APIC Corporation and U Albany NanoCollege launch $10M partnership
Albany, NY--The College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) of the University at Albany and integrated silicon photonics pioneer APIC Corporation (Los Angeles, CA) have formed a $10 million partnership for joint development and commercialization of computer chips that use significantly less energy than do current devices while also running much faster.
The APIC-CNSE partnership targets development and delivery of a new generation of modules and systems that utilize photonic integrated circuits or PICs. These devices combine optical communications with silicon-based CMOS technologies. As ongoing scaling continues to shrink the bandwidth of metal wiring used to connect CMOS circuits, severely limiting speed and functionality for advanced processors and multi-core systems, optical communication could help break this communications bottleneck.
These PIC systems will be particularly useful in addressing the 21st century explosion in bandwidth and computing power needs--including advanced data centers, cutting-edge medical research, secure financial transactions and next-generation gaming capabilities--potentially increasing processing speed by up to 60%, while reducing power consumption by as much as 90%.
The collaboration, which integrates APIC's expertise in photonics systems and devices with CNSE's world-class nanoelectronics resources, will result in creation of at least 20 high-tech jobs over the next 18 months, the majority at CNSE's Albany NanoTech Complex.
The partnership between APIC and CNSE also includes the potential for further R&D initiatives in the future, which may involve the location of additional APIC employees at CNSE's Albany NanoTech Complex.
Source: CNSE
Stephen G. Anderson | Director, Industry Development - SPIE
Stephen Anderson is a photonics industry expert with an international background and has been actively involved with lasers and photonics for more than 30 years. As Director, Industry Development at SPIE – The international society for optics and photonics – he is responsible for tracking the photonics industry markets and technology to help define long-term strategy, while also facilitating development of SPIE’s industry activities. Before joining SPIE, Anderson was Associate Publisher and Editor in Chief of Laser Focus World and chaired the Lasers & Photonics Marketplace Seminar. Anderson also co-founded the BioOptics World brand. Anderson holds a chemistry degree from the University of York and an Executive MBA from Golden Gate University.