FEI Company and Malvern Instruments Team
FEI's Quanta(TM) SEMs and Malvern's Advanced Particle Analysis Software Combine to Deliver Ground-breaking Solution for Nanoscale Applications
Hillsboro, Ore./September 12, 2006 --- FEI Company (NASDAQ: FEIC) and Malvern Instruments Ltd (Malvern, UK) have entered into a joint development and marketing program for advanced nanoparticle analysis utilizing Malvern's particle image analysis software on FEI's line of Quanta(TM) scanning electron microscopes (SEMs). The combination delivers a powerful particle analysis solution that extends current analysis technologies for nano-sized particles.
FEI's Quanta SEMs offer users the flexibility to analyze materials without imposing many of the traditional SEM sample preparation constraints, thereby greatly extending the applicability for particle analysis.
Malvern's particle image analysis software will be optimized for FEI's Quanta SEMs. A proven solution, this package is already used on Malvern systems that encompass traditional optical microscopes, such as the Morphologi G2, with many research and industrial users around the world. These systems provide rapid data on particle size and morphology and yield distribution profiles for quality control and manufacturing applications. Rationalizing batch to batch variation of materials, identifying crystal polymorphisms and the identification of foreign bodies are just some of the current applications.
"As the size of materials used in product development and manufacturing continues to move from the microscale into the nanoscale there is an increasing need for characterization tools that move beyond the limits of light microscopy," commented Matt Harris, FEI's vice president of worldwide marketing and business development. "This combination of FEI and Malvern technologies provides a powerful process and quality control tool for a growing number of nano-enabled products that are moving into production."
Malvern's Business Development Director, Duncan Roberts said: "The joint venture with FEI is an exciting development, as this is the first time that Malvern software has been applied to another company's instrumentation. Already proven with light microscopy, the execution of this solution on FEI systems provides SEM users with a powerful new tool."
The bundled solution will be released later this year. It will be actively promoted to current and potential customers of both FEI and Malvern Instruments.
About FEI
FEI's Tools for Nanotech(TM), featuring focused ion- and electron-beam technologies, deliver 3D characterization, analysis and modification capabilities with resolution down to the sub-Angstrom level and provide innovative solutions for customers working in NanoBiology, NanoResearch and NanoElectronics. With R&D centers in North America and Europe, and sales and service operations in more than 50 countries around the world, FEI is bringing the nanoscale within the grasp of leading researchers and manufacturers and helping to turn some of the biggest ideas of this century into reality. More information can be found on the FEI website at: www.fei.com.
About Malvern Instruments
Malvern Instruments is a global company that develops, manufactures and markets advanced analytical systems used in characterizing a wide variety of materials, from bulk powders to nanomaterials and delicate macromolecules. Innovative technologies and powerful software produce systems that deliver industrially relevant data enabling customers to make the connection between micro (eg particle size) and macro (bulk) material properties (rheology) and chemical composition (chemical imaging). Malvern solutions are proven in sectors from cement to pharmaceuticals and support the understanding, improvement and optimization of many industrial processes. Extensive industry experience and analytical expertise enable Malvern to deliver exceptional support to customers worldwide. www.malvern.com
Sandy Fewkes
MindWrite Communications, Inc.
Ph: 408-224-4024
Sandy@Mind-Write.com
www.mind-write.com
For more information contact:
Dan Zenka, APR
Global Public Relations
FEI Company
+1 503.726.2695
dzenka@feico.com
Trish Appleton
Public Relations for Malvern Instruments
+44 (0) 1480 471117
trish@kapleronline.com
