News Release Communique
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, Sept. 21st, 2004
Cross-Atlantic Links Foster Microsystems Technology
A memorandum of understanding between the U of S and a major German research centre promises to foster cross-Atlantic collaborations in ultra-small, next-generation technologies.
“This memorandum will help to bolster synchrotron-related research at the U of S while raising our international profile in these rapidly growing fields of research,” says Vice-President Research Steven Franklin, who signed on behalf of the U of S.
The agreement aims to foster joint research and international collaboration in synchrotron science, especially in areas of microfabrication, X-ray lithography and nanostructure technology. It is intended to foster collaborative science projects and the exchange of scientists and graduate students, as well as promoting international co-operation and conferences.
The memorandum was signed September 15th by the U of S and the Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe (Karlsruhe Research Centre) during a Team Saskatchewan trip to Europe led by the provincial government to showcase this province’s research and technology capacity.
In a related development, Sven Achenbach, an expert in microsystems fabrication, will join the U of S from the Institute for Microstructure Technology, a joint venture of the Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe and University of Karlsruhe.
Using the power of synchrotron X-rays, Achenbach works to develop ways to manufacture microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and nanostructures (billionths of a metre). These machines and components can have features many times smaller than the width of a human hair.
Such components are already found in consumer products such as sensors to test bilirubin levels in newborn babies, distance sensors for industrial robots, and infrared spectrometers used to identify hydrocarbons such as oil and its derivatives.
Achenbach is also a key player in the push to establish a Canadian Synchrotron Nanostructures Facility (CSNF) at the Canadian Light Source synchrotron (www.lightsource.ca) at the U of S. Once he takes his post in the department of electrical engineering in March, 2005, he will continue to develop synchrotron-based microstructure manufacturing techniques and strive to implement them at the Canadian Light Source.
The proposed CSNF initiative is led by David Klymyshyn, U of S associate professor of electrical engineering and research scientist with TRLabs.
“A lot of the micro-scale applications are beginning to permeate everyday life,” Klymyshyn says. “A longer-term challenge will be to go to the nano scale. Synchrotron-based fabrication techniques can offer some real advantages.”
For more information, contact:
Rob Norris |
Sven Achenbach |
Matthew Dalzell |
Michael Robin |
Last modified: 2012-01-19 17:01:55