High-end STEM Technology Expands Bruker’s Portfolio for Materials Science Research

Bruker has announced that it has acquired Nion, a privately-held company that develops and manufactures innovative high-end scanning transmission electron microscopes (STEM). Nion was the first company to introduce aberration correction for STEM instruments with ultra-high stability for highest resolution images, and Nion is the world leader in ultra-high energy and spatial resolution electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS). This acquisition enhances Bruker’s product offerings and technology portfolio in materials science research and provides the technology base for applications in electron diffraction crystallography. In 2023, Nion had approximately $8 million in revenue. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Located in Kirkland, WA, USA, Nion was founded in 1997 by Dr. Ondrej Krivanek and Dr. Niklas Dellby. Under their leadership, Nion developed into a premier provider for high-end STEMs for researchers in materials science research worldwide.

“We are excited to add the high-end STEM products, the electron microscopy technology, and this new expertise of Nion to Bruker,” said Dr. Frank Burgaezy, the Bruker AXS division president. “Nion has unique products for the most demanding research applications in materials science electron microscopy, and Bruker will offer Nion global market reach as well as collaborations on new developments to enter new applications in electron diffraction crystallography based on Nion electron microscope and Bruker crystallography technologies.”

“With the introduction of aberration correction and ultra-high energy resolution EELS, Nion has revolutionized STEM technology. With our products we have established an excellent reputation among leading scientists around the globe as a provider of high-end STEM products,” added Dr. Ondrej Krivanek, co-founder of Nion. “Our work has given us unique insights into what researchers need. We are very gratified to join Bruker, an internationally esteemed instrumentation company, whose philosophy, culture, and reputation align very closely with our company culture and our research-oriented goals.”

About Nion

Nion is a world-class developer of advanced scanning transmission electron microscopes (the UltraSTEM™ range) and other electron-optical instruments. Since its founding 26 years ago, Nion has been a major force in advancing the state of the art in electron microscopy, in close collaboration with their customers. The company designs and makes state-of-the art cold field emission guns, aberration correctors, monochromators, sample stages, spectrometers, and detectors. This allows the company to ensure that all the components work together seamlessly, and to deliver world-class instruments that answer needs in the real world, in an integrated and easy-to-use manner.

About Bruker Corporation

Bruker is enabling scientists to make breakthrough discoveries and develop new applications that improve the quality of human life. Bruker’s high performance scientific instruments and high value analytical and diagnostic solutions enable scientists to explore life and materials at molecular, cellular and microscopic levels. In close cooperation with our customers, Bruker is enabling innovation, improved productivity and customer success in life science molecular and cell biology research, in applied and pharma applications, in microscopy and nanoanalysis, as well as in industrial applications. Bruker offers differentiated, high-value life science and diagnostics systems and solutions in preclinical imaging, clinical phenomics research, proteomics and multiomics, spatial and single-cell biology, functional structural and condensate biology, as well as in clinical microbiology and molecular diagnostics.