What FemtoMetrix does

FemtoMetrix, Inc. is a US-incorporated, privately held semiconductor metrology company founded in 2011 and headquartered in Los Angeles, California, with a regional office in Seongnam-si, South Korea. The company designs and sells the Harmonic® Series wafer metrology system, which uses patented Optical Second Harmonic Generation (SHG) technology to optically detect Non-Visual Defects (NVDs) — surface, buried, and structural irregularities including yield-killing non-uniformities, metallic and organic contamination, electrically active impurities, stress/strain, interface roughness, and trapped charge density — that are invisible to standard in-line inspection tools. The Harmonic Series supports both 200mm and 300mm wafer configurations with dual load port EFEM and is positioned for high-volume advanced fabs, pilot production facilities, and R&D laboratories.

The company serves advanced semiconductor fabs targeting yield improvement at leading-edge process nodes, with explicit strategic alignment to 2-nanometer logic production (via Samsung) and advanced memory manufacturing (via SK hynix). FemtoMetrix monetizes primarily through capital equipment sales of the Harmonic Series, supplemented by technology and patent licensing arrangements (notably a 2016 license agreement with Boeing). Go-to-market is enterprise field sales to fab operators, supported by technical presentations at SEMI conferences (ASMC, Semicon Korea, FCMN), co-marketing with OEMs such as Tokyo Electron, and direct customer engagement.

The company has raised a Series A led by Samsung Ventures in August 2016 and a Series B of approximately $12 million in 2022 syndicated with SK hynix and NASA/JPL, with Samsung Electronics increasing its stake in early 2026 specifically to support 2-nanometer node yield improvement. Board and observer representation includes Samsung Ventures, SK hynix, and industry veterans from TSMC, Qualcomm, KLA-Tencor, and Applied Materials.

Name

FemtoMetrix

Legal name

Femtometrix, Inc.

Website

https://femtometrix.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

FemtoMetrix is a privately held US semiconductor metrology company that sells the Harmonic® Series, an optical Second Harmonic Generation inspection system for detecting Non-Visual Defects in advanced fabs. It serves advanced logic and memory manufacturers, with strategic backing from Samsung and SK hynix.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Semiconductor Metrology Equipment

NAICS

Semiconductor Machinery Manufacturing (333242), Other Measuring and Controlling Device Manufacturing (334519)

SIC

Optical Instruments & Lenses (3827), Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823)

akta.pro primary industry

Metrology, Inspection & Process Control Equipment (HDAHAEAH)

Keywords

• Wafer metrology systems
• Non-visual defect inspection
• Semiconductor process control
• Second harmonic generation
• In-line defect detection

Headquarters

HQ city

Irvine

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Metrology Equipment Sales: Sale of Harmonic series wafer metrology systems to semiconductor fabs. The Harmonic series is a high-throughput in-line system configured for 200mm or 300mm wafers with dual load port EFEM, designed for semiconductor manufacturing environments.
2. Technology Licensing: Patent and technology licensing agreements, including licensing technology from Boeing to enhance metrology capabilities in non-destructive optical metrology products.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

FemtoMetrix designs, manufactures, and sells the Harmonic® Series wafer metrology system, which uses patented Optical Second Harmonic Generation (SHG) technology to optically detect Non-Visual Defects (NVD) — including surface, buried, and structural defects, yield-killing non-uniformities, metallic and organic contamination, and process-induced irregularities — that cannot be seen by other in-line inspection tools. The systems are sold to advanced semiconductor fabs, pilot production facilities, and R&D labs for in-line yield improvement at advanced process nodes such as 2nm, supporting both 200mm and 300mm wafers with high in-line throughput.

Product overview

Femtometrix offers a single unified product line called the Harmonic® Series, which is a wafer metrology system based on patented Optical Second Harmonic Generation (SHG) technology. The Harmonic Series enables semiconductor fabs to improve yield by optically detecting Non-Visual Defects (NVD) including surface and buried defects, yield-killing non-uniformities, metallic and organic contamination, and other irregularities that cannot be detected by other in-line characterization tools. The technology accommodates a wide range of materials and processes and is designed for high-volume advanced fabs, pilot production, development, and research labs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Harmonic® Series Metrology System

Quantifiable outcome

• High in-line throughput enabling fab-wide deployment
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered notable and strategic.

• Tokyo Electron (TEL)notableStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Co-presented at FCMN 2022 conference on utilizing the F3x process control tool to make sub-nanometer measurements of critical dimensions in advanced semiconductor devices.
• BoeingstrategicOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 1 May 2016Patent and technology license agreement with Boeing. The license allows Femtometrix to include new enhanced metrology capabilities into its non-destructive optical metrology products, enabling enhanced yield and reliability at all process nodes. Boeing's technology was redeployed to create an optical in-line solution for Non-Visual Defects.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• KLA Corporation: KLA is the dominant supplier of process control and yield management equipment for the semiconductor industry, including optical and e-beam inspection and metrology tools. FemtoMetrix competes for the same advanced-node fab metrology budget with a much narrower, optically focused portfolio.
• Tokyo Electron (TEL): TEL is a global semiconductor process equipment leader with growing metrology/process-control offerings, including the F3x tool referenced in FemtoMetrix's co-presentations. TEL is a partial competitor and partner — it could incorporate or compete with FemtoMetrix's SHG-based measurements at advanced nodes.
• Bruker Corporation: Bruker's Semiconductor Metrology division offers X-ray and optical-based tools for advanced-node film measurement and defect analysis. It is comparable to FemtoMetrix as a non-visual, non-destructive characterization provider serving semiconductor process control customers.
• Hitachi High-Tech: Hitachi High-Tech supplies CD-SEMs, optical metrology, and defect inspection tools to leading semiconductor fabs. It competes broadly with FemtoMetrix in advanced-node metrology and process control as part of a much larger equipment portfolio.

Direct peers

• Lasertec Corporation: Lasertec specializes in optical/photon-based inspection equipment, most notably photomask blank and patterned mask inspection for advanced nodes. While its primary focus is mask inspection, Lasertec shares FemtoMetrix's DNA of using advanced optical techniques to find defects that conventional tools miss.
• Nova Ltd: Nova provides optical metrology and process control solutions for semiconductor manufacturing, including OCD and thin-film measurement used at advanced logic and memory nodes. Nova is a direct competitor in optical wafer metrology, addressing similar yield and process-control pain points as FemtoMetrix's Harmonic series.
• Onto Innovation: Onto Innovation supplies optical metrology, inspection, and software tools to advanced semiconductor fabs, with a focus on macro defect detection and process control at leading-edge nodes. It directly overlaps FemtoMetrix's mission of optical, non-destructive defect and process characterization in high-volume fabs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about FemtoMetrix