CONTACT:David Nutter(540) 231-6669[email protected]or Dr. Rick Claus(540) 231-7203[email protected]
BLACKSBURG, Feb. 14, 2001 -- A new process to manufacture thin films has "environmental, economic, manufacturing, and productivity implications for the multi-billion microelectronics industry," says F. William Stephenson, dean of the College of Engineering where the process was fabricated.
The work was done at the University's Fiber and Electro-Optics Research Laboratory, directed by Rick Claus, a distinguished professor in the electrical and computer engineering department.
This work, in part, secured Claus' receipt of Virginia's Outstanding Scientist Award for 2001, and announced in February of this year. Claus was specifically cited for his work in fiber optics and nanotechnology, as well as in microelectronics. Stephenson nominated Claus for the award.
The thin films were made using a novel self-assembly process. These piezoelectric/electrostrictive films have the potential to be used to design microelectronic mechanical systems (MEMs) devices and sensors.
Claus explains that these films have a number of advantages over previous technologies. Primarily, they can be synthesized at room temperature and pressure, resulting in very low cost manufacturing. This process is also environmentally friendly, leaving no volatile organic compounds and consuming negligible power.
These near perfect thin-films can be used in numerous applications, including integrated circuit devices, power distribution and control devices, communication devices and networks, transportation systems, computer hardware systems, biosensing devices, and eyeglass lenses.
Regarding this last application, Jim Barney, vice president, account management, The Magnum Group, who supported Claus' nomination for the award, says "A market need exists in the eyecare industry for improved methods for thin-film coating of spectacle lenses with anti-reflective properties, cosmetic tints and protective coatings, among others.
"Dr. Claus was invaluable in evaluating the specific optical industry needs and applying his research in nanotechnology that will represent a significant advance in the performance of organic/inorganic thin films."
Claus and his co-workers have also been successful in making their nanoassembled first light emitting diodes. And FEORC's group has also achieved the manufacturing of uniformly sized nanoparticles at the two nanometer dimension, not the broad 10-20 nanometer distributions of nanosized materials typically cited in the literature.
Nanostructured materials--in the form of an alloy such as a metal or a ceramic are made of the same atoms as their more common forms, but the atoms are arranged in nanometer-size clusters that become the building blocks of the new materials. These new small particles have remarkable electronic, optical, mechanical and other properties in comparison to larger bulk materials of the same molecular composition. But the trick in making them useful is to collect very large numbers of the nanoclusters and then be able to form them into larger physical systems, with control at the molecular level.
Within the past year, Claus also received the award for innovative technology development at the New Century Technology Council's Tech Nite 2000. Claus was named the region's top developer of commercial viable technology. This award highlighted his work in nanotechnology.
FEORC, the first Center for Innovative Technology Technology Development Center in Virginia, established in 1985, has a proven track record for providing both the science and engineering aspects of new technology. Within FEORC, and as its director, Claus has submitted more than 100 patent disclosures and published more than 800 papers in lightwave technology and applications. FEORC is also currently supported by more than 30 research sponsors.
Among its major contracts, FEORC received a $6.5 million contract from the U.S. Department of the Navy in 1994 to study a whole range of fiber optic applications as they related to military and commercial uses. In 1998, FEORC received a $9.6 million grant from the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) for an Optical Sciences Research program. Nanotechnology was included in the research focus of this proposal.
"Dr. Claus, as a recognized leader in his field, has secured more than $33 million during his 22-year career in academia. His work has contributed greatly to Virginia Tech's listing as the only top 50 research university in the state," Stephenson says.
"Dr. Claus has quite possibly set a record for the number of spin-off companies from one research center. Since his initial funding from the CIT in 1985, 18 different companies have been spun off from his work with students. These companies employ more than 200 people in Virginia and they represent a number of high-tech jobs. Dr. Claus is helping to keep Virginia's best scientists in this field as residents of the Commonwealth," Stephenson adds.
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Note: Mug of Claus available, please email [email protected] for a copy.
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