Canon to acquire US-based Molecular Imprints

14 Feb 2014

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Japanese imaging products maker Canon Inc today said that it would acquire US-based Molecular Imprints Inc (MII), a developer of nanoimprint lithography systems, in order to firmly establish a position within the industry for its next-generation semiconductor lithography systems.

CanonFinancial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Founded in 2001 and spun out of the University of Texas, Austin, Texas-based MII is the technology leader for high-resolution, low cost-of-ownership nanopatterning systems and solutions in the semiconductor, display and hard disk drive (HDD) industries.

It has a portfolio of over 160 patents covering imprint tools, imprint materials and masks / templates, process technology and imprint-specific device designs and has applied for over 700 patents.

Its Jet and Flash Imprint Lithography, powered by its IntelliJet Drop Pattern Generator Drop Pattern Generation System, is the heart of MII's advanced nanoimprint technology,

Its clients include three of the top five semiconductor companies and it has sold its equipments in Japan, Korea and the US.

MII has raised over $150 million in funding from venture capital, strategic investors, and US state and federal government.

Canon currently manufactures and markets seven popular models of semiconductor lithography systems that employ KrF excimer laser and i-line illumination sources.

The Tokyo-based company, however, has yet to enter the market for lithography equipment for leading-edge high-resolution patterning.

''Having established an outlook for the volume production of lithography systems employing this technology, Canon decided to make MII part of the Canon Group as MII is a world leader in the nanoimprint technology sector in terms of technological strength and the number of patents registered,'' Canon said in a press release.

''Canon seeks to not only firmly establish the cmpany within the semiconductor lithography equipment sector, but also contribute to the revitalisation and expansion of the electronics market,'' the release added.

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