Nion Company is structured around development of advanced scanning transmission electron microscopes (STEM) and other electron-optical instruments to include the open-source, Python-based microscope control and scientific image processing software Swift. The firm's STEM combine a clean, bakeable vacuum, which minimizes contamination problems; advanced electron optics, which provides unprecedented resolution and makes available many operating modes; and complete flexibility that allows the instruments to be configured for new applications even after they have been installed. They combine user-friendly operation with ease of maintenance. They excel in the resolution obtained at low primary voltages and in the maximum current and the minimum energy spread they deliver into a small probe. Much of Nion Company's resources also go into research aimed at advancing the state of the art in electron microscopy. They design and make state-of-the art aberration correctors, sample stages, detectors, and cold field emission guns. The firm has an important IBM collaboration.
