HILLSBORO, Ore., Aug. 31, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FEI (NASDAQ:FEIC) today announced a milestone of the 1,000th Helios™ DualBeam system shipped since the product family was introduced in 2006. The 1,000th system was manufactured in FEI’s Brno plant and was shipped earlier this month to a semiconductor customer who is utilizing the system for advanced failure analysis on sub-20nm semiconductor devices.
The small DualBeam (SDB) platform combines a focused ion beam (FIB) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) to enable industry-leading three-dimensional (3D) characterization, analysis and image reconstruction, nano-prototyping (fabrication and testing), and high-quality transmission electron microscope (TEM) sample preparation for both research and industrial workflows. Originally developed for semiconductor manufacturing failure analysis, the Helios DualBeam has enabled many new applications and is now also widely used in the materials science, life sciences and oil & gas industries.
FEI CEO, Don Kania, states, “The Helios DualBeam family has been a very successful product. We have sold more Helios systems than any other product segment in our portfolio, and it has been adopted by a wide range of customers, with varying expertise levels, across all of our market segments.”
Throughout its history the Helios family has consistently led the field in performance and technological innovation. The most recent Helios platform is the 4th major revision in a decade -- a remarkable record for a major instrumentation system. Each generation has offered substantial improvements over its predecessor and competitors, including higher resolution SEM columns, higher current and lower voltage FIB columns, and new gas chemistries to provide unprecedented levels of imaging quality and operational capability.
John Williams, vice president of marketing, FEI, adds, “We’ve pushed the envelope in the semiconductor industry to keep up with ever shrinking IC geometries. For example, in November of last year FEI’s Helios DualBeam was the first to market with a TEM sample preparation solution capable of making 7nm thick lamella, addressing the needs of our customers who are developing next-generation devices. This level of leadership has, in turn, catapulted the development of the DualBeam and our leadership in other industries. We introduced the DualBeam technology concept in the early 1990’s, and FEI has continued to lead its technological and application development ever since.”
FEI’s Brno manufacturing facility held an event on the 19th of August to celebrate the 1,000th shipment. To learn more about the Helios family, including model comparisons and its 10-year history of technological innovation, please visit: https://fei.com/helios-1000/.
About FEI
FEI Company (Nasdaq:FEIC) designs, manufactures and supports a broad range of high-performance microscopy workflow solutions that provide images and answers at the micro-, nano- and picometer scales. Its innovation and leadership enable customers in industry and science to increase productivity and make breakthrough discoveries. Headquartered in Hillsboro, Ore., USA, FEI has over 2,800 employees and sales and service operations in more than 50 countries around the world. More information can be found at: www.fei.com.
FEI Safe Harbor Statement
This news release contains forward-looking statements that include statements regarding the performance capabilities and benefits of the Helios DualBeam Family. Factors that could affect these forward-looking statements include but are not limited to our ability to manufacture, ship, deliver and install the tools, solutions or software as expected; failure of the product or technology to perform as expected; unexpected technology problems and challenges; changes to the technology; the inability of FEI, its suppliers or project partners to make the technological advances required for the technology to achieve anticipated results; and the inability of the customer to deploy the tools or develop and deploy the expected new applications. Please also refer to our Form 10-K, Forms 10-Q, Forms 8-K and other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for additional information on these factors and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. FEI assumes no duty to update forward-looking statements.