Nearfield Instruments announces EUR 27 million funding round, ING joins as new investor

ROTTERDAM, The Netherlands – September 19, 2023. Nearfield Instruments, the industry leader in high-throughput, non-destructive metrology & inspection solutions for the semiconductor manufacturing industry, is pleased to announce that ING Corporate Investments has come onboard as a new investor. Joining ING in this funding round are existing investors Invest-NL, Innovation Industries and TNO, bringing the total investment to EUR 27 million.

CEO Hamed Sadeghian: “We are very pleased to welcome ING Corporate Investments. Their commitment and expertise, together with that of our existing shareholders, enables Nearfield Instruments to further expand our product portfolio, world-wide customer support and production capacity. The customer demand for our existing surface metrology product QUADRA is high as it is for our recently announced non-destructive subsurface metrology solution AUDIRA. With the support of our shareholders we can continue our strong market growth.”

Pieter Bosman, Managing Director ING Corporate Investments, comments: “Nearfield Instruments has shown the potential to grow into another world player, in an already strong Dutch ecosystem of semiconductor equipment suppliers. With this investment we can help the company in this crucial scaling phase”.

René Brama, Senior Investment Manager at Invest-NL, adds: “Our enthusiasm for the unique technology and the team at Nearfield Instruments remains unwaivering. The participation of ING Corporate Investments strengthens the confidence in the future of this innovative company.” 

See also:

https://nieuws.ing.nl/nl-NL/230028-ing-investeert-in-veelbelovende-nieuwe-spelers-nederlandse-chipindustrie
https://www.invest-nl.nl/actueel/nieuwe-investeerder-voor-Nearfield-Instruments?lang=nl
https://www.invest-nl.nl/actueel/nieuwe-investeerder-voor-Nearfield-Instruments?lang=en

AUDIRA: Semiconductor Industry’s First Non-Destructive, In-Line Subsurface Metrology System

AUDIRA will complement current metrology techniques by providing highly accurate and non-destructive nanometer-level measurements through opaque layers of advanced leading-edge node devices

ROTTERDAM, The Netherlands – July 10, 2023 – Nearfield Instruments B.V., a provider of ground-breaking process control metrology solutions for advanced semiconductor devices, today launched AUDIRA™ – the industry’s first and only in-line, non-destructive subsurface metrology system for advanced semiconductor manufacturing. The AUDIRA system provides highly accurate and reproducible nanometer-level measurements of buried features and defects, such as voids, in advanced memory and logic devices.

“AUDIRA is a game-changer for advanced semiconductor manufacturing. It provides measurement data that was previously not available without having to remove the wafer from the line,” said Hamed Sadeghian, CEO, Nearfield Instruments. “Most importantly, the AUDIRA gives process engineers insight into the wafer’s innermost layers – details they never were able to measure before nondestructively and sometimes would never have even known to look for. AUDIRA, like our first product QUADRA™, turns in-line metrology and inspection into an added value in the semiconductor manufacturing process.”

Nearfield Instruments anticipates that AUDIRA will complement transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and critical dimension-scanning electron microscopy (CD-SEM) for subsurface process control measurements. AUDIRA uses an acoustic approach that is fast, very precise and non-destructive with the added advantages of being in-line with a fast turn-around time.

With AUDIRA, Nearfield Instruments combines an acoustic microscopy technique with its own proprietary atomic force microscopy (AFM) technology. The AFM probe is used to ‘listen’ to the sound waves coming through the wafer layers. The wave interacts with all the transitions and surfaces within the device and reflects information back. The pattern of that reflected wave and the time of arrival contains data about the structure below the surface. The AUDIRA scans across the die, with each step as small as several tenths of a nanometer. The data is then translated into a comprehensive pattern of the underlying layers that provides measurement of subsurface features.

AUDIRA is also valuable for measuring shallow features through the surface. Using the AFM probe, surface elasticity variations can be quickly measured to reveal details about the structure below. Nearfield Instruments works with customers to develop a recipe for when to use acoustics and at what frequency, for which layers local elasticity measurements are best, and when to switch to wave propagation schemes.

Nearfield Instruments’ product portfolio also includes the QUADRA™ surface metrology solution. It features a groundbreaking multi-miniaturized AFM head architecture combined with feedforward trajectory planner (FFTP) imaging technology to enable on-device, non-destructive measurements for in-line process monitoring of very high-aspect ratio structures as well as hybrid bonding and EUV resist critical dimension metrology. QUADRA has shown a factor of more than 100x improvement in imaging acquisition time when benchmarked against existing state-of-the-art AFM systems.

AUDIRA is available for ordering now and the first systems will ship in Q2 2024 to top semiconductor fabs worldwide.

Nearfield Instruments: approved partner in EU Chips Act subsidy program IPCEI ME/CT

Nearfield Instruments is taking measures to strengthen the European semiconductor postion

Semiconductors are at the centre of strong geostrategic interests, and of the global technological race. For this reason, the European Commission proposed the European Chips Act, which strengthens European competitiveness and resilience in this strategic sector.

https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/europe-fit-digital-age/european-chips-act_en

The EU Chips Act will bolster Europe’s competitiveness and resilience in semiconductor technologies and applications. It will do this by strengthening Europe’s technological leadership in the field.

To do so the Commission has approved an Important Project of Common European Interest (‘IPCEI’) to support research, innovation and the first industrial deployment of microelectronics and communication technologies across the value chain. The project, called “IPCEI ME/CT”, was jointly prepared and notified by fourteen Member States: Austria, Czechia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Spain.

See https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_3087

Nearfield Instruments is proud that the Dutch and European governments recognize the technological leadership we bring with our metrology and inspection solutions to advanced semiconductor manufacturing. By participating in IPCEI ME/CT we will contribute, with all our innovative power and in cooperation with our partners, to strengthening the European position in the world-wide semiconductor sector, by ensuring the capacity to produce semiconductors here within the EU.

If you want to read more about ‘the most innovative company you have never heard of’, please read (in Dutch) this interesting article by Het Financieele Dagblad:

https://fd.nl/bedrijfsleven/1472114/onbekend-nearfield-sleept-als-enige-mkb-er-in-nederland-bijzondere-chipsubsidie-binnen

Eric Meurice appointed as Chair of the Supervisory Board of Nearfield Instruments

Nearfield Instruments B.V. (NFI) is pleased to announce that Eric Meurice is appointed as Chair of the Supervisory Board of NFI as of March 15st, 2023. “We extend a warm welcome to Eric Meurice,” said CEO Hamed Sadeghian. “He brings with him an enormous amount of experience and expertise from the semiconductor industry.” Eric Meurice added: “I am very honoured to have been asked to join and I look forward to working with this very talented group and contributing to its success”

With over 150 employees, Nearfield Instruments B.V. delivers in-line process control solutions to the semiconductor manufacturing industry based on their ground-breaking non-destructive, high-throughput 3D Atomic Force Microscopy technology. NFI is headquartered in Rotterdam, NL and has offices in Eindhoven and Hwaseong, Korea.

Kabinet wil 230 miljoen steken in 6G en nieuwe chipmachines​

Kabinet wil 230 miljoen steken in 6G en nieuwe chipmachines

De Nederlandse overheid wil met 230 miljoen euro de chipsector laten groeien. Er zijn zes projecten geselecteerd. Het geld gaat onder meer naar de ontwikkeling van radar- en 6g-technologie door NXP, de nog jonge fotonica-industrie (chips die werken via licht in plaats van elektriciteit) en het ontwikkelen van geavanceerde chipmachines door ASML en Nearfield Instruments B.V.

Nearfield Instruments has been selected as one of Red Herring Top 100 Europe businesses

Nearfield Instruments is proud to announce that it has been selected as one of Red Herring Top 100 Europe businesses

Nearfield Instruments is proud to announce that it has been selected as one of Red Herring Top 100 Europe businesses. Red Herring Top 100 Europe enlists outstanding entrepreneurs and promising companies. It selects the award winners from approximately 1,200 privately financed companies each year in the European Region. Since 1996, Red Herring has kept tabs on these up-and-comers. As a result, red Herring’s Top 100 list has become a mark of distinction for identifying promising new companies and entrepreneurs. In addition, Red Herring’s editors were among the first to recognize that companies such as Facebook, Google, SalesForce, Skype, Spotify, Twitter, and YouTube would change how we live and work. As a result, thousands of the most interesting and innovative companies have graced the Top 100 list over the years.

Nearfield Instruments: Wereldwijd voorop in metrologie: investeren in de innovatieve toekomst van Nederland

Nearfield Instruments: Wereldwijd voorop in metrologie: investeren in de innovatieve toekomst van Nederland

The Netherlands is known as the cradle for various innovations in the high-tech sector. With the investment in high-tech scale-up Nearfield Instruments, Invest-NL shows its commitment to maintaining this reputation. Hamed Sadeghian (co-founder and CEO of Nearfield Instruments) and Ruud Zandvliet (Senior Investment Manager at Invest-NL) are working together on the innovative future of the Netherlands.

Interview: Scaling up to dozens of systems a year, Nearfield eyes IPO

Interview: Scaling up to dozens of systems a year, Nearfield eyes IPO

Nearfield Instruments is determined to build the supply chain that enables the scale-up to ship a total of 50-60 metrology systems in a few years’ time. As if this wasn’t enough, founder and CEO Hamed Sadeghian also wants his company to go public in the near future.

Read the full interview with Nearfield Instruments B.V. President and CEO Hamed Sadeghian by René Raaijmakers at Bits&Chips

Nearfield Instruments received €12 million new investments from EUGENE and Innovation Industries

Nearfield Instruments received €12 million new investments from EUGENE and Innovation Industries

Rotterdam, The Netherlands, [July 29, 2021]

 

Nearfield Instruments (NFI) today announced the completion of a €12 million in equity funding, bringing the total amount raised this round at €48.5 million. The new investments were received from existing shareholders Eugene Investment & Securities, a Korean financial services firm, and Innovation Industries Fund, a Dutch independent venture capital fund.

 

Founded in 2016, Nearfield Instruments, a spin-off of TNO, has emerged as the key player for semiconductor metrology solutions. NFI has introduced revolutionary scanning probe microscopy technologies for in-line, non-destructive on-surface, and sub-surface metrology applications. Since its inception, NFI has developed and delivered its first on-surface metrology product, QUADRA, while growing to more than 100 employees, with offices in Rotterdam, Eindhoven, and Hwaesong, South Korea.

 

“This funding round is the validation of the significant progress we have achieved with QUADRA after shipment to the customer’s fab and the role our technology is set to have in new semiconductor device manufacturing. We are excited to be able to accelerate engagements with more customers, scaling up the organization, and bringing our second product line to the market, being non-destructive subsurface nano-scale metrology. I am extremely happy with the large and complementary contributions by our Korean & Dutch shareholders.”, comments Hamed Sadeghian, CEO of Nearfield Instruments.

 

Kee-Won Ohm, investment director at Eugene Investment & Securities, on the investment: “EUGENE is delighted to support NFI’s goal in becoming the world’s top-class Metrology & Inspection company. We see tremendous growth potential in the company, and since our first investment in 2019 NFI has made significant progress by delivering its first product, QUADRA, to a major semiconductor manufacturer. This has triggered strong industry traction, and we are thrilled to be a part of the exciting journey ahead.”

 

Nard Sintenie (General Partner at Innovation Industries) adds: “Nearfield Instruments has made significant progress since the shipment and installation of QUADRA in December. The increased worldwide customer interest in QUADRA and NFI’s sub-surface metrology solution is reflected by the investment by our fellow shareholder EUGENE. We are happy to further support the company by also joining this round and, together with EUGENE, enabling the further upscaling of Nearfield Instruments.”


Nearfield Instruments and VDL ETG sign Memorandum of Understanding to establish long-term strategic partnership

Nearfield Instruments and VDL ETG sign Memorandum of Understanding to establish long-term strategic partnership

Eindhoven, Netherlands,  June 13th, 2021

 Nearfield Instruments (NFI) and VDL ETG have signed a memorandum of understanding to further strengthen their long-term strategic partnership. The partnership aims to support Nearfield Instruments’ continued development, delivery, and value engineering of several critical modules for NFl’s products, starting with the QUADRA product line.

VDL ETG will develop, industrialize and deliver assigned modules, focusing on performance, production volume increase, lead time reduction, and value engineering – accordingly with NFl’s product roadmap.

In addition, both companies will cooperate to enable a timely and reliable production ramp-up of the product lines developed and manufactured by NFI.

 

NFI has developed and released its first semiconductor metrology product based on the revolutionary mechatronics architecture of HT-SPM. Currently, NFI is preparing for series production.

NFI intends to work with VDL ETG to further industrialize and value engineer some of its product’s sub-systems through the signed memorandum. The intention is that VDL ETG will further grow and expand its role as a qualified mechatronic module/sub-system supplier.

 

Hamed Sadeghian, CEO of Nearfield Instruments, commented:

“After the successful introduction of the QUADRA product line and soon the second product line, being subsurface probe metrology, the next priority and focus are to meet our customers’ demand, with shorter delivery times and higher quality. To achieve this, the role of our solid strategic supply chain is even more essential than before in the success of Nearfield Instruments.

Nearfield Instruments and VDL ETG have been working together closely over an extended period already. I’m glad to see that VDL ETG, as an established and reputable supplier to the semiconductor equipment industry, has the commitment and ambition to be the strategic partner of Nearfield Instruments. This partnership means VDL ETG will help Nearfield Instruments grow, not only in terms of people and production capacity but also in the continued development of the critical modules of our systems. We are determined to continue and elevate our relationship with VDL ETG to this strategic level.”

 

Geert Jakobs, CEO of VDL ETG commented:

 “As  contract manufacturer with development capabilities, VDL ETG strongly believes in in–depth cooperation from early-on in the product development phase up until volume production to get the best overall results. Therefore, working with an innovative young company like Nearfield Instruments on novel technology and state-of-the-art products is exciting for all involved in VDL ETG.

Our experience and industrial setup will support Nearfield Instruments in its Go-to-Market challenge. We like to be the industrial partner to rely on.”