Media Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 12, 2004
$500,000 Microstructures Chair to Help Build Synchrotron Research Facility
Sven Achenbach, recruited from Germany to become one of the University of Saskatchewan's newest Canada Research Chairs, will help develop synchrotron-based fabrication techniques for microscopic structures for next-generation technologies and lead efforts to implement them at the Canadian Light Source.
"Dr. Achenbach is part of a unique initiative to build both knowledge and infrastructure capacity at the U of S," says President Peter MacKinnon. "His expertise in micro and nano-scale manufacturing techniques will be extremely valuable as we develop the nanostructures beamline at the Canadian Light Source synchrotron."
Achenbach's Chair in Micro and Nano Device Fabrication, announced today by Prime Minister Paul Martin, is worth $500,000 over the next five years and comes with $312,500 from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) and other funding partners to buy equipment.
Achenbach will join the U of S College of Engineering in March, 2005 from the Institute for Microstructure Technology, a joint venture of the Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe and University of Karlsruhe in Germany.
In September 2004, the U of S and the Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe (Karlsruhe Research Centre) signed a memorandum of understanding to foster joint research and international collaboration in synchrotron-based micro-fabrication research.
The X-ray lithography beamline, officially known as the Canadian Synchrotron Nanostructures Facility (CSNF), is essentially a "machine shop" to create structures with extremely small features - 100 to 1,000 times smaller than the thickness of a human hair.
"The realization of the CSNF beamline at the Canadian Light Source is an important development for Canadian research and development," says Dr. Bill Thomlinson, Executive Director of the Canadian Light Source. "Dr. Achenbach's experience and know-how is a great addition to our team and is an example of how the CLS and the U of S are contributing to Canada's 'brain gain.'"
The CSNF will use the high-power X-rays of the Canadian Light Source to carve out devices with extremely precise, microscopic features for applications such as sensors to test bilirubin levels in newborn babies, distance sensors for manipulators in industry automation and infrared spectrometers for hydrocarbon identification. A recent survey predicts the 2005 world market for microsystems will approach CDN $82 billion.
"Sven's Canada Research Chair is tremendously important to the CSNF project," says team leader David Klymyshyn, currently in Germany as part of his ongoing research collaboration with Achenbach. "His talents and experience will be extremely valuable as we build this unique Canadian facility."
Klymyshyn is a U of S associate professor of electrical engineering and a research scientist at TRLabs, a main institutional participant in the CSNF project as it continues to gain momentum.
On October 21, Western Economic Diversification and the provincial government pledged $1.5 million each to build the line. U.S. aerospace company Rockwell Collins contributed $315,000, while home-grown telecommunications company VCom has invested $105,000. In-kind contributions include the CLS ($767,000), the National Research Council (NRC, $495,000) and TRLabs ($400,000).
Construction work on the CSNF is expected to begin in 2005 with the facility coming into operation in 2007. It is expected to draw users nationally and internationally, and complement other efforts such as the NRC National Institute for Nanotechnology at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.
For profiles of U of S Chair holders, visit http://www.usask.ca/crc or the national Canada Research Chairs Web site at http://www.chairs.gc.ca. Information on the CSNF will be available at http://www.lightsource.ca/nano as the project develops.
Note to Editors: A publication-quality photo of Achenbach is available by calling (306) 966-2427 or via e-mail to michael.robin@usask.ca.
For more information, contact:
David Milne
Director of Saskatchewan Operations
TRLabs (Saskatoon)
(306) 668-9301
milne@sask.trlabs.ca
Sven Achenbach
Institute for Microstructure Technology
Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe, Germany
49.724.782-3859
Sven.Achenbach@imt.fzk.de
Michael Robin
Communications Officer
Office of the Vice-President Research
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-2427
michael.robin@usask.ca
www.usask.ca/research
Matthew Dalzell
Communications Coordinator
Canadian Light Source Inc.
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 657-3739
matthew.dalzell@lightsource.ca
www.lightsource.ca
Last modified: 2012-01-19 17:01:44