Srico wins National Science Foundation grant for nanotechnology research and development
October 1, 2002 --Optical component company Srico was awarded a $100,000 grant by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop photonic bandgap (PBG) optical waveguide structures in electro-optic substrates. The grant enables Srico to pursue research and development on next generation photonic waveguide components for high-speed telecommunications networks and medical devices. This project will build upon Srico's current optical component technology.
The emerging field of nanotechnology shrinks everything down to microscopic scale. It deals with the microscopic manipulation of light using PBG materials or photonic crystals. PBGs are the photonic analogues of semiconductors. Nanoscientists work at the molecular level, atom by atom, to create large structures with fundamentally new properties and functions. Nanotechnology offers the ability to create miniature, ultra-compact, highly efficient products. As a point of reference, a nanometer equals a millimicron or 1/1000 of a micron or one billionth of a meter.
Nanoscale science, engineering, and technology are of such interest to the U.S. Government that it has created a multiagency National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI). The President has requested $710 million for nanoscale science in the FY 2003 budget, a 17% increase over FY 2002. The money is earmarked for research and development in ten federal departments and independent agencies. The U.S. NNI focuses on long-term research on the manipulation of matter at the atomic and molecular levels, which may enable an unprecedented ability to create building blocks for advanced products such as new classes of devices as small as molecules and machines as small as human cells.
Founded in 1990, Srico is a Columbus, Ohio-based technology development company that specializes in optical integrated circuits and optoelectronic subsystems for sensors, test instrumentation, telecommunications, and patient monitoring. More information about Srico can also be found at www.srico.com. Information about the U.S. Government's nanotechnology initiative can be found at www.nano.gov.