November 1st 2011

Illuminex Corporation to work with Bandgap Engineering and PSU on a novel silicon nanowire based solar cell

Illuminex Corporation to work with Bandgap Engineering and PSU on a novel silicon nanowire based solar cell funded by the DOE under the Sunshot program, which, named analogously with the space race to the moon seeks to develop solar electricity solutions that are cost competitive with coal and nuclear electrical generation facilities which pollute the atmosphere and add to the global warming problem. Illuminex is excited on working with the great team of scientists at Bandgap and Penn. State.

November 2nd 2010

Illuminex Corporation has been awarded a grant from Pennsylvania’s Alternative and Clean Energy (ACE) program

The grant, which was awarded through the Commonwealth Financing Authority, provides the company with $63,976 in matching funds to purchase equipment for the companies work in advanced Copper-Silicon NanoComposite materials for use as anodes in Lithium Ion Batteries. The novel nano-material being developed could play a large role in the production of the next generation of rechargeable batteries that have 10 times the capacity as compared with what is on the market today. This type of functional nanomaterial is needed to advance battery technology for electric vehicle applications. The widespread use of electric vehicles will necessitate superior battery technology for batteries if long distance travel is to be realized. Illuminex will use the funds to purchase test and measurement equipment that will facilitate the nanomaterial development.

June 25th 2010

Illuminex awarded grant for Pennsylvania’s Translational Research in Energy Support Program (TRESP)

The grant, which was awarded through the Pennsylvania State University, provides $100,000 in additional funding to support Applied Research in Energy, Energy Related Fields, and Clean Technology. This grant will specifically support the continuing collaborative efforts in nanowire photovoltaic cell technology at Penn. State and Illuminex are already performing under funding from the DOE and the NSF. “The work has seen significant progress lately with Illuminex new silicon process laboratory coming on-line, and this additional support will hasten the materials and product development needed to bring nanotechnology enabled solutions to the sustainable energy problem we all face”, says Illuminex CEO Joe Habib. Illuminex novel design for solar cells will allow solar energy prices to be reduced, while providing materials for novel products like photovoltaic textiles.

June 1st 2010

Illuminex Corporation Issued First Patent

On May 11 2010, the United States Patent office issued Illuminex Corporation its first patent: U.S. Patent 7,713,849, “Metallic Nanowire Arrays And Methods For Making And Using Same”. “This is a significant milestone for the company. It was a long time coming, but worth the effort”, says CEO Joe Habib, “We continue to file patents on our breakthroughs in nanowire array processing techniques and the unique device designs Illuminex engineers apply these materials to.” With 11 other international filings, the company plans on strategically building its intellectual property portfolio for long term growth.

April 2010

Illuminex Awarded Grant from PA-Nanomaterials Commercialization Center

The Pittsburgh based Pennsylvania Nanomaterials Commercialization Center has awarded Illuminex Corporation a $130,000 grant to further develop and commercialize its copper-silicon nano-composite material for Lithium Ion Battery (LIB)anode applications. Currently used in many consumer electronics, such as laptop computers, LIB’s are prolific in everyday electronic devices. Many industrial experts, including the U.S. Department of Energy, are eyeing these type of batteries for future use in electric cars that represents a huge future market. Clean transportation could be achieved using electric cars, if the batteries are recharged by clean sources such as solar or wind. “This project is a great complement to the company’s ongoing nanowire solar cell project” says company CEO Joe Habib, who adds, “We see our focus increasingly moving into the clean energy markets, particularly alternative energy solutions enabled by nanotechnology.

Illuminex will be collaborating with Battery Manufacturer MaxPower of Harleysville PA, Burle Industries, located in the same facility as Illuminex, and the Pennsylvania State University to bring together the resources and expertise needed to make the project successful. The LIB market is currently a multi-billion dollar market. LIB use in electric vehicles is now limited by insufficient charge capacity to allow the vehicles to travel the distances demanded by consumers, and poor battery lifetime (cycle #), which is exacerbated by expensive replacement costs. Illuminex novel nanowire array architecture could enable the widespread use of silicon in LIB anodes. Silicon has been used in research and demonstrated high charge capacity, but, only in quantities insufficient for practical usage. It suffers from low lifetime (cycles) due to the silicon fracturing during the charging process. Illuminex copper silicon nano-composites hold promise to deliver large quantities of high capacity silicon per unit area to the LIB anode in a novel design that overcomes the lifetime problems. A matrix of copper nanowire arrays impregnated in the silicon provides high charge transfer, adds structural support, and helps reduce heat buildup which has been known to lead to explosions in LIB’s.

November 11th, 2009

The State of Pennsylvania awards Illuminex with a Solar Energy Program Grant of $185,910

Illuminex Corporation is pleased to announce the State of Pennsylvania has awarded the company a $185,910 grant as part of its Solar Energy Program. The money will be used to build a new silicon nanowire device development laboratory and purchase a chemical vapor deposition system for silicon and other semiconducting materials deposition. Illuminex will use the new space and equipment to advance its nanowire based solar cell program to enable innovative new ways to generate solar electricity such as from textiles, coatings on the bodies of electric cars, or building materials.

July 1st 2009

NSF Awards Illuminex $150,000 Phase I STTR Grant for Photovoltaic Fabric

Illuminex Corporation, in collaboration with the Pennsylvania State University and the Philadelphia University were awarded a Phase I STTR grant to develop a photovoltaic fabric. This innovative technology will create a solar cell in a textile format. The fabric will convert solar energy into electricity in a novel format that utilizes silicon nanowires at the heart of the design. The fabric will provide a lightweight, portable and highly flexible alternative to conventional solar cells. Solar power is an underused natural resource. Increased awareness of the need for renewable, clean sources of energy are currently driving the expansion of solar electrical power generation into the broader energy markets. Portable photovoltaic materials enabled by nanotechnology will have a multitude of applications: from the emergent field of ‘Smart Textiles’ to uniforms and shelters to portable consumer electronics, the impact of a textile capable of generating electricity from the sun that could be incorporated into existing products and materials in a flexible, fabric platform could be a tremendously valuable technology.

February 2nd 2009

NASA Awards Illuminex $600,000 Phase II SBIR.

Illuminex Corporation has been awarded a 24 month, $600,000 Phase II SBIR to continue its high performance and low mass nanowire enabled heat pipe development efforts. Heat pipes are one of the most effective and efficient passive cooling devices, and they have found widespread acceptance in the electronics industry. Heat pipe thermal management systems are implemented in numerous electronic and optical applications. Heat pipe technology is very attractive to the space program thermal management since it consumes no power during operation. The goal of the research project is to develop high power handling, lightweight, low-profile heat pipes with enhanced thermal transfer properties enabled by utilizing copper nanowire arrays as the wick material in the heat pipe. Increasing the performance of the device while decreasing the weight is critical to NASA as the weight of any component going into a space mission must be minimized. The goals of this project are in many ways synchronous with heat dissipation problems currently being encountered by the micro-electronics industry. This funding will promote the Illuminex efforts to rapidly bring nanowire thermal management technology to the market.

August 15th 2008

Illuminex and Penn. State win DOE Phase II STTR.

The Department of Energy has awarded Illuminex Corporation, in collaboration with the Pennsylvania State University, a $750,000 Phase II STTR award to develop a Silicon Nanowire Solar Cell. Illuminex is the prime contractor on the two year project that will develop a novel solar cell device for efficient conversion of sunlight into usable electrical energy through the application of nanotechnology. This effort will contribute to the development of alternative energy sources and help relieve the burden imposed by the continuing use of foreign oil and other detrimental energy sources. “Solar energy is a field the company has always wanted to pursue, and this award will enable us to continue the successful and exciting work we performed in Phase I. The need for clean alternative energy technology has never been greater, and we at Illuminex are honored to be part of that effort”, says Illuminex CEO Joe Habib. This recent award comes after a series of funding successes for Illuminex’s Heat Pipe, Photovoltaic, and Thermophotovoltaic technologies.

June 10th 2008

Illuminex Awarded Subcontract from Raytheon.

Illuminex corporation has been awarded a Phase I subcontract from Raytheon corporation. The award is part of a much larger DARPA initiative called the Thermal Ground Plane (TGP) program. The objective of the TGP program is to create advanced cooling systems for high performance military electronics. Illuminex nanowire technology will be utilized for the creation of thin, lightweight thermal management devices for electronic systems and multi-chip modules that have thermal conductivities at least 100X higher than common copper alloy substrates currently used in these applications. These TGPs will enable a new generation of high-performance, integrated systems to operate at high power density without problems from temperature gradients, increased weight, or added complexity. The 1 year Phase I program is valued at over $300,000 for Illuminex. If the program proves successful, Illuminex may have the opportunity to move on to higher Phase development with the Raytheon led team. For more information follow the link under “RECENT ARTICLES”.

June 1st 2008

Illuminex to Expand Facility.

Illuminex corporation is expanding it’s facility in the Burle industrial park by an additional 1350 sq. ft. bringing the total space to nearly 4300 sq. ft. The new space is adjacent to the existing space, which has a history as an RCA analytical chemistry laboratory dating back to WW II. “The existing space is very inspiring since it has such a rich history of innovation and is a place where innovation still occurs everyday. However, the company needs to consolidate and more space is required. The fact that the company started in a 40 sq. ft. storage closet and will now fully occupy 4300 sq. ft. is very exciting and demonstrates that we are heading in the right direction” says Illuminex CEO Joe Habib. The new space is being custom built by Illuminex and will provide dedicated space for scanning electron microscopy, e-beam evaporation and additional office space. This growth will allow all the companies activities to be centralized. Until now, some facilities and equipment were still on the campus of Millersville University where the company began. “While we will always be indebted to Millersville for giving us a place to start,” Habib says, “we are at the point where it is time to move on.” Illuminex will continue work with Millersville faculty and hire student interns.

January 18th 2008

NASA awards Illuminex $100,000 SBIR Phase I Heat Pipe Project.

Illuminex Corporation will be working on a 6 month Phase I SBIR program to develop a high performance and low mass nanowire enabled heat pipe. Heat pipe technology is very attractive to the space program thermal management since it consumes no power during operation. The goal of the research project is to develop high power handling, lightweight, low-profile heat pipes with enhanced thermal transfer properties enabled by utilizing copper nanowire arrays as the wick material in the heat pipe. Increasing the performance of the device while decreasing the weight is critical to NASA as the weight of any component going into a space mission must be minimized. The goals of this project are in many ways synchronous with heat dissipation problems currently being encountered by the micro-electronics industry. This funding will promote the Illuminex efforts to rapidly bring nanowire thermal management technology to the market.

January 1st 2008

Illuminex, Working with Penn State, Awarded a $150,000 Phase I STTR grant from NSF.

Illuminex Corporation will be working on a 6 month Phase I SBIR program to develop a high performance and low mass nanowire enabled heat pipe. Heat pipe technology is very attractive to the space program thermal management since it consumes no power during operation. The goal of the research project is to develop high power handling, lightweight, low-profile heat pipes with enhanced thermal transfer properties enabled by utilizing copper nanowire arrays as the wick material in the heat pipe. Increasing the performance of the device while decreasing the weight is critical to NASA as the weight of any component going into a space mission must be minimized. The goals of this project are in many ways synchronous with heat dissipation problems currently being encountered by the micro-electronics industry. This funding will promote the Illuminex efforts to rapidly bring nanowire thermal management technology to the market.

May 21st 2007

Illuminex and Penn. State receive a $100,000 STTR grant from the DOE.

Illuminex corporation, in collaboration with the Pennsylvania State University, has been awarded a Phase I STTR grant from the Department of Energy for a project entitled “Silicon Nanowire Solar Cells”. The nine month project is anticipated to begin June 20^th. Illuminex and Penn. State have a long standing relationship in research and development of nanomaterials for various device applications. This project will utilize silicon nanowires to form the light to electricity active part of the solar cell. Most conventional solar cells (photovoltaics) are made from silicon wafers and are expensive due to the large quantities of high purity silicon needed and anti-reflection coatings that are needed to keep light from reflecting off of the surface, however, silicon nanowires will drastically increase the absorption of light due to their inherent high surface area and “light trapping” geometry in addition to dramatically decreasing the amount of silicon needed for a given device. This novel approach to solar cell design should allow devices to be made that are more efficient and cost less than current technologies, increasing the viability of clean alternative power. The use of nanowires will also expand the design possibilities to implement solar technology in configurations such as solar textiles. The STTR programs encourage small business’s to partner with larger research institutions to develop technologies that the business can then bring to market. “This is a very exciting project for us” says Illuminex CEO Dr. Joe Habib. “The energy industry is searching for clean, affordable, and renewable sources of power, and the use of nanowires to generate solar electricity could help bring down the cost of solar cells while simultaneously increasing their efficiency.”

March 1st 2007

Illuminex Awarded $300,000 Grant from the PA Nanomaterials Commercialization Center.

The award to Illuminex of $300,000 from the PA Nanomaterials Commercialization Center, is one of three initial grants funded by the recently formed organization. The Center was formed to play a critical role in accelerating the commercialization of nanomaterials research for new and enhanced products critical for U.S. commercial and defense needs. During this one year project, Illuminex will be working with Lancaster based Thermacore Inc. to bring advanced thermal management devices to the commercial market that utilize the unique properties of Illuminex nanowire arrays to cool electronic and optical devices. A major application is in the cooling of computer chips, which have larger heat output as they get smaller and faster. Other applications include the vast array of portable electronic devices, lasers, and radar systems. “This is a fantastic opportunity for Illuminex to make the transition from an R&D company to a producer of commercial products” says Illuminex CEO Dr. Joe Habib. Illuminex will also continue to develop other products using nanowire such as biosensors and solar cells.

August 7th 2006

Illuminex Awarded $750,000 Phase II SBIR Grant From the DOE.

Illuminex Corporation has been awarded a Phase II Small Business Innovative Research grant from the Department of Energy. The award is based on the successful Phase I project, which was for the development of nanowire optical sensor technology with medical diagnostic applications. The “NanoBiosensor” project seeks to engineer a cost effective, highly accurate tool for diagnosing diseases such as cancer in the early stages, when treatment is the most effective. The sensor measures the presence of proteins or nucleic acids in blood serum samples that can be indicative of disease. This two year federal grant will build on the progress made in the Phase I program. Illuminex is working in collaboration with the Penn. State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and Lancaster General Hospital to develop a rapid testing platform for a wide range of disease markers. The use of nanowire technology enables the sensor to measure targeted compounds with very high precision.

The need for advanced medical diagnostic technology that can provide a rapid and accurate assessment of a patient’s status is of tremendous value. The current situation in the clinical diagnostic laboratory involves significant sophisticated infrastructure, a highly trained staff performing time consuming duties, and a significant lag time for test results. The current methods used to detect disease indicators do not have the needed sensitivity and are often only effective once the indicator concentration has reached a critical level.

Nanotechnology enabled probes that can interact with and sense biological compounds on the molecular level hold great promise for point-of-care diagnosis of disease.  More sensitive detection methods leading to early diagnosis could significantly impact the treatment of cancer and other diseases and dramatically increase survival rates.

June 1st 2006

Illuminex Moves to New Facility at the Burle Industrial Park in Lancaster, PA.

After a humble, yet productive beginning on the campus of Millersville University, Illuminex Corporation has moved into a new research and development center in the Burle Industrial Park, Lancaster PA. The 3000 sq. ft. laboratory and office space is in the old RCA analytical chemistry laboratory. Illuminex recently purchased all of the equipment in the laboratory from Thomson Consumer Electronics. “This greatly increases the company’s capabilities. Both for our continued in-house R & D effort and for component production for Illuminex nanowire array customers. It is a very exciting move” says Illuminex founder and CEO Joe Habib.
The new facility has a wide range of analytical chemistry test and measurement equipment and a significant wet chemistry process area. The lab also has an extensive supply of electronic equipment for nanowire processing and new product development. Additionally, the equipment purchase included a full line of spectrographic analyzers for Illuminex continued optical sensor program. Illuminex will continue to maintain its nanotechnology R & D facility at Millersville, where the company houses its electron microscope.