Colnatec

What Colnatec does

Colnatec LLC is a privately-held precision instrumentation company founded in 2010 by Scott Grimshaw in Greenville, South Carolina. The company designs, develops, and manufactures high-temperature quartz crystal based film thickness monitoring systems used in thin-film deposition processes. Its core technology enables real-time film thickness measurement at temperatures up to 500°C, addressing a measurement gap that conventional quartz crystal monitors cannot serve in demanding thermal environments.

The product portfolio centers on the Phoenix System (the original 500°C quartz crystal film thickness monitor), the Tempe System (the only independently heated QCM in the world), and the EonLT and Eon PC-based controllers paired with proprietary crystals such as the RC Quartz Crystal for OLED and other advanced PVD processes. Quartz crystals covering 20°C to 500°C support ALD, CVD, and PVD applications. Colnatec sells these systems into thin film optics, semiconductor, surface chemistry, and flat panel display manufacturing, with more than 650 systems shipped worldwide. The company also generates recurring revenue from replacement crystals and oscillator components.

Colnatec operates a direct sales-led go-to-market with no documented channel partners, distributors, or resellers. Customer engagement is routed through phone and a single shared sales email inbox, and pricing is quote-based with no public list. The firm remains a small entity (1–10 employees), private, founder-controlled, with no external institutional investors identified in the available data.

Name

Colnatec

Legal name

Colnatec LLC

Website

https://colnatec.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Colnatec LLC, founded in 2010 in Greenville, South Carolina, designs and manufactures high-temperature quartz crystal film thickness monitors for thin film deposition processes, serving semiconductor, OLED, surface chemistry, and flat panel display manufacturers worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Thin Film Process Control Instrumentation

NAICS

Semiconductor Machinery Manufacturing (333242)

SIC

Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826)

akta.pro primary industry

Deposition Equipment (CVD/PVD/ALD/Epitaxy) (HDAHAEAB)

Keywords

• Thin film deposition monitoring
• Quartz crystal microbalance
• Film thickness measurement
• High temperature sensors
• Semiconductor process control

Headquarters

HQ city

Greenville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Film Thickness Monitor Systems: Sale of hardware systems including the EonLT, Eon controllers, Phoenix System, and Tempe System. These are capital equipment purchases for thin film deposition monitoring.
2. Quartz Crystals and Oscillators: Sale of replacement quartz crystals and oscillator components for the film thickness monitoring systems.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Colnatec designs, develops, and manufactures high-temperature (up to 500°C) quartz crystal-based real-time film thickness monitors and PC-based controllers for thin film deposition processes. Its product portfolio includes the Phoenix System (the original 500°C QCM monitor), the Tempe System (the only independently heated QCM), the Eon and EonLT controllers, and a full range of temperature-rated quartz crystals (20°C–500°C) including the RC Quartz Crystal for OLED applications. The systems serve manufacturers in thin film optics, semiconductor, surface chemistry, and flat panel display industries using ALD, CVD, and PVD deposition processes.

Product overview

Colnatec is a precision instrumentation company offering a portfolio of high-temperature quartz crystal-based film thickness monitors and controllers. The core product line consists of the EonLT and Eon PC-based controllers, paired with the Phoenix System (the original 500°C high-temperature monitor) and the Tempe System (the only independently heated QCM system). The product ecosystem includes RC Quartz Crystals designed for OLED applications, standard oscillators, and temperature-rated quartz crystals spanning 20-500°C. These systems serve thin film optics, semiconductor, surface chemistry, flat panel display, and photovoltaic manufacturing industries, supporting ALD, CVD, and PVD deposition processes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Phoenix System The original 500°C quartz crystal film thickness monitor and the world's first commercial high-temperature real-time quartz crystal-based monitoring system. It is designed for manufacturers using ALD, CVD, and PVD deposition processes that require real-time thickness control at elevated temperatures, including CIGS photovoltaic and OLED production.
• Tempe System Independently heated QCM (Quartz Crystal Microbalance) system, described as the only independently heated QCM system in the world. It enables precise temperature control during thin film deposition for manufacturers and researchers in semiconductor, surface chemistry, and related thin film industries.
• EonLT Controller PC-based film thickness monitoring controller designed for precision thin film measurement applications, compatible with high-temperature quartz crystal sensors up to 500°C. It comes with full-featured Windows software for comprehensive film thickness monitoring and control.
• Eon Controller Full-featured Windows-based film thickness monitor controller offering real-time measurement capabilities for thin film deposition processes. Includes the comprehensive Windows software for system operation and data acquisition.
• RC Quartz Crystal High-temperature-resistant quartz crystal sensor designed for use with OLED and other demanding PVD processes requiring temperatures up to 500°C. Used as a specialized replacement/companion crystal for Colnatec monitoring systems in advanced deposition applications.
• Quartz Crystals (20°C–500°C) Family of temperature-rated quartz crystals covering the 20°C to 500°C range, designed for all types of coating processes including ALD, CVD, and PVD. Sold as replacement/consumable crystals for Colnatec monitoring systems.
• Oscillator Precision oscillator component for Colnatec's quartz crystal film thickness monitoring systems, used as a replacement/sustaining hardware component for the Phoenix, Tempe, Eon, and EonLT product lines.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 650 systems sold worldwide

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Others

• Nihon Dempa Kogyo (NDK): Major manufacturer of quartz crystal blanks and oscillators that supply crystal sensor components into the thin-film QCM ecosystem alongside Colnatec's in-house RC and temperature-rated crystal products.

Direct peers

• INFICON: Industry-standard QCM and thin-film deposition monitoring provider with a broad XTC/STM/SQM portfolio serving the same semiconductor, OLED, and optical-coating customers that Colnatec targets. Most direct comparable for high-temperature QCM in production fabs.
• Biolin Scientific (KSV NIMA): Supplier of QCM-D (quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation) instruments for thin-film and surface characterization, serving research and industrial thin-film deposition users with comparable QCM technology to Colnatec's offerings.
• Stanford Research Systems (SRS): Manufactures QCM-based thin film deposition monitors and controllers used in research and production environments, competing head-to-head with Colnatec's Eon/EonLT controllers in thin-film thickness measurement applications.

Emerging players

• 3T analytik: German manufacturer of QCM and QCM-D instrumentation for thin-film and biosensing applications. Overlaps with Colnatec in real-time thin-film thickness monitoring, particularly for advanced deposition and surface chemistry research users.
• AWSensors: Spain-based developer of high-frequency QCM and sensing platforms for thin-film and electrochemical analysis. Targets similar real-time thin-film deposition monitoring use cases as Colnatec, especially in research and specialty industrial settings.

Broad incumbents

• Bruker: Diversified scientific instrumentation company that includes QCM products within a much broader analytical instruments portfolio; competes with Colnatec in thin-film metrology while offering customers bundled measurement solutions.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Colnatec