Carl Zeiss SMT, a leading global provider of electron- and ion-beam imaging and analysis solutions, today officially opened its new North American headquarters in Peabody, Mass., near Boston. Representing an investment of more than nine million dollars, the new 53,000 square foot facility houses the research, development and production center for the unique ORION™ helium ion microscope product line. In addition, the facility serves as the North American hub for sales and service for the complete family of ZEISS particle beam instruments and houses the Carl Zeiss Nano Solutions Center Peabody. This center is a comprehensive demonstration and application development facility hosting six of the latest generation electron- and ion-beam systems for nanoscale imaging, analysis and structuring.
Dirk Stenkamp, member of the board of Carl Zeiss SMT, emphasized in his grand opening address: “North America has positioned itself at the forefronts of nanotechnology for advanced materials, life sciences and semiconductor research and development. With our major investments in the new Peabody facility and its highly skilled staff for research, development, production, sales, marketing and services, we are directly addressing the increasing needs and expectations of our North American customers. The new Peabody facility will be a cornerstone of our worldwide growth strategy in the markets for nanotechnology.”
Frank P. Averdung, President of Carl Zeiss SMT Inc., explained what this means to the Carl Zeiss SMT customers: “With the completion of our new Peabody facility, we are better positioned than ever to provide a world class experience in nanoscale imaging, analysis and structuring for our North American customers—from academia to research and a wide array of industries. This includes joint research and development programs, applications development, sales and customer service and support activities.”
Home office for 150 employees and a breakthrough technology
The new Peabody headquarters represents the home office for more than 150 highly skilled employees and a number of unique microscope technologies including the novel ZEISS ORION™ helium ion microscope. This technology will give researchers all over the world the opportunity to image and analyze a wide variety of materials and specimens with unequaled sub-nanometer resolution, depth of field and material contrast. In this way, the innovative power and expertise of Carl Zeiss SMT will continue to enable major advancements in materials research, life sciences and semiconductor manufacturing.
The first customers to use the new ORION™ technology include the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, MD, the Center for Nanoscale Systems (CNS) at the Faculty for Arts and Sciences of Harvard University, Boston, and the ´Carl Zeiss Innovation Center Dresden´, Germany all striving to develop new breakthrough methods and application results using this revolutionary new type of microscopy.
“We anticipate that we will continue to grow our organization in Peabody, making it the gold standard of customer sales and service for North America,” said Averdung. “Being located near Boston, with its world renowned Universities like Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology provides an ideal cultural and scientific environment to stimulate imaginative and creative thinking for ongoing product and application development.”