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BUSINESS
The New Jersey Nanotechnology Consortium (NJNC) has officially started operations, seeking to serve as a for-profit link between research and products. "There's a lot of hype around nanotechnology and skepticism among investors about exactly how something is commercialized," explains Larry F. Thompson, CEO of the new consortium. "Nanotechnology has generally been research, not commercially, based, and we bring the ability to bridge that gap." NJNC is based at the New Jersey Nanofabrication Laboratory, a $400 million facility with 25 employees contributed by Lucent Technologies and located at its Bell Labs site. Founding members include Lucent, the State Universities of New Jersey, and the state itself. State and federal sources have given NJNC $4 million in initial funding. Researchers and companies may not have the means or desire to invest in equipment to develop production processes or make prototypes, Thompson points out. NJNC, he says, offers immediate, cost-effective access to world-class facilities, design and prototyping services, and manufacturing processes for devices and applications. Although a similar effort, Albany Nanotech, exists in New York state, it focuses on 300-mm advanced semiconductor manufacturing, Thompson says, whereas NJNC is the only 200-mm wafer fabrication facility dedicated to nanotechnology development in the U.S. NJNC has several projects under way from start-ups and major electronic materials producers. It is working to add more customers and academic, government, and corporate members. With a $12 million annual operating budget, it expects to break even this year, Thompson says. |
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