Competitive Advantage

There are several companies that provide SPL capabilities on their instruments (e.g., NanoInk, Veeco, Bioforce Nanosciences, etc.). The primary barrier to entry is the undefined and unclear intellectual property landscape. It is not clear which of the patents are the source patents and their ownership is also unclear. However, compared to other nanofabrication techniques (e.g., Nano-Imprint, Step and Flash Imprint Lithography, etc.) SPL techniques have a better cost-performance metric (Ref Table 1 and Table 2). SPL techniques combine both top-down and bottom-up characteristics of the nano-fabrication methodologies currently available in the market. Hence, SPL techniques confer a paradigm shift in some of the niche markets and applications. SPL techniques therefore qualify as a disruptive technology for these niche market and applications

Table 1: Comparison of Competing Nanofabrication Technologies

Table 2: Comparison of Nanopatterning Techniques