a barrier to stop the silver corrosion, thus ensuring longevity in harsh environments to the telescopes that were close to the sea coast and also volcanic areas like Hawaii. This approach was extended to coatings worldwide.
So, from there we were growing into the simulation/modeling area.
So we did modeling very early on and we saw the gap of becoming a component supplier and being able to implement our technologies. Many companies wanted to transition from an old technology to magnetron sputtering, leading to opportunities for us globally, from the semiconductor to hard coatings and flexible coatings industries.
During the 2000s, the solar market was booming.
And then in 2008 and 2009, we achieved significant success in the Displays sector due to one of our patents.
We played a key role in the first encapsulation of the Galaxy OLED by Samsung and continued to grow in various modeling and technology implementation areas.
We have become one of the key suppliers in China.
So our success and growth, in China, evolved from being imitated to being part of the supply chain. We have a lot of activity in China today as more than 50% of our market, of what we sell goes to China, and the rest across the rest of the world. Within Europe we sell probably 25% and with the UK around 5%.
So, mainly we are an international export company, a small group of people, 35 people in the UK but with high impact.
If you got an Apple product in your pocket, something in that product has been in equipment with Gencoa components.
PhotonExport: Magnetron sputtering has been around for some time now. How has this technology evolved over the years, and what are some key milestones that you’ve seen in the industry?
Victor B: So, the 70s probably, as I was presenting here, are growth was led by the semiconductor area. Back then a basic barrier layer deposition was the main application (today it is a very basic deposition).
Then came the 80s, 90s, with the CD and DVD industry, those were the conical magnetron designs.
In the 80s also we saw coating technologies being introduced into glass production.
In the semiconductor industry, there was another area trying to reduce the number of defects, as the industry was growing in wafer size from its small sizes to bigger sizes, the approaches for deposition had to be changed.
PhotonExport: Can you tell us a little bit about Gencoa, and how has Gencoa contributed to the field of magnetron sputtering?
Victor B: So, Gencoa, the biggest contribution of Gencoa has been the combination of materials, plasma knowledge, and modeling.
That combination made Gencoa a strong force to change the status quo, and the way of making things, to be disruptive.
For instance, when we ventured into the display market within a specific production line in China, we achieved a fourfold increase in productivity. This production line, responsible for creating display market products within the company, was divided into two segments. One segment utilized traditional technology, while the other incorporated new technology. Within a span of two years, the latter became the company’s preferred choice, enabling quicker product launches to meet the demand for speed and plasma technology. Meeting these technical requirements swiftly was crucial, and Gencoa played a pivotal role in providing the necessary solutions.
PhotonExport: What insights or advice can you provide to those in university who want to pursue a career in thin film technology?
Victor B.: Making the gap jump from a university environment to the business world can be challenging because it’s often a struggle to discover the right pathways that provide programs facilitating a seamless connection to the practical aspects of engineering, uniting the realms of physics and chemistry.
Collaboration with fellow professionals, hands-on experience, continuous learning from peers, staying closely linked with industry developments, gathering insights, and finding inspiration from others play a crucial role in this journey.