Ulm, Germany, July 07, 2008. WITec microscope technology has been selected as a winner of the prestigious 2008 R&D 100 Award. It honors the automated Confocal Raman and Atomic Force Microscope combination alpha500 as one of the 100 most technologically significant innovations of the year. The alpha500 is a revolutionary new microscope system that combines for the first time Confocal Raman Microscopy for chemical 3-D imaging and Atomic Force Microscopy for structural surface imaging in an automated system for large samples. It enables the automated execution of predefined measurement sequences on an arbitrary, user-defined number of sample positions for the most comprehensive, nondestructive and rapid sample analysis without any online process control by an operator. The automation and the fast image acquisition capabilities reduce the overall experiment duration or allow more samples to be measured in a given time for improved utilization of the overall measurement resources.

"We are delighted that we were chosen as a winner of this year's award and are very proud to now be a member of this exclusive group of innovators" says Dr. Olaf Hollricher, Managing Director and Head of Research & Development at WITec. "This is a major recognition of our company's strategy to always be one step ahead, providing cutting edge tools which allow our customers to set benchmarks in their field of application."

The "Chicago Tribune" once called the R&D 100 Award "The Oscar of Invention". The internationally recognized award was established in 1963 and is selected by an independent panel of judges as well as the editors of R&D Magazine and is presented every year to outstanding innovations in industrial research and development. The judges choose breakthrough products or processes that can contribute to change people`s lives or leapfrog current technology.