NanoAndMore USA opened a West Coast office in Portland, Oregon in December 2006.

BudgetSensors, a manufacturer of silicon and silicon nitride probes for atomic force microscopes (AFM), named NanoAndMore USA its exclusive North American distributor.

Oxford Instruments NanoAnalysis America was named Kleindiek Nanotechnik’s North American sales and service representatives for micro- and nano-manipulation systems for electron microscopy and ion beam applications.

Veeco Instruments announced in January that the European Patent Office ruled in its favor and dismissed the opposition filed by Asylum Research against its European Patent No. 839,312 related to AFM in Tapping Mode with phase or frequency detection to image sample topography and surface characteristics. Europe represents around 22% of Veeco’s AFM sales.

FEI’s 2006 sales increased 14% to $479.5 million (see IBO 2/28/07). NanoElectronics revenue rose 6.0% to make up 32.3% of sales. NanoResearch and Industry revenue grew 26.9% to represent 34.4% of sales, including a $33.6 million increase related to sales of transmission electron microscopes (TEMs). NanoBiology sales increased 15.8% to 8.5% of sales, due largely to sales of TEMs. Service and Component revenues increased 9.2% to 24.8% of sales.

Nanoscience Instruments launched eastern US regional operations based in Rockville, Maryland in February 2007.

Veeco Instruments’ 2006 revenues grew 7.5% to $441.0 million (see IBO 2/28/07). By end-market, Research and Industrial sales were flat at $111.0 million. By product line, Metrology revenues, which include sales of AFMs and scanning probe microscopes (SPMs), decreased 5.6% to $172.2 million due to a decrease in AFM sales to the semiconductor industry.

In February, AFM company JPK Instruments AG extended its distribution agreement with L.O.T.-Oreil to include Sweden, Norway, Finland and Poland.

In March, Asylum Research acquired a majority interest in its European distributor Atomic Force F&E GmbH.