What Nanonex does

Nanonex Corporation is a privately held nanofabrication equipment company founded in 1999 by Princeton University professor Stephen Y. Chou, the recognized pioneer of nanoimprint lithography. The company designs, manufactures, and supports a complete nanoimprint lithography (NIL) solution — tools, resists, masks, and processes — that patterns nanostructures through physical deformation of a deformable material against a mold. Its flagship tools include the NX-B100/200, NX-1000, NX-2000, NX-2500, NX-2600/2600BA, NX-2608BA, NX-3000, NX-2012 (12-inch), and the NX-M200B mold-duplication manufacturing system. The company's core differentiator is its patented Air Cushion Press (ACP), which replaces solid press plates to deliver wafer-scale uniformity, precise alignment, and sub-40-second cycle times on substrates with non-flat or arbitrary shapes via proprietary Smart Sample Holders. The NIL portfolio achieves sub-10 nm resolution (sub-5 nm demonstrated) with 1% critical-dimension control across four imprint modalities (thermoplastic, UV-curable, thermal-curable, and direct embossing) on a single machine platform. Supporting consumables — the NXR-1000/2000/3000/4000 resist families and NXT-100 surfactants — are tightly coupled to the tool line, producing a recurring materials stream. Additional offerings include NIL masks (with periodic 1D/2D patterns and custom mask services) and a complementary Lumina-200 photolithography aligner distributed alongside partner InterLitho's interference lithography systems in North America.

Name

Nanonex

Legal name

Nanonex Corporation

Website

https://nanonex.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Nanonex is a privately held nanofabrication equipment company that supplies nanoimprint lithography (NIL) tools, resists, masks, and processes to universities, government laboratories, and industrial manufacturers across 11 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nanoimprint Lithography Equipment

NAICS

Semiconductor Machinery Manufacturing (333242), Research and Development in Nanotechnology (541713)

SIC

Special Industry Machinery, Nec (3559)

akta.pro primary industry

Lithography Equipment (DUV/EUV) (HDAHAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Materials R&D & Characterization (Powder/Resin Development, Testing) (IMAAAJAG)

Keywords

• Nanoimprint lithography tools
• Nanofabrication equipment
• NIL resist materials
• Step and repeat imprinting
• NIL mask fabrication

Headquarters

HQ city

Monmouth Junction

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. NIL Tools and Equipment: Sale of nanoimprint lithography machines including NX-B100/200, NX-1000, NX-2000, NX-2500, NX-2600, NX-3000 series for full-wafer and step-and-repeat imprinting.
2. NIL Materials: Sale of nanoimprint resists (NXR-1000, NXR-2000, NXR-3000, NXR-4000 series), mold materials, and surfactants. Over 400 orders of resists and masks have been provided to customers.
3. NIL Masks: Sale of NIL masks with periodic 1D and 2D patterns and customer mask services.
4. Customized R&D Development: Customized R&D developments provided to customers alongside tools and materials.
5. IP Licensing: Technology licensing from proprietary IP portfolio including exclusive licenses for technologies developed by Prof. Chou's research group.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Nanonex designs, manufactures, and sells nanoimprint lithography (NIL) machines (NX-B100/200, NX-1000, NX-2000, NX-2500, NX-2600/2600BA, NX-3000, NX-2012, NX-2608BA, NX-M200B), the Lumina-200 photolithography aligner, NIL materials (NXR-1000, NXR-2000, NXR-3000, NXR-4000 series and NXT-100 surfactants), and NIL masks. The company also provides customized R&D development and IP licensing services derived from its Princeton University research origins.

Product overview

Nanonex provides a comprehensive nanoimprint lithography (NIL) solution portfolio for nanofabrication. The core product line consists of nanoimprint machines: the NX-B100/200, NX-1000, NX-2000, NX-2500, NX-2600/2600BA, NX-3000, NX-2012 (12-inch), NX-2608BA (8-inch), and NX-M200B manufacturing system. These are complemented by a family of NIL materials including NXR-1000 (thermoplastic/thermal curable resists), NXR-2000 (photo-curable resists), NXR-3000 (underlayer resists), NXR-4000 (mold materials), and NXT-100 (surfactants). The company also offers NIL masks with periodic patterns and process guidance. The product ecosystem is unified by proprietary technologies including the patented Air Cushion Press for wafer-scale uniformity and Smart Sample Holders for arbitrary shapes. Nearly 100 tools have been installed in 11 countries across 4 continents, serving over 150 customers in research and manufacturing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• NX-B100/200 Full-wafer thermal nanoimprintor with patented Air Cushion Press (ACP) for uniform nanoimprint, supporting photo-curable, thermoplastic, and embossing processes with Smart Sample Holders for various substrate shapes and sizes.
• NX-1000 Full-wafer nanoimprinting tool for thermoplastic and thermal curable resists incorporating the patented Air Cushion Press technology.
• NX-2000 Full-wafer universal imprintor capable of imprinting wafers up to 12 inches with sub-60 sec/wafer throughput, with optional alignment upgrade.
• NX-2500 Full-wafer imprintor for substrates up to 8 inches with sub-micron overlay alignment accuracy and a user-friendly alignment scheme.
• NX-2600/2600BA Full-wafer imprintor combining all forms of nanoimprint with high-resolution photolithography, featuring sub-micron overlay alignment and optional optical backside alignment (NX-2600BA).
• NX-3000 Step-and-repeat nanoimprinting tool with sub-micron alignment accuracy, Enhanced Air Cushion Press, photo-curable NIL (upgradable to thermal curable), integrated resist-drop dispensing system, supporting up to 8 inch SEMI standard wafers.
• NX-2012 Advanced 12-inch nanoimprint tool for large substrate patterning.
• NX-2608BA Advanced 8-inch nanoimprint tool with alignment and photolithography capabilities.
• NX-M200B Manufacturing system designed for mold duplication to support high-volume production applications.
• Lumina-200 Stand-alone high-resolution photolithography aligner with high-precision alignment stages, state-of-the-art alignment optics, precise gap control, user-friendly PC control, small footprint, and cost-effective design; optional backside alignment.
• NXR-1000 Series Thermoplastic and thermal curable resists offering sub-10 nm resolution and wafer-scale uniformity with ultra-fast response, excellent flow, low processing temperature and pressure, strong adhesion, and room-temperature stability, suitable for direct etching and lift-off.
• NXR-2000 Series Photo-curable resists delivering sub-5 nm resolution and wafer-scale uniformity, operated at room temperature with super-low viscosity, applied via spin-on or resist-drop dispensing, and offering excellent etching resistance at low UV-curing dosage.
• NXR-3000 Series Underlayer resists optimizing direct etching and lift-off processes, with excellent thermal stability, easy handling, planarizing sample surfaces, and strong adhesion to top layer resists and substrates.
• NXR-4000 Series Mold materials enabling easy mold formation with one-step imprint, photo-curable with strong and durable cured properties, and stable mechanical/chemical properties for extended mold life.
• NXT-100 Series Surfactants for nanoimprint ensuring reliable mold-resist separation and promoting adhesion between resists and substrates, with stable properties after treatment.
• NIL Masks Variety of NIL masks with periodic 1D and 2D patterns, supplemented by customer mask services and connections to potential NIL mask vendors.
• Customized R&D Development Bespoke R&D development service provided to customers alongside Nanonex tools, resists, and masks, tailored to individual nanofabrication challenges.
• IP Licensing Technology licensing from Nanonex's proprietary IP portfolio, including exclusive licenses for technologies developed by Prof. Chou's Princeton University research group.

Named customers20 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

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• InterLithostrategicChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 30 June 2022Strategic partnership to bring InterLitho's world's leading interference lithography nanopatterning systems to the North American market. InterLitho provides state-of-the-art interference lithography systems while Nanonex handles distribution and support in North America.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Canon (Nanoimprint Lithography): Canon's Nanoimprint Lithography business (FPA-1200NZ2C) is the most direct competitor to Nanonex in NIL systems, targeting semiconductor-volume manufacturing. Comparable because both sell full-wafer NIL tools with resists and process support to similar end-customers in semiconductor and nanofabrication.
• EV Group (EVG): EVG is a leading supplier of wafer bonding, lithography and nanoimprint equipment used in semiconductor packaging, MEMS and photonics. Comparable because it sells NIL tools and complementary process equipment to similar semiconductor, research and advanced-packaging customers as Nanonex.
• Obducat: Obducat is a Swedish NIL equipment specialist offering NIL systems, resists and processes. Directly comparable to Nanonex as a focused NIL hardware-and-materials supplier serving research and industrial nanofabrication customers worldwide.
• SUSS MicroTec: SUSS MicroTec manufactures lithography and wafer-processing equipment (including mask aligners and NIL-related tools) for semiconductor and MEMS markets. Comparable because it sells adjacent lithography/NIL equipment to similar fab, research and advanced-packaging customers as Nanonex.
• Heidelberg Instruments: Heidelberg Instruments makes maskless optical and direct-write lithography systems used in nanofabrication, photonics and MEMS R&D. Comparable to Nanonex as a specialized lithography/patterning equipment vendor with overlapping university, government lab and industrial customers.
• Raith GmbH: Raith supplies electron-beam lithography, ion-beam and nanofabrication systems used in research and production environments. Comparable to Nanonex as a high-precision nanofabrication equipment vendor addressing similar academic, government and photonics/semiconductor customers.
• NIL Technology (NILT): NILT designs and manufactures NIL-based nanostructured components and offers NIL services and tools for optics, photonics and biosensors. Comparable to Nanonex because it operates in the same NIL ecosystem — combining NIL patterning capability with materials know-how for advanced applications.

Emerging players

• Morphotonics: Morphotonics focuses on large-area roll-to-plate NIL for displays, AR/VR optics and smart glazing. Comparable to Nanonex as a NIL equipment specialist, but differentiated by its focus on display/AR/AR-VR roll-to-plate rather than wafer-scale semiconductor-style NIL.
• Nanoscribe (BICO): Nanoscribe (now part of BICO) makes two-photon polymerization 3D micro/nano-printing systems. Comparable to Nanonex as a micro/nano-patterning equipment vendor with academic and industrial customers, but uses 2PP rather than wafer-scale NIL.

Broad incumbents

• ASML: ASML is the dominant supplier of advanced lithography (DUV/EUV) systems to semiconductor fabs. Relevant as the incumbent that defines the lithography landscape Nanonex competes against; ASML's push toward higher-NA EUV and continued scaling sets the bar for any NIL displacement thesis.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/nanonexc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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 Nanonex