NANOSTRUCTURES

Academia

Arizona State University
Nanostructure Research Group
Nanolithography, nanostructures, semiconductors.
http://www.eas.asu.edu/~nano

Brown University
Nana & Micromechanics Laboratory
Experimental, computational and conceptual study of nanomechanics and micromechanics of materials.
http://en732c.engin.brown.edu

Clemson University
The Laboratory for Nanotechnology
Basic research into molecular electronics, organic and nanophotonic technologies.
http://virtual.clemson.edu/groups/NANOTECH

Cornell University
Cornell Nanofabrication Facility
Providing fabrication facilities to researchers.
http://www.nnf.cornell.edu

Drexel University
Nana Materials Group
Synthesis of nanostructure materials; characterization of their mechanical behavior, oxidation, corrosion and interaction among processing, structure and properties of materials.
http://nano.materials.drexel.edu

Georgia Institute of Technology
Nanostruture Research Laboratory
Synthesis and characterization of nanometer scale crystalline molecules.
http://www.physics.gatech.edu/research/whetten

Nanostructure Optoelectronics
Fabricating nanoscale optical structures in VLSI.
http://www. ee.gatech.edu/research/nanostructure_optoelectronics

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universit&t
Center for NanoScience
Interdisciplinary research in all areas of nanoscience.
http://www.cens.de/

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Nanostructures Laboratory
Techniques for fabricating surface structures with feature sizes in the range from nanometers to micrometers.
http://nanoweb.mit.edu

Princeton University
NanoStructures Laboratory
Fabricating nanostructures substantially smaller, better and cheaper than current technologies.
http://www.ee.princeton.edu/~chouweb

Rice University
Center for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology
Research at the interface between "dry" nanomaterials and aqueous media such as biology and the environment.
http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~cben

The Smalley Group
Exotic new nanoscale structures characterized regarding size, charge and surface composition.
http://cnst.rice.edu/smalleygroup/res.htm

University of Cincinnati
Manipulation and analysis of semiconductor materials at near-atomic levels.
http://www.nanolab.uc.edu

University of Twente
NanoLink
Fabrication of nanoscale structures combining molecular precision and low costs.
http://www.mesaplus.utwente.nl/nanolink

Government/nonprofit organizations

Foresight Institute
Nonprofit champion of nanotech and other next-gen technology.
http://www.foresight.org

The Institute of Nanotechnology
Nonprofit encouraging nanotech research in the United Kingdom.
http://www.nano.org.uk

Nanotechnology Database
Research centers, funding agencies, major reports and books.
http://www.wtec.org/loyola/nanobase

National Nanofabrication Users Network
All phases of nanofabrication and its use in fields ranging from nanophysics to biology to electronics.
http://www.nnun.org

National Nanotechnology Initiative-NNI
$500 million project for strategic U.S. nanotechnology.
http://nano.gov

National Science Foundation
Nanoscale Science and Engineering, part of the National nanotechnology Initiative (NNI)
http://www.nsf.gov/nano

Texas Nanotechnology Initiative
Promoting nanotechnology in Texas.
http://www.texasnano.org

Industry

Carbon Nanotechnologies, Inc.
Producer of single-wall carbon nanotubes.
http://www.cnanotech.com/

California Molecular Electronics Corp. (Calmec)
Invent, acquire, assimilate and utilize intellectual property in the field of molecular electronics.
http://www.calmec.com

IBM Research
Nanoscale Science Department
Scanning tunneling microscopy and atomic force microscopy as structural probes, and, along with electron beam lithography, as tools for the modification of materials at the atomic and nanometer scales and the fabrication and study of electronics devices.
http://www.research.ibm.com/nanoscience

IBM Zuricjh Research Laboratory
Where it all began, includes terabit Millipede project.
http://www.zurich.ibm.com

MITRE
Nanoelectronics and Nanocomputing
Government contractor of nanoelectronic and nanocomputing devices.
http://www.mitre.org/research/nanotech

Molecular Nanosystems Inc.
Atomic force microscope probes.
www.monano.com

NanoDevices Inc.
Leveraging MEMS into nanoscale with next-day delivery on fabrication equipment for carbon nanotubes, STM probes and CVD.
http://www.nanodevices.com

NanoGram Corp.
Developing nanoscale materials for optical, electonic and energy storage applications.
http://www.nanogram.com

NanoLab Inc.
Designs, develops nanoscale materials and devices.
http://www.nano-lab.com

NanoLogic Inc.
Design nanologic technology and applications.
http://www.NanoLogicInc.com

Nanomix Inc. (formerly known as Covalent Materials Inc.)
Nanotube applications developer.
http://www.nano.com

Nanotechnology Industries
Nanotech news.
http://www.nanoindustries.com

NanotechNews.com
Nanotech news.
http://www.nanotechnews.com

NanotechPlanet.com
Nanotech news.
http://www.nanotechplanet.com

Quantum Logic Devices Inc.
Relocated from North Carolina's Research Triangle Park because of Austin Texas' technology base.
http://www.quantumlogicdevices.com

Sensicore
U. of Michigan spin-off making nanoscale sensors.
http://www.sensicore.com

SmallTimes.com
Nanotech/MEMS news.
http://www.smalltimes.com

Zyvex Corp.
World's first nanotech company is still the only one dedicated to nanotechnologies "ultimate vision."
http://www.zyvex.com

ULTRAWIDEBAND TECHNOLOGY

XtremeSpectrum Inc. (Vienna, Va.)
Probably the most vocal UWB purveyor, XSI has spent much of July demonstrating its Trinity four-chip set to analysts, press and customers. Focused on communications, the chip set successfully broadcast six MPEG-2 streams of video to six flat-panel displays, or roughly 70 Mbits/s of payload (not counting overhead).
www.xtremespectrum.com

Time Domain Corp. (Huntsville, Ala.)
The most notable proponent of pulse-position modulation (PPM) for UWB, Time Domain has been in the UWB field long enough to develop two generations of its PulsON technology, the latter of which combined PPM with biphase modulation. The company has also been in the field long enough to know that PPM won't carry it to the next level of 100-Mbit/s + data rates for communications, so the company is readying a new coding and modulation scheme that it hopes will bring it all the way up to 500 Mbits/s. Look for news this month.
www.timedomain.com

Multispectral Solutions Inc. (Germantown, Md.)

According to MSSI's president, Bob Fontana, pursuing UWB for high-speed data (over 100 Mbits/s) is folly. While it can be done, "Trying to push it to compete with, say, 802.11a [for A/V distribution] is not so obvious from a cost or performance perspective," he said. Instead, MSSI is targeting location and radar in both the commercial and military markets, as well as relatively low-data-rate (0.5 Mbits/s) high-fidelity audio headsets for distances of a few hundred feet. Products for this are set to emerge shortly.
www.multispectral.com

Aether Wire & Location Inc. (Nicasio, Calif.)
Low-cost "localizers" for people/asset tracking is Aether Wire's bread and butter. In the eyes of many, this is the real killer application for UWB, as it solves a problem more elegantly than any other technology. Combined with relatively low-data-rate (read: low power) communications, the company plans to realize the true Internet-enabled, intelligent home via smart, wirelessly connected sensors. Aether Wire has products ranging from $30 to $400 (in quantity) depending on the level of support required (chips to full modules).
www.aetherwire.com

Pulse-Link Inc. (San Diego, Calif.)
Along with being an innovator in wireless UWB, Pulse-Link has also recently demonstrated the use of UWB technology to bring gigabit data rates to the home over the installed cable infrastructure. While its wireless UWB technology for A/V distribution within the home won't be ready until 2003, the company plans to start shipping/licensing its cable-UWB technology at the end of this year.
www.pulse-link.net

General Atomics (San Diego, Calif.)
Pushing its proprietary Spectral Keying modulation scheme, General Atomics is joining the fight to be part of the winning solution for the IEEE 802.12.3a's wireless PAN physical-layer solution. It's already promoting a single-chip, 10-m iteration of that scheme.
www.ga.com/uwb

Intel Corp. (Hillsboro, Ore.)
Having set the bar at 500 Mbits/s, if anyone has the motivation to make it happen it's Intel. Viewing it as an enabling technology that can be integrated with its CMOS chips, Intel has a vision of wireless connectivity down to the chip level. Connectivity, everywhere. If it doesn't work out, it still makes for one heck of a research project.
www.intel.com

Philips Semiconductors (Eindhoven, The Netherlands)
Still in the R&D stage are home networking products at 105 to 110 Mbits/s.
www.semiconductors.philips.com

STMicroelectronics (Lexington, Mass.)
Communications up to 100 Mbits/s. Doing proprietary antenna through contracts with outside R&D labs.
http://www.us.st.com

Texas Instruments (Dallas, Tex.)
High rate home-networking and A/V distribution; cable replacement. Was initial investor in XtremeSpectrum.
www.ti.com/sc/wireless

PLATFORM-BASED DESIGN

The DSP Group
It announced XperTeak, a "complete DSP core subsystem," in July. Available as a chip or as IP, it incorporates an embedded DSP core and a set of system interfaces and peripherals, along with software and hardware development tools. XperTeak aims at cellular baseband, digital camera, disk drive and voice- over-Internet-rotocol (VoIP) applications.
www.dspg.com

Parthus
Defining itself as a "platform level" IP company, Parthus has developed platforms for Bluetooth, PDA, GPS, and wireless applications. For Bluetooth, the company offers RF reference designs, IP hardware and software, and integration services. Earlier this year, Parthus announced its pending acquisition by the DSP Group, a move that may lead to further refinement of platforms.
www.parthus.com.

NEC Electronics
NEC introduced its instant silicon prototyping platforms (ISSPs) in March. Aimed at telecom, networking and consumer applications, they include multifunction PLLs and high-density SRAM. Future ISSP products will include embedded processor cores.
www.necel.com.

Intel
Intel's Personal Internet Client Architecture (PCA) lets users design a single platform to support a range of products, from cell phones and smart phones to PDAs and automotive clients. It includes an applications subsystem, a memory subsystem, a communications subsystem and a standard bus interface.
http://www.intel.com/pca/developernetwork/index.htm

Palmchip
This company has extended its CoreFrame interconnect architecture to offer the PalmPak configurable SoC platform. It includes standard peripherals and preverified cores, and supports a selection of processors. Palmchip also offers "configured" platforms for low-power storage controllers.
www.palmchip.com

LSI Logic
LSI's new ASIC-on-a-board is a "rapid prototyping SoC platform" for Amba-based designs. It's comprised of an FPGA-based central motherboard that accommodates up to four plug-in daughter cards. These can provide processors, or FPGA logic for prototyping of hardware IP.
www.lsil.com

RECONFIGURABLE SYSTEMS

ARC International
Developer of user-customizable 32-bit RISC/DSP processor cores, with integrated development tools, peripherals and software.
http://www.arc.com

eASIC Corp.
Developer of cell libraries with some reprogrammability for SoCs.
http://www.easic.com

Leopard Logic
Developers of embedded programmable logic cores for SoCs.
http://www.leopardlogic.com

M2000
Developers of embedded programmable logic cores for SoCs.
http://www.m2000.fr

QuickSilver Technology
Developers of reconfigurable logic fabric.
http://www.qstech.com

Tensilica
Developer of application-specific microprocessor solutions for single-chip systems, including Xtensa, a configurable and extensible microprocessor architecture and support environment.
http://www.tensilica.com

In addition, all of the FPGA vendors that provide SRAM-configured parts (Actel, Xilinx, etc.) can be considered participants in this technology.

MEMS

Colibrys SA (Neuchatel, Switzerland)
Colibrys SA was formed as a spin-off from the microsystems manufacturing division of the Centre Suisse d'Electronique et de Microtechnique (CSEM: Neuchatel, Switzerland) on January 1, 2001. CSEM itself is a central research and development facility partially funded by the Swiss government to support the strategic interest of the Swiss watch industry in micromechanics and microelectronics. As part of its launch package Colibrys received a new and fully functioning wafer fabrication facility capable of handling 4-inch and 6-inch quartz and silicon wafers. It also received a broad range of MEMS and microsystems process technologies developed over the previous 16 years at CSEM; and more than 100 staff. Colibrys specializes in the production of custom MEMS including magnetic MEMS chips for industrial printing presses; micro-optical components for the telecommunications and semiconductor equipment markets and micromechanical accelerometers for inertial navigation applications. New product developments are focused of optical MEMS components for telecommunications and radiation detectors for medical imaging and biological applications.
www.colibrys.com

Coventor Inc. (Cary, N.C.)
On January 22, 2001 Microcosm Technologies Inc. announced a change of name to Coventor Inc. In the 1990s, Microcosm had pioneered dedicated design software for the development of MEMS. As Microcosm it had received investment from Intel Capital, the venture capital arm of Intel Corp., and struck a deal with Sandia National Laboratories, to commercialize MEMS technology developed at that government facility. Under the agreement, Sandia licensed its Summit V (Sandia Ultraplanar Multilevel MEMS Technology) process technology to Microcosm-Coventor and provides prototype manufacturing capability. Summit V includes up to five layers of polysilicon allowing complex mechanical structures. Coventor, still a privately held company, now provides CoventorWare design software, MEMS development platforms and ready-to-fab components in the radio frequency, optical, microfluidics and sensor application areas. Coventor also provides development services and follows a fabless business model, teaming with partners that offer MEMS manufacturing capability.
www.coventor.com

Cronos Integrated Microsystems Inc. (Morrisville, N.C.)
Cronos owes its origins to the Microelectronics Center of North Carolina (MCNC). In April 1999, the MEMS Technology Applications Center was spun off from MCNC and became Cronos with a remit to provide foundry services for the manufacture of MEMS devices: in particular the three-layer polysilicon, surface micromachined, multiuser MEMS process known as Mumps. One year later, JDS Uniphase Inc. (San Jose, Calif.), a fiber optics component supplier, acquired Cronos in a stock transaction. Cronos provides bulk, surface, and high-aspect ratio micromachining.
www.memsrus.com

Memscap SA (St Ismier, France)
Founded in 1997, Memscap started out as a provider of design tools and services for MEMS development. The company received $13.2 million in start-up funding before raising a further $90 million through a well-timed listing on the Paris Euronext market in March 2001. The company has used the money for expansion and to build a MEMS foundry to process 6- and 8-inch silicon wafers in Bernin, France. The 59,000 square foot facility is said to be capable of processing 4000 wafers per month and has cost about $55 million. Both the capacity and the cost are small by microelectronics standards but large by MEMS standards. Memscap is pursuing RF and optical MEMS devices and a mix of foundry, manufacturing and licensing business models. In particular it has struck a strategic partnership with Walsin Lihwa of Taiwan. Memscap software design tools are available for licensing and the company also provides design services.
www.memscap.com

Memsic Inc. (Andover, Mass.)

Formed by a spin out from Analog Device Inc. (Norwood, Mass.) in 1999, the company is led by Dr. Yang Zhao, previously a member of Analog's micromachined products division. Memsic Inc. has a wholly owned subsidiary (Memsic Semiconductor Ltd.) located in Wuxi, China. The Andover headquarters is responsible for sales and marketing, product development and engineering while the Wuxi subsidiary is responsible for manufacturing, product engineering, manufacturing engineering, packaging and testing, as well as application engineering, for the Asian market. Memsic has developed and brought to market an accelerometer that contains no moving mechanical parts. It combines the sensor and associated electronics on a single chip manufactured on a standard, submicron CMOS process. At present Memsic gets its CMOS electronics manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (Hsinchu, Taiwan) before taking back the wafers and adding MEMS structures at its Wuxi facility. The company is extending the reach of the technology to consumer applications.
www.memsic.com

Standard MEMS Inc. (Burlington, Mass.)
Standard MEMS was formed in 1995 as Inertia Optical Applications Inc., based at the then newly established New Jersey Institute of Technology incubator program. Standard Microsystems had entered the MEMS market in 1991 with the development of an inkjet print head. It was the acquisition of the fabrication business unit of Standard Microsystems in June 1999 that consolidated Standard MEMS Inc. as a company providing product design, MEMS semiconductor fabrication, end product packaging and systems integration to the general marketplace Having achieved unit sales of more than 25 million inkjet print heads the company has started producing an innovative DNA analysis chip and an array of automotive pressure sensor devices.
www.stdmems.com

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (Hsinchu, Taiwan)
TSMC created the dedicated semiconductor foundry industry when it was founded in 1987 and continues as the market leader. Annual sales of $5.3 billion in 2000.
www.tsmc.com

Verimetra Inc. (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
Verimetra makes surgical instruments "smart" by embedding a variety of MEMS sensors as close as possible to the working tip of the tool. MEMS technology produces devices small enough to be embedded in surgical instruments without changing the basic form or function of the medical tool.
www.verimetra.com

Walsin Lihwa Corp.
Walsin Lihwa is reported to have invested more than $50 million to establish a MEMS component production facility in Yang-Mei, Taiwan. The company, a leading manufacturer of copper and aluminum wire and cable, has in recent years diversified into optical communications. It has also made a determined effort to add MEMS foundry capabilities, made long-term investments in U.S. university research and negotiated co-operative deals in the West to acquire manufacturing technologies. Under the terms of an April 2001 agreement with Memscap SA (Grenoble, France,) Walsin licensed Memscap's RF MEMS component designs, design software and manufacturing know-how. The transfer was intended to enable Walsin to offer RF MEMS components for 3G mobile phones, wireless local-loop networks, wireless LANs and tunable antennas. In September 2001 Walsin Lihwa agreed to co-develop manufacturing processes with Microvision Inc. (Bothell, Wash.) for components within Microvision's microdisplay.
www.walsin.com.tw

TUNABLE LASERS

Industry

Agilent Technologies
The test and components spin-off of Hewlett-Packard, developing a range of DFB and VCSEL lasers.

Agility Communications
Tunable laser startup, pioneering work in sampled Bragg grating lasers.

Bandwidth9
A startup developing tunable lasers based on VCSEL arrays.

Fujitsu Ltd.
A leader in fixed-frequency DFB lasers, and an early developer of thermally controlled tunable DFB lasers.

Intel Corp.
Acquired an external-cavity laser program from New Focus Communications, not yet prepared to bring products to market.

Iolon Inc.
A startup backed in part by Seagate Technology, using Seagate's micromachine concepts for disk drives in the development of an external-cavity laser.

Santur Corp.
A very recent startup working on arrays of tunable Bragg grating structures.

Academia

UC Irvine
Laser structures

UC Santa Barbara
Micromachined gratings and actuators

UC San Diego
Modulators

MIT
Micromachined laser substructures

Eindhoven Technological University
Laser sources

National Taipei University
Hybrid tunable structure

Nagoya University
External cavity lasers

Imperial College of Science
Integrated laser and modulator structures

Johns Hopkins University
Externally-tunable lasers

Universite Laval
Gratings and micromachines

University College London
Micromachines

VCSELs

At least 20 companies are developing VCSELs, many for in-house use. Here's a sampling of the major players:

Agilent
Uses in-house VCSELs for its own 850-nm modules; 1,310-nm devices in development. No interest in 1,550-nm devices.

Honeywell
Sells raw VCSELs in TO-can form, rather than in chip form. Has 1,310- and 1,550-nm parts in development.

Intel
Indirectly entered the VCSEL game by acquiring New Focus' tunable-laser business. So far, VCSELs are slated for in-house use only.

Picolight
VCSEL modules at 850 and 1,310 nm; has been shipping VCSEL arrays for about a year.

Zarlink
850-nm components and modules, 850 nm for 1-Gbit/second connections. Plans to have an 850-nm, 2.5-Gbit/s device later in 2002.

ROBOTS

Asada Laboratory,
Emergent Robotics Area, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University
Conducting wide range of robotics research focused on emergent intelligence.

Honda
Developing biped humanoid robots as the new form of mobility.
http://www.honda.co.jp

Kitano Symbiotic Systems Project
Running several robot development projects in its Symbiotic Intelligence group. Hiroaki Kitano, director of this project, is the founder of RoboCup.
http://www.symbio.jst.go.jp

Manufacturing Science and Technology Center
Has developed Humanoid Robot Platform entrusted by the government. Conducting research using the platform.
http://www.mstc.or.jp

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd.
Looking for the possibility to implement robotics technology in home.
http://www.panasonic.co.jp/global

The Robotics Institute, Carnegie-Mellon University
One of the largest robot institutes, it covers a wide range of robotics, from space to neurobotics.
http://www.ri.cmu.edu

Sony

Actively fostering robot business in the entertainment sector.
http://www.sony.co.j

Takanishi Laboratory, Waseda University
One of leading robotics research laboratories among Japanese universities.
www.takanishi.mech.waseda.ac.jp

Tmsuk Co. Ltd.
Will soon market robots for practical purpose; widely cooperating with companies and universities such as Sanyo and Waseda University.
http://www.tmsuk.co.jp