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NIST GCR 05-879 —Photonics Technologies:Applications in Petroleum Refining, Building Controls, Emergency Medicine, and Industrial Materials Analysis 1. INTRODUCTIONThe Advanced Technology Program (ATP), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), fosters partnerships among government, industry, and academia by co-funding innovative, high-risk research to develop enabling technologies that promise broad economic benefits for the nation. Photonics (opto-electronics) comprises a class of enabling infrastructure technologies that bring together technical advances from optics and electronics with significant potential for fostering economic growth and increased societal well being. Photonic devices are used for generating, modulating, guiding, amplifying, and detecting optical radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum and have broad implications for industrial growth and productivity across the U.S. economy, including manufacturing, health care, entertainment, information technology, telecommunications, and homeland security. U.S. photonics companies, despite a strong base in fundamental research and basic photonics technologies, have historically tended to be financially successful when exceptional performance was critical (military and other high-performance applications) and where market sizes were small. U.S. photonics companies are apt to be less successful when efficient mass production is required. Given the characteristic limitations of U.S. photonics firms and a potential for broad-based economic impact, the ATP has funded more than 120 photonics-related projects from the time of its inception in the early 1990s through 2004. To enhance U.S. competitiveness, ATP funded projects have tended to focus on:
CLUSTER STUDY OBJECTIVES AND SCOPEATP conducts economic analyses to assess the short- and long-run benefits of ATP-funded projects to the nation. Economic analyses evaluate the impact of ATP-funded technologies on project participants, on industrial users of new products and processes, and on end-users benefiting from new technologies. To assess the economic benefits from the ATP-funded photonics projects, a cluster study approach was used to combine some of the methodological advantages of detailed case studies and of higher level overview studies. A cluster of five projects was selected for analysis:
This cluster of projects spanned applications in industrial materials analysis, petroleum refining and distribution, semiconductor fabrication, emergency medicine, and building controls and included only projects where ATP-funded technical tasks were completed. Data collection and analysis were started in 2004 and completed in early 2005. One project, Capillary Optics for X-Ray Focusing and Collimating, with application in the petroleum, materials analysis, and semiconductor sectors, has realized economic benefits to date, with more significant benefits yet to come. A second project, MEMS-Based Infrared Micro-Sensor for Gas Detection, has near-term commercial prospects with identifiable economic benefits for U.S. industry and society. The remaining three projects are at varying stages of commercial development, and benefits at this time are somewhat less certain and less quantifiable. These three projects were assessed on a qualitative basis. Future economic analysis may determine that their benefits may also be captured and quantified. FIVE PROJECTS IN THE CLUSTER STUDYEach of the five projects in the cluster involved a single-company awardee that was either a startup or operated as a standalone small business. One ATP partner had important informal relationships with a regional university. None of the projects included an industrial joint venture or formal collaborative structure. In addition to high-risk technology and product development, the companies engaged in contract research to generate some revenue. After the successful completion of ATP-funded high-risk technology development projects, in some instances, significant financial resources were raised from venture capital groups and from industry investors. Capillary Optics for X-Ray Focusing and Collimating X-Ray Optical Systems, Inc., of East Greenbush, NY, used its ATP cost-share to develop high-performance computational and design methods and efficient, high-quality fabrication methods for tiny capillary glass tubes to guide X-rays with high transmission efficiencies. The project was based on the physical principles of special optics for guiding X-rays that were discovered in the Soviet Union during the early 1960s. Research resulted in transitioning X-ray focusing and collimating optical lenses from the status of laboratory curiosity to performance-enhancing components for industrial materials analysis and for the detection of trace-level contaminants in industrial processes. Commercial production of capillary optics for laboratory materials analysis started in the late 1990s. Economic benefits have been realized by downstream industries and by consumers of products incorporating advanced materials. In addition, newly designed integrated sensor engines incorporating X-ray optics were being deployed as of late 2004 and are expected to result in substantial economic benefits and reduced environmental pollution from lower diesel emissions. MEMS-Based Infrared (Photonic Crystal) Micro-Sensor for Gas Detection Ion Optics, Inc., of Waltham, MA, cost-shared with ATP to develop photonic crystal sensors that could be tuned to accurately, reliably, and inexpensively measure CO2 levels in the expired breath of emergency room patients and in commercial office buildings. The ATP award built upon the results of prior National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded research. Subsequent to the successful completion of the ATP-funded project, Ion Optics obtained three rounds of venture capital financing totaling $8.2 million. Production of photonic crystal CO2 sensors is targeted for 2006, and the commercial-scale use of CO2 sensors is expected to result in preventing in-transit mortalities and leading to emergency room treatment savings. This same technology will also reduce energy use and increase occupant productivity in commercial office buildings. Infrared Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy With ATP cost-share as well as with U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) funding (subsequent to the ATP award), Picarro, Inc., developed a high-performance near-infrared cavity ring-down spectroscopy system for ultra-sensitive contaminant detection (in the parts per billion range) for clean room applications, for petrochemical processing, and for the development of advanced, ultra-clean diesel engines. The ATP-funded project also led to a sixfold size reduction of large and cumbersome laboratory instrumentation. The successful completion of the ATP- and DOE-funded projects was followed by several rounds of private equity financing (in 2003 and 2004) that will be used to support an effective marketing program to gain customer acceptance and to implement manufacturing ramp-up to commercial production levels by the end of 2007. Optical Maximum Entropy Verification Physical Optics Corporation of Torrance, CA, cost-shared with ATP to develop a laser-based system to generate random optical patterns to be affixed to product labels. The authenticity of product labels could then be verified by comparing labels with a reference mask in an optical reader with randomized optical signatures, in real time, without the need for human interaction or a centralized database. The project was successfully completed and then licensed to OptiKey LLC, which is currently marketing the technology under the brand name of OptiKey Optical Authenticity Verification System. OptiKey LLC expects to complete commercial proof of concept in 2006. Integrated Micro-Optical Systems Digital Optics Corporation of Charlotte, NC, developed processes for wafer-scale integration of miniaturized micro-optical systems (IMOS) consisting of lasers, optics, detectors, and electronics to be aligned and assembled into a complex, three-dimensional microsystem. The project positions the IMOS technology toward becoming an optical counterpart of integrated circuits, shrinking down from expensive macroscopic optical systems to inexpensive and compact photonic chips. Digital Optics is currently developing IMOS-based commercial products for various industry applications, including telecommunications and data storage. Subsequent to the ATP award, the company received two venture capital equity infusions totaling $45 million, some of which was used to build a 100,000 square foot manufacturing facility. Return to Table of Contents or go to next section of report. Date created: July 12, 2006 |
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