Bruker Energy & Supercon Technologies, Inc. (BEST) has acquired the assets of AIXUV GmbH in Aachen, Germany, a company specialising in XUV/EUV systems and key components. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed, and AIXUV has been relocated to the BEST operations in Bergisch Gladbach.

With the integration of key AIXUV staff, know-how and products, BEST has strengthened its position in several emerging applications in the XUV/EUV (extreme ultraviolet) spectral range. Due to its physical properties, XUV/EUV light allows chemically sensitive measurements with nanometre lateral resolution. Scientific research applications range from high-resolution chemical analysis or thin film characterisation, e.g. of organic LEDs or high-k dielectrics, to X-ray transmission microscopy and 3D tomographic imaging of biological cells. Furthermore, EUV is the upcoming semiconductor lithography technology and will require “at-wavelength” metrology tools in different stages of EUV fabrication and its emerging supply chain.

This acquisition extends BEST's product portfolio to include discharge-based XUV/EUV radiation sources. Based on such XUV/EUV sources, new metrology and scientific research products are available, e.g. for EUV resist characterisation, XUV/EUV reflectometry, spectrophotometry, microscopy, and chemical analysis of nanolayers and nanostructures.

Dr Hans-Udo Klein, Vice President of Business Development for BEST, explained: "This acquisition paves the way for the development of our business in new markets for scientific research and metrology in the extreme ultraviolet, or soft X-ray, spectral range. In future years, these new XUV/EUV product lines are intended to generate significant additional profitable growth for BEST."

Wolfgang Diete, Director of BEST's Synchrotron & Beamline business, added: "Based on our extensive know-how in synchrotron based solutions and in combination with AIXUV's expertise, we will further develop and market stand-alone and modular XUV/EUV products."