PERFORMANCE
OF
COMPLETED
PROJECTS
STATUS REPORT
NUMBER 1
NIST SPECIAL
PUBLICATION 950-1
Economic
Assessment Office
Advanced Technology Program
Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899
William
F. Long
Business Performance Research Associates, Inc.
Bethesda, Maryland 20814
March
1999
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements
Executive Summary
Introduction
CHAPTER 1 - Overview of Completed Projects
Characteristics
of the Projects
Timeline of Expected ATP Project
Activities and Impacts
Gains in Technical Knowledge
Dissemination of New Knowledge
Commercialization of the New Technology
Broad-Based Economic Benefits
CHAPTER 2 - Biotechnology
Aastrom
Biosciences, Inc.
Aphios Corporation
Molecular Simulations, Inc.
Thermo Trilogy Corporation
Tissue Engineering, Inc.
CHAPTER 3 - Chemicals and Chemical Processing
BioTraces,
Inc.
CHAPTER 4 - Discrete Manufacturing
Auto
Body Consortium (Joint Venture)
HelpMate Robotics, Inc.
PreAmp Consortium (Joint Venture)
Saginaw Machine Systems, Inc.
CHAPTER 5 - Electronics
Accuwave
Corporation
AstroPower, Inc.
Cree Research, Inc.
Cynosure, Inc.
Diamond Semiconductor Group, LLC
FSI International, Inc.
Galileo Corporation
Hampshire Instruments, Inc. (Joint Venture)
Illinois Superconductor Corporation
Light Age, Inc.
Lucent Technologies, Inc.
Multi-Film Venture (Joint Venture)
Nonvolatile Electronics, Inc.
Spire Corporation
Thomas Electronics, Inc.
CHAPTER 6 - Energy and Environment
American
Superconductor Corporation
Armstrong World Industries, Inc.
E.I. duPont de Nemours & Company
Michigan Molecular Institute
CHAPTER 7 - Information, Computers, and Communications
Communication Intelligence
Corporation #1
Communication Intelligence Corporation #2
Engineering Animation, Inc.
ETOM Technologies, Inc.
Mathematical Technologies, Inc.
Torrent Systems, Inc.
CHAPTER 8 - Materials
AlliedSignal, Inc.
Geltech Incorporated
IBM Corporation
APPENDICES
Appendix A: Development of New Knowledge and Early Commercial
Products and Processes
Appendix
B: Terminated Projects
END NOTES
End Notes
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APPENDIX A
Development of New Knowledge and Early Commercial Products and Processes
| Biotechnology |
Chemicals & Chemical Processing |
| Discrete Manufacturing | Electronics
| Energy & Environment |
| Information, Computers, & Communications
| Materials |
Table A1.
Biotechnology (Chapter 2)
| Awardee Name (A)
|
Technology Developed
(B)
|
Product or Process Commercialized
(C)
|
| Aastrom Biosciences, Inc. |
Bioreactor technology for expansion
of stem and other cells outside the patient's body -- used in
tests and clinical trials for more than 60 cancer patients. |
Commercialization likely. |
| Aphios Corporation |
Viral deactivation procedures
based on critical fluid technology -- demonstrated in cleaning
contaminated blood supplies. |
Commercialization possible. |
| Molecular Simulations,
Inc. |
Incorporation of density functional
theory (DFT) into easy-to-use software -- targeted toward the
clinical and biotechnology communities for calculating molecular
structures and energies. |
Enhanced TurbomoleTM,
a software tool that enables researchers to design new target
molecules for drugs and other substances at much lower costs. |
| Thermo Trilogy Corporation |
Genetic engineering processes
-- demonstrated in the production of pyrethrin, a natural insecticide
that is nontoxic to mammals. |
Commercialization not likely. |
| Tissue Engineering, Inc. |
Techniques and procedures for
enhancing tissue growth, including processing tissue, extracting
and storing collagen, and spinning and weaving collagen fibers
into fabrics for rebuilding lost tissues -- demonstrated in
production of human protheses. |
Commercialization likely. |
Table A2. Chemicals
& Chemical Processing (Chapter 3)
| Awardee Name
(A)
|
Technology Developed
(B)
|
Product or Process Commercialized
(C)
|
| BioTraces, Inc. |
Multiphoton detection (MPD) technology
-- demonstrated in enhanced immunoassay, chromatography and
nucleic acid analysis |
Licensee PetroTraces: applications
of the technology in the petrochemical field. Marketed directly
by BioTraces: ssMPDTM, for clinical diagnostics applications. |
Table A3. Discrete
Manufacturing (Chapter 4)
| Awardee Name
(A)
|
Technology Developed
(B)
|
Product or Process Commercialized
(C)
|
| Auto Body Consortium (Joint
Venture) |
Measurement and process control
technology -- demonstrated in reduction of dimensional variation
in auto body assembly to two millimeters or less. |
New measurement and process control
systems in auto assembly plants that cut dimensional variation
to a world-class standard of two millimeters and below, being
implemented in 22 assembly plants in the United States and Canada. |
| HelpMate Robotics, Inc. |
Specialized lidar (light direction
and range) scanner and related locating technologies -- demonstrated
in the development of an intelligent autonomous mobile robot
capable of maneuvering around on a factory or hospital floor. |
HelpMate Robots in use as delivery
devices in about 100 hospitals in the United States and Canada. |
| PreAmp Consortium (Joint
Venture) |
A knowledge-based software system
than can extract process "rules" from manufacturing process
data -- demonstrated in test automations for designing and manufacturing
electronics components. |
STEP Tools, Inc., an informal
participant in the project, has incorporated the project's data
application interface in its ST-DeveloperTM software
tool.
Commercialization possible
for the complete system.
|
| Saginaw Machine Systems,
Inc. |
Intelligent thermal-error correction
technology, based on a generic mathematical model of thermal
errors -- demonstrated in high precision machine tool applications. |
Accu-SystemTM -- a
new intelligent process controller for increasing the accuracy
of machine tools. |
Table A4. Electronics
(Chapter 5)
| Awardee Name
(A)
|
Technology Developed
(B)
|
Product or Process Commercialized
(C)
|
| Accuwave Corporation |
A process for producing photorefractive
materials based on holographics technology -- demonstrated in
fiber optics telecommunications applications. |
Wavelength division multiplexing
components; wavelength controllers, wavelength lockers and fiber-optic
collimators. |
| AstroPower, Inc. |
Improved liquid-phase epitaxial
growth methods and a high-throughput manufacturing technology
-- demonstrated in the fabrication of high-performance optoelectronic
devices such as ultra-bright light-emitting diodes (LEDs). |
New epitaxy technology incorporated
in all company production processes, including the Silicon-FilmTM
solar cell. |
| Cree Research, Inc. |
Methods for increasing the quality
and size (to 2 inches or more) of silicon carbide single crystals
-- demonstrated in the fabrication of LEDs and other electronic
and optoelectronic devices. |
Less expensive blue light-emitting
diodes, and improved silicon carbide wafers that permit fabrication
of electronic devices that deliver more power, last longer,
and can withstand very high temperatures. |
| Cynosure, Inc., Inc. |
A fault-tolerant optical system
-- demonstrated for a diode-laser array in a laser surgical
application. |
Commercialization possible. |
| Diamond Semiconductor
Group, LLC |
Compact high-current broad beam
ion-implantation technology for altering the electrical properties
of materials -- enabling production of larger semi-conductor
wafers and also useful for other applications. |
A new high-current ion implanter,
produced by Varian Associates, which incorporates the new techniques
developed in the ATP project for implanting dopants on large
silicon crystal wafers measuring 300 mm or more in diameter. |
| FSI International, Inc. |
A dry gas wafer cleaning method
-- demonstrated in the cleaning of computer-chip wafers during
manufacturing (which traditionally has used wet chemical processing),
and suitable for the ever smaller features on new generations
of chips. |
Commercialization possible. |
| Galileo Corporation |
New processes for fabricating
micro-channel plates (MCPs) using photon detectors and other
types of electron multipliers -- demonstrated in night vision
applications. |
Commercialization possible. |
| Hampshire Instruments, Inc.
(Joint Venture)
|
Techniques for laser pumping of
high-power laser systems -- demonstrated using a laser-diode
array to pump a neodymium-doped gadolinium gallium garnet laser
for producing low-cost x-rays. |
Commercialization not likely. |
| Illinois Superconductor Corporation |
Fabrication process for thick-film,
high temperature superconducting materials -- demonstrated in
the production of radio frequency components for wireless applications.
|
Two products -- SpectrumMasterTM
and RangeMasterTM -- installed in 22 cell phone base
stations in 12 cities. |
| Light Age, Inc. |
Broadly tunable laser source of
ultraviolet (UV) light based on alexandrite laser technology
-- aimed at applications in science, medicine, and photolithography.
|
Three laser products -- nUVoTM,
PAL/UVTM, and PAL/PROTM -- for laser surgery
and potentially for other applications, including next-generation
chip fabrication and investigation of weather conditions in
the upper atmosphere (70 miles above earth). |
| Lucent Technologies, Inc. |
Fabrication, testing, and alignment
techniques for extremely precise aspherical, multilayer-coated
mirrors -- essential for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) technology,
a contender for future lithography systems. |
Subcontractor Tinsley Laboratories:
application of improved fabrication methods learned in the project
to all its aspherical mirror production.
Subcontractor Tropel: a specialized
interferometer it now uses in other contract work.
Commercialization possible
for lithography systems.
|
| Multi-Film Venture (Joint
Venture) |
Procedures for interconnecting
thin-film integrated circuits -- targeted at complex, multi-film
module (MFM) electronic device applications and suitable for
use when the films are arranged either side by side for flat-panel
displays or in layers for compact processor units. |
Commercialization possible. |
| Non volatile Electronics, Inc. |
New procedures that enhance the
producibility, circuit density, and signal strength of giant
magneto-resistance (GMR) materials -- demonstrated in random
access memory (RAM) and highly sensitive sensor applications.
|
Highly sensitive sensors based
on giant magneto-resistance materials that could be used in
brakes, pacemakers, and many other applications. |
| Spire Corporation |
Feedback-controlled, chemical
vapor deposition processes -- demonstrated in a reactor in a
high-throughput mode for fabricating low-cost, high-quality
metallo-organic laser diode arrays and other optoelectronic
devices. |
A prototype reactor being used
for limited production of epitaxial wafers. |
| Thomas Electronics, Inc. |
A high-efficiency electron source
to enable development of new classes of efficient, bright, flat
fluorescent lamps -- with wide applications in computer and
instrument displays and in high-definition TV screens. |
Prototypes and pilot models of
flat fluorescent lamps placed with more than a dozen companies
for further evaluation and field testing of the new technology
in cockpit and other applications. |
Table A5. Energy
& Environment (Chapter 6)
| Awardee Name
(A)
|
Technology Developed
(B)
|
Product or Process Commercialized
(C)
|
| American Superconductor
Corporation |
Wire fabrication and winding techniques
for high-temperature superconducting materials -- with primary
applications in the development of extremely efficient large
motors. |
CryoSaverTM -- electrical
wires that carry current into and out of cryogenically cooled
devices, which reduces electrical resistance and helps users
achieve better operating efficiencies. |
| Armstrong World Industries,
Inc. |
Process technology for controlling
the microstructure of aerogel insulation materials -- targeted
toward cost-effectively enhancing its thermal insulating properties. |
Commercialization possible
through licensing. |
| E.I. du Pont de Nemours
& Company |
Thin-film fabrication processes
for high-temperature superconducting materials -- targeted toward
low-cost electronics components. |
New thin-film components, incorporated
into magnetic resonance imaging equipment for use in hospitals
and clinics. |
| Michigan Molecular Institute |
Fundamentals of polymer compatibilization
-- targeted at demonstrating that mixed plastics (either from
waste streams or virgin) can be successfully combined into materials
with high performance characteristics. |
Prefabricated wall units using
compatibilized plastic panels, made by Eagle Plastics Systems
of Florida in collaboration with University of Florida researchers.
|
Table A6. Information,
Computers, & Communications (Chapter 7)
| Awardee Name
(A)
|
Technology Developed
(B)
|
Product or Process Commercialized
(C)
|
| Communication Intelligence
Corporation #1 |
New data-entry software technology
that recognizes each user's natural handwriting without "training"
the computer of the user -- intended to allow a pen and tablet
to be used instead of a keyboard. |
Enhanced Handwriter®MXTM
-- a stylus-and-pad system that recognizes hand-printed text.
|
| Communication Intelligence
Corporation #2 |
A recognition system for hand-written
Chinese -- intended to replace a cumbersome data-entry system
that uses a keyboard. |
Commercialization likely.
|
| Engineering Animation,
Inc. |
Core algorithms to enable the
creation of 3D images from sets of 2D cross-sectional images
-- with an initial application targeting animated visualization
of the entire human body. |
Three CD-ROMS (The Dissectable
HumanTM, The Dynamic HumanTM, and CardioViewer
3DTM), plus two medical textbooks that are used to
train medical personnel. |
| ETOM Technologies, Inc. |
Techniques for writing and reading
more than one bit of information at the same spot of an optoelectronic
disk -- and new optoelectronic disk materials. |
Commercialization not likely.
|
| Mathematical Technologies,
Inc. |
Mathematical methods for managing
successive digitized video images -- with the purpose of removing
defects from one or more individual frames of new or archived
movies. |
Digital Restoration ServicesTM,
integrated into post-production movie processing at a number
of facilities in the entertainment industry. |
| Torrent Systems, Inc. |
Component-based software and user
interface for building parallel processor applications -- a
tool for the professional programmer. |
OrchestrateTM -- an
innovative component software prototype system that enables
a variety of hardware systems to handle massive amounts of data
and increase processing efficiency. |
Table A7. Materials
(Chapter 8)
| Awardee Name
(A)
|
Technology Developed
(B)
|
Product or Process Commercialized
(C)
|
| AlliedSignal, Inc. |
Near-net-shape gelcasting process
that is safer and less costly than conventional gelcasting based
on acrylamide, a cumulative neurotoxin -- demonstrated by making
structural ceramic parts for very high-temperature applications.
|
Commercialization likely.
|
| Geltech Incorporated |
Room temperature net-shape gelcasting
method -- demonstrated in the production of high-quality, silica
glass micro-optics. |
Materials processing and mold
fabrication methods used to develop a porous-glass product which
is a component of a home sensor for toxic gases. |
| IBM Corporation |
Nonlinear optical polymeric waveguides
-- demonstrated in the development of inexpensive optoelectronic
switches for computers and communications systems. |
Commercialization not likely. |
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Appendix B: Terminated Projects
Date created:
March 1999
Last updated:
April 12, 2005
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