Singapore-MIT Alliance
Summer Conference 2001
The two-day Programme was held in the Wong Auditorium in the Tang Center (E-51)
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Speaker
Eugene Fitzgerald Associate Professor, Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, MIT Faculty Fellow, Singapore-MIT Alliance
Abstract On the Road to Commercialization of a Materials Technology
There are many different kinds of technological advances, which lead to a myriad of potential business models. In this presentation, I will cover the chronological evolution of our start-up company. I will outline the common challenges facing all start-ups, but emphasize those unique challenges encountered when commercializing materials advances.
Biography Eugene Fitzgerald's research is in the area of lattice-mismatched semiconductor materials with expertise in the field of defects in electronic materials. His research has been successful in enhancing the perfection achieved in lattice mismatched, relaxed semiconductor heterostructures. These advances have created interest in combining different semiconductors for integrated systems in optoelectronics and electronics. Fitzgerald's early research at the AT&T Bell Laboratories led to numerous publications in this area, one of which was recognized as "the most frequently cited paper" by The Scientist in 1991. His research has led to 12 issued patents and 41 pending applications. Fitzgerald also devotes his time to course development and reorganization. He recently developed the new core graduate subject, Electrical, Optical and Magnetic Properties of Materials. AmberWave Systems Corporation, originally located in Woburn, MA, and recently moved to Salem, NH, is a startup company commercializing advanced semiconductor device technology developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. AmberWave Systems' proprietary technology will provide high-speed microelectronics solutions for next generation communication devices. At the heart of AmberWave's technology is the ability to combine different materials with different sets of properties. Si is robust and inexpensive but slow for high-speed applications. GaAs is inherently a very fast electronic material but extremely brittle and expensive in bulk wafer form. SiGe is effectively a solution between Si and GaAs in terms of speed, cost and strength in device and IC applications, and also serves as a materials bridge that accommodates GaAs on an underlying Si substrate. AmberWave's proprietary technology allows for high quality, relaxed SiGe alloys which enable a host of microelectronics for communication applications.
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