Scaling out the nanoscale

FEI is the world leader in electron optics, producing advanced electron microscopes. The company has 60 years of market experience and over 1 900 employees working in research and development centers in North America and Europe, as well as sales and service operations in over 50 countries.

semiconductor at 2500x magnification

FEI’s microscopes are a long way from the simple devices used in elementary school biology lessons. They are high-precision tools that are hugely important in science, research and industry. They enable users to analyze and characterize the structures of materials down to the atomic scale. Data resulting from FEI's microscopes are invaluable in all kinds of materials research, in the steel industry, to semiconductor manufacturers, and for the emerging nanotechnology sector. Access to such hardware was once highly exclusive. To perform a non-routine analysis, a specialist often had to take his samples on a long-haul flight to examine them with the assistance of a dedicated microscopist. This meant a loss of time and money as projects could be delayed by days or months.

GridwiseTech engineers were commissioned to assist FEI to migrate to a modern IT architecture, one that would increase users' access to expensive resources. They started by investigating the existing highly-distributed environment and diagnosing the challenges using GridwiseTech's proprietary methodology. A consistent, systematic approach is central to GridwiseTech's high-quality results. After the positive outcome of the feasibility study, the GridwiseTech team designed and implemented patterns that enabled FEI’s customers to share analytical expertise and data more effectively, —and the final system is designed to make future development straightforward. GridwiseTech's work delivered a sophisticated and secure resource-sharing infrastructure, one that now makes it easy for authorized specialists to access expensive resources. Further, the full capabilities of FEI’s hardware have been unleashed, keeping its clients happy and maximizing return on investment (ROI).

According to Dirk Jan Swagerman, Director R&D Acht Software Engineering at FEI Company: "GridwiseTech has proven to be a reliable partner in creating advanced remote operation solutions for us. Using agile project planning and tracking, their technical staff were able to get the highest priority features in the product first. This approach left us with a good product candidate under challenging budget conditions."

GridwiseTech's professional and effective work resulted in FEI choosing them for a new project. We look forward to the continued collaboration between our two companies.

About FEI Company

Tecnai G2 Microscope

FEI (Nasdaq: FEIC) is the world leader in pioneering technologies and applications that deliver imaging solutions for 3D characterization, analysis and modification/prototyping with resolutions down to the sub-Ångström level. With a 60-year legacy of technological innovation and leadership, FEI has set the performance standard across TEM, SEM and DualBeam categories with its Titan™, Magellan™ and Helios™ product families. FEI’s customers, working in advanced research and manufacturing, are supported by field-experienced applications specialists. They have open access to FEI’s prestigious global user network so they can succeed in accelerating nanoscale discovery. FEI’s NanoPorts in North America, Europe and Asia provide centers of technical excellence where its world-class community of customers and specialists collaborate. FEI has sales and service operations in more than 50 countries around the world. More information can be found at: www.fei.com.