Leading the world in metrology: investing in the innovative future of the Netherlands

Nearfield Instruments is a high-tech scale-up active in the semiconductor industry. The company develops and supplies groundbreaking measurement solutions capable of assessing critical 3D nanostructures in a non-destructive manner during the manufacturing process of microchips. Measuring these structures is essential to produce good chips.

The technology developed by Nearfield Instruments is based on the so-called Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM), which scans the surface of chips in three dimensions with an atomically sharp probe. Nearfield Instruments has improved and refined SPM to achieve significant measurement speeds and to non-destructively measure complex 3D chip structures. This gives Nearfield Instruments a unique position in the industry: current competitors cannot perform complete 3D measurements, or at least not in a non-destructive way.

Hamed talks about the investment: “As a rapidly growing company, we are pleased with this investment. We can now quickly further develop Nearfield Instruments; we will expand our team with even more top talent, increase our production capacity, and strengthen our position by bringing to market our second product; non-destructive subsurface nanometrology, allowing our customers to measure critical structures beneath the surface of a chip in a non-destructive manner. Think of it as a marble run: at the top, everything can roll perfectly, but if the track at the bottom is broken or too narrow, the marbles cannot roll through. Chip manufacturers want to check whether all routes at all levels are in order without having to disassemble the entire track first. With our second product, our customers do not have to sacrifice chips and complete wafers to measure whether their production process is still operating correctly. This saves time but also prevents waste of materials and economic value. With this investment, we can further increase our impact in the market.” 

Ruud comments: "Actually, we realised immediately after our first meeting with the team of Nearfield Instruments that we had something special in our hands. The technology that Nearfield Instruments is working on is extremely complex, and it took us quite some time to understand it. But the team at Nearfield Instruments really stood out because they know exactly what they are talking about. The team is working on a unique product, has gathered the right partners around them, and has a clear plan. When you're doing something as complex as this, there are quite a few puzzle pieces that need to fall into place to even have a chance of success. At Nearfield Instruments, it quickly became clear that all the ingredients were there.”

In the sector in which Nearfield Instruments operates, everything revolves around networks and collaboration. The challenges cannot be solved by one party alone. Hamed: “This means that from the very beginning of Nearfield Instruments, we have been working closely with the first-class high-tech supply chain in the Netherlands. In our first year alone, we created and filled jobs for more than 100 people. At Nearfield Instruments itself and with collaborative partners — and more importantly — we have made each other smarter. The investment in Nearfield Instruments is therefore not only in the company and its products but also an investment in the high-tech ecosystem in the Netherlands. Investing in deeptech is investing in profound knowledge!”

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