Company Announcements

In October, FEI announced the acquisition of DCG, a supplier of electrical fault characterization, localization and editing equipment serving process development, yield ramp and failure analysis applications. FEI paid $160 million in cash. For the year ending January 31, DCG generated $76 million in sales.

In November, TESCAN ORSAY announced the opening of a new subsidiary in Brazil based in São Bernardo do Campo. It will serve all South American customers.

Leica Microsystems signed a 14-month supply contract with NKT Photonics for the SuperK EXTREME supercontinuum lasers, which are used with its TCS SP8 X confocal microscopes.

Product Introductions

Nikon Instruments launched in October the N-STORM 4.0 super-resolution microscope system, featuring 10 times faster acquisition speeds; the N-SIM E super-resolution system, which provides “double the resolution of conventional microscopes at nearly half the price of a full-feature N-SIM system;” and the Dual IR A1r+ Multiphoton system for simultaneous two-color multiphoton imaging.

Olympus introduced the SD-OSR microscope system, featuring both confocal and super-resolution modes for advanced live-cell imaging.

Zeiss released its MultiSEM 506, featuring 91 beams, which increases the throughput by a factor of three for a net acquisition speed of more than 2 T pixel per hour.

Caliber Imaging & Diagnostics introduced the RS-G4 microscopy, featuring a compact, high-speed scan head with macro- and micro-imaging optics and a 360° rotation of the scan head.

In November, FEI launched the new Helios G4 DualBeam Series, claiming it offers the highest throughput ultra-thin (sub-10 nm) TEM lamella preparation for leading edge semiconductor manufacturing and failure analysis applications.

FEI released new capabilities for in situ EM: the NanoEx i/v heating solution; the NanoEx 3D Indenter for nanoindentation; and the NanoEx 3D STM/EP electric nanoprobing solution.

JEOL introduced the compact JSM-IT100 InTouch Scope Series SEMs, featuring four models: the basic model, the low-vacuum observation model, a fully embedded EDS system model, and a low-vacuum EDS system model. The annual sales target is 300 units.

Hitachi High-Technologies released a new micro-sampling system for automatic sample preparation for TEM, featuring automatic probe recognition.

Bruker launched the Ultima Investigator Multiphoton Microscope for in vivo imaging at depths up to 1 µm.

RBD Instruments introduced the affordable microCMA (cylindrical mirror analyzer) for Auger electron spectroscopy.