Contents:

1 General Introduction 2 Contents, List of Tables, Figures 3 Executive Summary 4 Nanotechnology 4.1 General Introduction 4.2 Markets for Nanotechnology 4.3 Equipment Purchase Process 5 Business Models and Strategies for MNT Equipment Suppliers 6 Nanotechnology Equipment 6.1 Top Down Equipment 6.2 Physical Chemical Processing 6.3 Bottom Up Processing 7 Summary Of Trends /Conclusion 8 Company Information 8.1 Cross Reference Table 8.2 Company Profiles

Summary:

This review investigates the market status of equipment suppliers servicing the nanotechnology industry in terms of production and fabrication from an MST/MNT perspective. This review invariably addresses the pre-production and experimental / trial plants claiming a capability in nanotechnology. Although equipment for nanotechnology, dedicated to research applications, is already on the market, it can be stated that the market for nanotechnology production equipment is still at the beginning of its lifecycle. For the purposes of this review, nanotechnology is defined as a set of capabilities directed towards the development and manipulation of structures at the atomic scale (100 nm or less). The organisations that were considered for this overview were selected based on the following criteria: - They are commercially active companies - They offer equipment to be used for the (trial) production of nanotechnology materials and products. Important developments in areas that either overlap with and/or influence the progress of nanotechnology, such as semiconductor lithography and direct writing, are also discussed in this review. In order to investigate the market and distinguish trends, this study has classified nanotechnology production processes into the following four areas: - Top down nanotechnology: top down nanotechnology utilises processes and equipment used for high-end lithography and similar technologies, where large quantities of products are produced, mostly on flat substrates. In this area, the overlap with other equipment for MST/MEMS, semiconductor and data storage is significant. Main drivers for such developments include: nanotechnology product size, price of masks, cost of ownership of equipment and flexible production lines that allow for the cost effective production of small lot sizes. Main types of equipment in this group include: nanoimprinters, Atomic Layer Deposition tools (ALD) and Electron-beam aligners (E-beam). - Bottom up technologies: bottom up technology involves building up the nanotechnology products at the atom level by employing either mechanical manipulation or via molecules assembling other molecules. The former method uses Scanning Probe Microscope (SPM) based processes. Although SPM benefits from the widespread availability of SPM equipment, the processes are difficult to scale up. Molecular Self Assembly (MSA) is reported to be easier to scale up, however, to date this technology has only been demonstrated at laboratory scale. - Nanoparticle production: in nanoparticle production extended traditional physical and chemical methods are utilised to create small-sized particles, which exhibit special properties. Equipment for nanoparticle production either mechanically reduces the size of larger particles or introduces a chemical reaction that creates the desired material, followed by specific processes to keep the resultant particles small. Only a few companies offer such equipment. Most of the companies involved in nanoparticles production are also investigating suitable applications. - Nanotube production: nanotubes are considered to be the basis of very promising novel materials due to their unique properties. The technology (and the applications) is currently at a very early stage. The development of suitable equipment is becoming the differentiator between successful and not successful suppliers in this area. It should be noted that the top down and bottom up approach (except for MSA) are mainly equipment oriented, whilst, MSA, nanoparticle and nanotube production are process oriented. Top and bottom nanotechnology equipment benefit from the available equipment infrastructure used extensively for semiconductor lithography and deposition and the ample availability of Scanning Probe Microscopes. The development of processes for the production of nanoparticles is mainly carried-out in-house, as there is limited equipment available on the market, although it benefits from experience derived from the chemical/physical process equipment market. In general, both overlap and cross-fertilisation can be seen. Nanoimprinting is seen by some as a potential contender for the next generation of lithography tools, which are now aiming at sub 100 nm feature sizes. Given that nanotechnology equipment and equipment for high-end semiconductors are similar, a large number of companies offer modified semiconductor equipment (the so-called “top down” approach). Also several companies supply equipment based on chemical and physical processes for the production of small particles and nanotubes. The supply of equipment for the “bottom up” approach, which involves building nanotechnology products atom by atom, is very limited. Although there is an ample supply of Scanning Probe Microscopy based tools, it is not possible, however, to combine nanotechnology precision with industrial volume demand using such instruments. Processes for molecular self-assembly, potentially more suitable for economical mass production, are currently being developed but their commercialisation is not expected in the near future.