Highlights
from Presentation on “Diffusion Pathways for Photonics
Technologies” by Watkins and Schlie
Photonics technologies are enabling technologies in which
light and electronics are combined to enhance performance.
Applications include:
- Communications (fiber
optics)○ Computers (displays, storage devices, scanners)○ Manufacturing
(laser machining, sensors)○ Medical (laser surgery, imaging,
biophotonics)
Photonics industry is large and growing rapidly.
- Photonics industry had worldwide sales of about $150B
in late 1990s, comparable in size to the semiconductor
or aircraft industries.Photonics market grew at about 20 percent per year
in the 1990s.
- Market projections indicate that growth is accelerating.
Diffusion within this emerging technology area depends
heavily on personal communications.
- Geographic and social distance leads to clustering
of diffusion.
- Universities are often nodes of diffusion.
Diffusion
of Displaytech’s ATP-funded technology
is strongly tied to the University of Colorado and strongly
concentrated geographically.
- Displaytech, which makes microdisplays or “displays
on a chip,” was founded in 1984 on the basis
of technology developed at University of Colorado,
Boulder.
- 25 of 32 Displaytech patents resulted from projects
that received federal funding.25 percent of patent citations to Displaytech patents
come from companies with known links to University
of Colorado.One-third of patent citations to Displaytech by U.S.
companies are from companies in Colorado; another
one-third of patent citations to Displaytech by U.S.
companies are from northern California.
- Nearly half of all scientific publications citing
Displaytech are by authors affiliated with University
of Colorado.
Factsheet 1.F2 (September 2001).
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