Company Announcements

PrimeNano named in February AFM supplier CSInstruments as a distributor for its ScanWave module in Europe. Scanwave enables high-resolution imaging of the permittivity and conductivity of materials at the nanoscale.

In March, Olympus opened the Olympus Discovery Center at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute of McGill University in Montreal, Canada, to advance neuroimaging.

The Core Facilities at Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign announced in March a partnership with the ZEISSlabs@location program, making the Institute the ZEISSlabs@location’s first North American location. The program allows access to technologies immediately following or sometimes before their broad release. Training and classes by ZEISS personnel are also available.

In April, ZEISS opened its new ZEISS Microscopy Customer Center Europe at its Oberkochen, Germany, site. With an area of 14,000 ft² (1,200 m²), the two-floor Center includes space for biosafety level 1 work. The Customer Center formerly located in Munich was transferred to this site.

Cornell University announced in March that it has licensed Electron Microscope Pixel Array Detector (EMPAD) technology for scanning TEM to FEI. The EMPAD extracts local strains, tilts, rotations, polarity, and electric and magnetic fields quickly, with high sensitivity, and at a wide range of intensities. FEI plans to offer the detector starting later this year.

In March, Echo completed a $7.5 million Series A funding, co-led by Dolby Family Ventures and Tech Coast Angeles. Echo’s Revolve microscope transforms between upright and inverted configurations.

In April, Leica Microsystems named NCI as an exclusive distributor for its EM sample preparation solutions in the Midwest and Western regions of the US.

Park Systems opened its European headquarters in Heidelberg, Germany, in April.

Product Introductions

ZEISS launched the Celldiscoverer7 microscope in November 2016 for high-throughput live-cell imaging. It features a new optical design and hardware-based autofocus.

In March, ZEISS released the ZEISS Crossbeam 550 FIB-SEM, featuring an increase in resolution for imaging and materials characterization, and a speed gain in sample preparation. It replaces the Crossbeam 540.

In March, Hitachi High-Technologies introduced the SEM CR6300 for detecting defects during semiconductor manufacturing. Features include faster speed compared to conventional models, and the ability to provide a characteristics index for process optimization and yield enhancement by comparing the captured defect images with pattern-design data.

In April, Hitachi High-Technologies and Digital Surf released Hitachi map 3D software for SEM systems, featuring ultrafast 3D reconstruction of surface topography.

Leica Microsystems launched in April the SP8 DIVE (Deep In Vivo Explorer) confocal microscopy system, calling it the first spectrally tunable solution for multi-color, multiphoton deep tissue imaging. It can capture up to four fluorophores simultaneously and an unlimited number of fluorophores simultaneously. It features the new 4Tune detection technology.

In April, Olympus introduced the CX43 and CX33 microscopes, designed for high-throughput, regular use. They feature ergonomic design to reduce user fatigue and a new LED light source.

JEOL US launched in April the JSM-IT300HR SEM, featuring a larger chamber that can accommodate multiple detectors as well as an intuitive software interface.

In April, camera designer Photometrics and microscope firm Confocal.nl partnered to create the Confocal.nl Re-scan Confocal Microscope (RCM) combined with the Photometrics Prime 95B for super-resolution imaging. The RCM can be connected to any microscope to transform it into confocal system capable of sub-diffraction-limited imaging.

Thermo Fisher Scientific launched in April the Thermo Scientific Explorer 4 Analyzer with MQA software, its fourth generation SEM/x-ray spectroscopy system for metals quality analysis during production. Compared to previous models, it is faster, allowing for characterization of thousands of inclusions per hour.

Sale/Order of Note

In March, TESCAN announced the installation of its first TESCAN FIB-SEM LYRA3 system in India at Jawaharlal Nehru University.