Diamond technology to revolutionize mobile communications
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Argonne National Laboratory partners with Advanced Diamond Technologies,
Inc., Innovative Micro Technology, Inc., and the University of
Wisconsin-Madison to develop high-performance telecommunication devices
using Ultrananocrystalline Diamond
Argonne, Ill. (Aug. 4, 2006) – The U. S. Department
of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory has teamed with industrial
and academic partners under a DARPA Phase II research and development
program to develop a new technology based on Ultrananocrystalline Diamond™ (UNCD™),
a novel material developed at Argonne that will enable diamond resonators
and oscillators to be directly integrated with microelectronics chips
for next-generation telecommunication devices.
DARPA– the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency – is
funding the work for advanced telecommunications systems to be used
in both military and civilian applications. These devices will be fully
integrated with silicon microchips to enable a new generation of high
performance portable communication systems. Eventually the fruits of
this project could result in enabling a variety of mobile technologies
with much higher data communication rates.
Diamond is the hardest known substance on earth. In addition,
since diamond is both stiff and light, it can be used to produce tuning
fork devices (tiny diving board-like structures which oscillate at
high frequencies to receive and transmit signals) that vibrate at
frequencies higher than similar devices of the same dimensions made
of other materials—up to 100,000,000,000 times per second for diamond
tuning folks that are around 100 nanometers in size. Such high frequency
structures can be used as key electrical elements in cell phones, enabling
them to operate at much higher frequencies. The challenge is to manufacture
diamond tuning forks reliably and affordably enough for them to be
widely adopted in broadband communication devices.
The four partners in the research project each bring
particular expertise to the effort. Argonne provides the worldwide
leading fundamental and applied science on the patented UNCD film technology
developed over the last 14 years. Advanced
Diamond Technologies, Inc.
(ADT), a spin-off company from Argonne, is developing UNCD thin films
for a number of applications, including the deposition of low-temperature
films on large-area (200 mm) silicon wafers that is critical to the
success of the current program. Innovative
Micro Technology (IMT) has
the largest and best-equipped independent MEMS fabrication facility
in the world and provides MEMS services from design through production.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison has advanced microfabrication facilities
at the Wisconsin
Center for Applied Microelectronics, and provides
novel atomic force microscopy tools to characterize UNCD-based MEMS
device performance. The DARPA Phase II program is funded at $1,400,000
for 12 months.
“The UNCD technology developed and patented at Argonne, and transferred to ADT for commercialization, provides the basis
for a new generation of commercial MEMS devices,” said Orlando Auciello, Argonne Senior Scientist and Principal Investigator of the DARPA-funded
program. “UNCD exhibits exceptional mechanical and low surface friction
properties that are far superior to the current silicon materials used
in most MEMS devices. The team has already discovered in a Phase I
of the project that UNCD exhibits the highest known acoustic velocity,
which directly translates to high resonator frequencies. Both the frequency
and the quality factor of these resonators are unaffected by environmental
exposure, which are key requirements for real MEMS devices. The funding
from DARPA is key to the challenging undertaking of developing a whole
new MEMS technology based on the novel UNCD material.
About Argonne National Laboratory
Argonne is the world leader on fundamental and applied
science of UNCD film technology, and carries joint work with academia
and industry to perform the science needed to develop new UNCD-based
MEMS and other technologies. Argonne has an extensive patent portfolio
on UNCD, which has been licensed exclusively to ADT,
The nation's first national laboratory, Argonne National
Laboratory conducts basic and applied scientific research across a
wide spectrum of disciplines, ranging from high-energy physics to climatology
and biotechnology. Since 1990, Argonne has worked with more than 600
companies and numerous federal agencies and other organizations to
help advance America's scientific leadership and prepare the nation
for the future. Argonne is managed by the University
of Chicago for the U.S. Department
of Energy's Office of Science.
About Advanced Diamond Technologies, Inc.
ADT is the world leader in the development and application
of diamond films for industrial, electronic and medical applications.
ADT's patented diamond, known as Ultrananocrystalline Diamond, is prized
for its exceptionally small (5 nanometer) grain sizes, which are
a billion-fold smaller in volume than those in traditional diamond
films. It is the exceptionally small grain sizes that make UNCD distinct
from other diamond films and, like other nanotechnologies, are the
source of its enabling value.
Formed in December 2003, ADT provides diamond film and
materials integration solutions to a variety of industry participants
in diverse application areas. It is based in Champaign, IL. Its website
is www.thindiamond.com.
About Innovative Micro Technology
IMT was formed in 2000, specifically to produce MEMS
(micro-electromechanical systems) devices. IMT's overriding goal is
to partner with companies to develop products based on MEMS technology.
Its 130,000 square-foot facility contains a 30,000 square-foot clean
room/fabrication facility, the largest and best-equipped such facility
in the world. The company was built for high-volume manufacturing,
and provides full foundry services from design through production.
IMT currently has more than 150 employees and 20 customers in diverse
applications, including drug discovery, drug delivery, biomedical implants
and cell purifiers, microfluidics, inertial navigation, printing, various
sensors, night vision, IR emitters, telephone/DSL switching, RF devices,
power management, and several others.
About University of Wisconsin-Madison
The research at UW-Madison is conducted under the direction
of Professor Rob Carpick and Staff Scientist Anirudha Sumant of the
Engineering Physics Dept., using the advanced microfabrication facilities
at the Wisconsin Center for Applied Microelectronics, and novel atomic
force microscopy tools in Carpick's lab. For more information, please
see mandm.engr.wisc.edu/faculty_pages/carpick/main.htm
For more information, please
contact Steve McGregor (630/252-5580 or media@anl.gov)
at Argonne.
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