EINDHOVEN, Netherlands, June 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- FEI Company (Nasdaq: FEIC) today opened its enhanced Eindhoven campus and NanoPort(TM), a new, state-of-the-art product and applications center. In addition to being a product center where users can develop applications and assess technology prior to purchase, the NanoPort will provide a unique environment for bringing together the expertise of outside scientists and FEI developers for joint research and development projects such as the European Union's recently-announced Interaction Proteome project.

FEI, the leader in delivering tools for nanotech, focuses on delivering market-driven tools that enable progress in NanoResearch, NanoElectronics and NanoBiology where information on structures and devices ranging from less than 100 nm down to sub-Angstrom scale is now critical. The NanoPort will serve as a portal to nanoscale advancement and provide a base for European scientists working in the fields of materials science, semiconductors and data storage, biotechnology, structural biology, proteomics and pathology.

"For decades our technologies and products have been putting the nanoscale within the reach of researchers and scientists around the world," said Rob Fastenau, senior vice president and general manager of FEI's Electron Optics Product division and senior executive for Europe. "The opening of our expanded campus and the NanoPort supports our continuing commitment to enabling exploration and discovery at the nanoscale. As the need for tools and applications that enable sub-100 nm characterization, analysis and process diagnostics grows, we believe this new facility will play an important role in forwarding research, development and new product commercialization both in Europe and the rest of the world."

As part of the opening, FEI sponsored a nanotechnology symposium for European researchers. The program included presentations by prominent scientists including Professor Wolfgang Baumeister, director of the Department of Molecular Structural Biology, Max-Planck-Institue for Biochemistry, Germany and Dr. Theo Claasen, executive vice president, technology and strategy, and chief technology officer, Philips Semiconductor Division, The Netherlands. Tim Harper, noted industry leader, founder of CMP, executive director of the European NanoBusiness Association and nanotechnology advisor was also a featured speaker.

"The FEI NanoPort will serve as a true center of competence. It brings together the knowledge, experience and enthusiasm needed to advance research," concluded Professor Baumeister after his presentation.

FEI's NanoPort in Eindhoven houses a complete range of transmission and scanning electron microscopes, focused ion beam and DualBeam(TM) systems with FEI's range of productivity-enhancing automation software for a broad range of applications. These tools deliver nanoscale access to both organic and man-made structures and compounds, down to the sub-Angstrom level for characterization, analysis, modification and fabrication. (One nanometer is one-billionth of a meter; one Angstrom is one-tenth of a nanometer.) Access to NanoPort equipment may also be made available to scientists and start-up programs working on select research projects.

The improvements at the company's Eindhoven campus bring the total area of its European development and operations center to nearly 17,000 square meters. The project was focused on enhancing customer interaction and supporting FEI's business growth without a significant increase in costs.

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. With R&D centers in North America and Europe, and sales and service operations in more the 40 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 the this century into reality. More information can be found on the FEI website at: http://www.feicompany.com .

SOURCE FEI Company