Groundbreaking collaboration PANalytical – TU Twente and old relations

Collaboration between universities and companies is not new. This certainly applies in the Laboratory Technology sector. The Industrial Focus Group EUV Optics was new and unique when it was a FOM professor Fred Bijkerk which got off the ground in 2012, together with ASML, ZEISS, Solmates, PANalytical and DEMCON. A year later, Bijkerk moved with his entire research group to the University of Twente, the MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology. Upon his appointment as a new board member of the trade organization for micronano technology MinacNed, Martijn Fransen from PANalytical proudly talked about this collaboration. Reason to talk to Professor Fred Bijkerk and Eugene Reuvekamp, the directly involved research & technology manager at PANalytical. The success appears to be based on a relationship that started more than twenty years ago, between individuals and organizations. The organizations changed. The personal relationships ensured continuity and innovation.   “We worked with Fred as early as the mid-nineties of the last century, when we were still Philips Analytical,” Reuvekamp recalls. “At FOM, Fundamental Research on Matter, in Nieuwegein we had an X-ray source and we wanted to do spectroscopy,” says Bijkerk. “We were then in contact with Philips Analytical and Philips Research because of the similarities we saw in terms of technology. When the FOM foundation decided to close Nieuwegein in 2012, I decided to go to Twente with my group and at the same time seek connections with companies. We have developed the Industrial Focus Group formula ourselves to be able to start quickly in Twente. We wanted to make agreements with companies for a longer period. There is now an eight-year program running with a budget of 20 million euros. In addition to PANalytical, ASML and Zeiss as leading partners, DEMCON, Solmates and TNO are also participating, based on a shared interest in optics in the EUV, extreme ultraviolet, wavelength range. The companies pay 50%, the province of Overijssel, MESA+, STW and FOM contribute the other half. We are now almost halfway through the term, at the end of the first, feasibility, phase of developing competencies and valorization cases. Now we are moving to the harvesting phase, in which we will capitalize on knowledge with the affiliated companies.” What drives a company like PANalytical, manufacturer and supplier of laboratory equipment, to enter this field? “Developments in our market segment of optical equipment for material analysis made it more difficult to innovate as a company all by yourself. Bijkerk's group is working on the foundations of optics in the wavelengths that are interesting to us. That gives a huge boost. The technology that is now being developed is a spin-off from previous work at FOM that was 'on the shelf' there. In addition, we do not have a competition problem here; the affiliated partners are complementary in technology and application, and the group is now physically very close to our head office in Almelo.” How does Bijkerk view the relationship between fundamental research versus industrial interest? “Scientists owe a lot to industrial developments. There is a structural shortage of resources for fundamental research in the Netherlands. However, we see that PhD research can be conducted at a high academic level based on questions from industrial practice. We work with, among other things, the Empyrean X-ray equipment from PANalytical and investigate what else is possible based on that technology. With EUV beamlines we look at details that have until now remained invisible via short wavelengths. And via the X-ray spectrum we analyze elements with an accuracy that has never been demonstrated before. That is difficult to do based on the well-known standard mirrors and lenses. Our research theme is optics for the EUV area, a new technology based on 2D nanotechnology and multilayer mirrors.” How does the collaboration work in practice? Reuvekamp speaks about it with enthusiasm. “Very intensive. Our people and Bijkerk researchers discuss progress. We formulate what we would like within PANalytical and do it in exactly the same way as if we were to do the research work internally, including project delivery, prototyping and testing. The metrology method we are working on is particularly important to us. Characterization is our core business and we incorporate what we learn in Bijkerk's research into our hardware and software.” As far as making agreements about intellectual property is concerned, that does not happen automatically. Bijkerk admits that it has been “an effort to get this on track”, partly because foreign companies are also involved. “We have concluded a 'general agreement', a kind of framework contract, with global goals. This gives the lawyers peace of mind and can then easily be completed in detail for each sub-project.”  Why Twente and PANalytical? PANalytical also collaborates extensively with other universities. “But these are very specific topics. And it is practical and advantageous that it happens around the corner, because you really have to see each other regularly.” Bijkerk thinks so too. “The Twente feeling, the regional set-up, that is an extra incentive for me, coming from outside the region, and also for the other team members. You seek each other out in terms of expertise, but then there is local coherence. This also applies to our partner in southern Germany, Zeiss. We also drive there very regularly.” “That explains Bijkerk's success,” says Reuvekamp: “He has people who go out of their way.”  What would your message be to others based on your experiences? For Reuvekamp this is clear: “Cherish your old network. Reach out and more will become possible than you thought possible.” And Fred Bijkerk from his point of view: “Dare to take the step to showcase your knowledge, with the confidence that you can serve others with it and benefit from it yourself.”   See also: Report 3, 2016