FEI Company
| Company type | Public (formerly) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Advanced microscope technologies, scientific instrumentation |
| Predecessor | Field Electron and Ion Company |
| Founded | 1971 |
| Founder | Lynwood W. Swanson, Noel A. Martin, Lloyd Swenson |
| Defunct | 2017 |
| Fate | Acquired by Thermo Fisher Scientific |
| Successor | Thermo Fisher Scientific |
| Headquarters | Hillsboro, Oregon , United States |
Area served | Worldwide (over 50 countries) |
| Products | Focused ion beam systems, scanning electron microscopes, transmission electron microscopes, focusing columns, imaging and analytical software |
| Owner | Thermo Fisher Scientific (since 2017) |
Number of employees | 2,800+ (circa 2016) |
| Parent | Thermo Fisher Scientific (from 2017) |
| Website | www |
FEI Company (originally known as Field Electron and Ion Company) was a United States-based enterprise focused on advanced microscope technologies. With its headquarters situated in Hillsboro, Oregon, FEI employed upwards of 2,800 personnel and maintained sales and support operations in more than 50 countries worldwide. Previously traded on NASDAQ, the company ultimately became part of Thermo Fisher Scientific.
History
Established in 1971 by Dr. Lynwood W. Swanson, Noel A. Martin, and Lloyd Swenson, the company initially provided electron and ion beam sources tailored for field emission studies and electron microscopy applications. The company name was abbreviated to FEI Company in 1973. In 1978, Dr. J.H. Orloff joined as a significant collaborator, contributing his specialization in electrostatic optics. Swanson held a professorship at the Oregon Graduate Center, where Orloff had served as his doctoral advisor. FEI's launch of the liquid metal ion source in 1981 opened new possibilities for semiconductor manufacturing processes such as mask repair and defect evaluation.
The organization’s current form was shaped by the 1997 merger with Philips Electron Optics, followed by the 1999 acquisition of Micrion, thereby broadening its electron microscopy technology heritage that traces back to Philips’ instruments from the 1940s.
By December 2006, Philips Business Electronics had divested its stake in FEI. In 2011, FEI announced record-breaking quarterly revenues close to $200 million during Q2, attributing this success to a broader customer base.
On May 27, 2016, Thermo Fisher Scientific declared plans to acquire FEI for $4.2 billion, with the transaction finalized in early 2017. At the time of acquisition, FEI employed over 2,700 staff members across more than 20 countries. Post-acquisition, the FEI brand was integrated into Thermo Fisher’s Materials & Structural Analysis segment, representing a strategic enhancement of Thermo Fisher’s global reach and product offerings within scientific instrumentation.
Operations
This division produces focused ion beam systems, scanning and transmission electron microscopes, focusing columns, along with associated software designed for image capture, reconstruction, and analytical processing.
Research and development facilities are located in Hillsboro (Oregon), Eindhoven (Netherlands), Munich (Germany), Shanghai (China), Tokyo (Japan), Brno (Czech Republic), Canberra (Australia), Trondheim (Norway), and Bordeaux (France). Its worldwide sales and service infrastructure supports operations spanning over 50 nations.
Subsidiaries
- FEI Technologies Inc. (Oregon, United States)
- ASPEX Corporation (operating as FEI Delmont) (Pennsylvania, United States)
- Visualization Sciences Group Inc. (operating as FEI Houston) (United States)
- FEI Electron Optics International B.V. (Netherlands)
- FEI Electron Optics B.V. (Netherlands)
- FEI Europe B.V. (Netherlands)
- FEI CPD B.V. (Netherlands)
- FEI Global Holdings C.V. (Netherlands)
- FEI Czech Republic s.r.o. (Czech Republic)
- FEI Munich GmbH (formerly TILL Photonics GmbH) (Germany)
- FEI Deutschland GmbH (Germany)
- FEI France SAS (France)
- FEI SAS (formerly Visualization Sciences Group SAS) (France)
- FEI UK Limited (United Kingdom)
- FEI Italia S.r.l. (Italy)
- FEI Norway Holding AS (formerly Lithicon AS) (Norway)
- FEI Trondheim AS (formerly Lithicon Norway AS) (Norway)
- FEI Servicos de Nanotechnologia Ltda (Brazil)
- FEI Technology de Mexico S.A. de C.V. (Mexico)
- FEI Company Japan Ltd. (Japan)
- FEI Trading (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (China)
- FEI APR Co., Ltd. (China)
- FEI Hong Kong Company Limited (Hong Kong)
- FEI Korea Ltd. (South Korea)
- FEI Company of USA (S.E.A.) Pte Ltd (Singapore)
- FEI Melbourne Pty Ltd. (Australia)
- FEI Canberra Pty Ltd. (formerly Lithicon Australia Pty Ltd.) (Australia)
- FEI Microscopy Solutions Ltd. (Israel)