The NanoTech complex will use the tool to conduct research and development on future forms of chip design and manufacturing. The NanoTech facility is the only one of its kind in ‌North America, according to ⁠NY Creates Chief Executive Dave Anderson, and is similar in scope and focus to Europe's Imec, which ⁠operates in Belgium. NY Creates oversees the facility and has partnered with IBM, memory maker Micron and the Japanese chip equipment maker Tokyo Electron. The tools are ‌thought to be necessary to produce ​advanced processors in the future as ​chipmakers continue to shrink ​atomic-sized features that make up chips. Anderson ‌expects to have the tool fully functional by the ​end of the year.