Carl Zeiss SMT has acquired the Nano Technology Systems Division of a one year old start-up microscopy company, ALIS Corporation, based in Peabody, U.S.A. The company only officially launched its 'LookingGlass LG-2' helium ion microscope earlier this year and exhibited for the first time at Semicon West this year.

The ALIS scanning ion microscope uses a beam of helium ions as the imaging particles. As ions can be focused into a smaller probe size and do not scatter as much as electrons the ALIS system can generate higher resolution images with more material contrast, according to the company.

Dr. Dirk Stenkamp, Managing Director of Carl Zeiss NTS, stated that  "The Helium ion microscopy technology developed by ALIS complements our market leading scanning electron microscopy (SEM) technology and will be a key element of our future technology roadmap. It offers unrivalled opportunities for sub-nanometer imaging, depth-of-focus capabilities and new image contrast features. This will enable our customers in semiconductor manufacturing, materials and life science applications to further push existing technical boundaries and to meet their roadmap requirements beyond the current decade".

Carl Zeiss SMT has acquired 100% of the shares of ALIS Corporation from a group of financial sponsors and strategic investors. CIBC World Markets acted as advisor to ALIS Corporation. ALIS will be closely integrated within the Nanotechnology Systems Division of Carl Zeiss SMT. The acquisition is expected to close during the third quarter of 2006. The company currently employs 36 scientists and engineers.

Defect review and CD measurement tool varieties were being contemplated as next-step applications for this technology.