ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., July 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Science and Technology
Corporation @ UNM (STC), a non-profit corporation that manages the patenting
and commercialization of inventions developed at the University of New Mexico,
today announced that it has licensed a suite of optics technologies to Zia
Laser, Inc. (Zia Laser), a new start-up optics company based in Albuquerque.
The technologies, for which patents are pending, were developed at the
University of New Mexico's Center for High Tech Materials (CHTM). Specific
terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
"Licensing this new technology to Zia Laser is an important step leading
to significant improvements in high-speed telecommunications," said Phil
Askenazy, Director of New Ventures at STC. Peter Perna, President of STC,
added, "We are extremely excited about this agreement, as this is another
example of the ways in which research activities at the University of New
Mexico can lead to and contribute to local economic development and job
creation."
"I am delighted to see yet another local Albuquerque company emerge from
our work at the Center for High Technology Materials," said CHTM's Director,
Dr. Steve Brueck. "Certainly, the initial investment made by the State in
creating CHTM continues to pay off in terms of helping to create high quality
new jobs in New Mexico.
New Mexico Senator Pete Domenici, long a supporter of efforts to translate
New Mexico's large research base into statewide economic benefits and job
creation, added, "I am pleased to see the research enterprise at UNM result in
another new technology start-up company launched in New Mexico. It is
important that we do all we can to keep technology developed here in New
Mexico at home to create more economic wealth for New Mexicans."
The CHTM technologies licensed by STC to Zia Laser relate to the
development and application of "quantum dots," tiny particles of
semiconductor, each typically less than 100 atoms across, that are embedded in
a host semiconductor material. When stimulated by an electric current, the
quantum dots emit light at a wavelength based upon the precise size of the
particles.
The commercial value of the technologies to Zia Laser is their application
to scalable dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) systems, a crucial
component of fiber-optic transmission techniques to employ light to transmit
data. Scalable DWDM systems add more capacity to communications networks,
enabling service providers to accommodate ever-increasing consumer demand for
the transmission of email, video, multimedia, data, and voice over the
Internet and phone lines. They also enable lasers to be tuned over a much
wider wavelength range, resulting in a new generation of more cost-effective
lasers like that under development at Zia Laser. "Our challenge now is to
show that we can translate this technology to meet the technical
specifications of specific DWDM applications," said Petros Varangis, Vice
President and co-founder of Zia Laser, "and we are working very hard on this."
About Science and Technology Corporation@UNM (STC)
Formed in 1995 by the Regents of The University of New Mexico (UNM), STC
is the patenting and licensing agent for UNM. STC is a non-profit corporation
with a 21-member independent Board of Directors, and in addition to its
patenting and licensing activities, is also creating new companies around
platform technologies emerging from UNM.
About Zia Laser, Inc. (Zia Laser)
Zia Laser was formed in May of 2000 to develop and market a more cost-
effective tunable laser for telecommunications applications. The founders of
Zia Laser represent faculty and former students of CHTM.
About the University of New Mexico's Center for High Tech Materials (CHTM)
Formed with an investment of State funding from 1983 through 1989, CHTM
research has led to the formation of five start-up companies in New Mexico, as
well as numerous interactions assisting other small companies in the State.
Over 200 graduate degrees in engineering and physics have been awarded in
conjunction with CHTM's research activities.
SOURCE Science and Technology Corporation @ UNM
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Related links:
http://stc.unm.edu
CONTACT:
Peter J. Perna of Science and Technology
Corporation @ UNM, +1-505-272-7900; Petros Varangis of Zia Laser,
Inc., +1-505-263-2541; or Dr. Steven Brueck of The University of
New Mexico's Center for High Technology Materials (CHTM),
+1-505-272-7800
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