NanoLambda, Inc has requested support for a one year membership to the Agile Innovation System that was recently selected as the recipient of the Economic Development Administrations Region 1 i6 award.
In collaboration with the "Agile Innovation Process" project team, this proposal will complete the monolithic fabrication of the nano-optic filter array structure directly onto the CMOS detector array on a wafer scale, to form a spectrometer-on-a-chip. The proposed ultra-compact and low-cost spectrometer-on-a-chip can be used in various applications such as mobile/wearable health monitoring and high-resolution color sensing.
As part of a winning team for the i6 Challenge Award program, Innovation Works and Carnegie Mellon University will collaborate with NanoLambda to more effectively move federally funded research towards successful technology product commercialization.
The proposed ultra-compact and low-cost spectrometer-on-a-chip can be used in various applications such as mobile/wearable health monitoring and high-resolution color sensing. Consumer electronics manufacturers and portable medical device vendors can be potential customers. Considering the manufacturability of the proposed technology and the readiness of the markets, it is feasible to commercialize the technology within 2 years. The proposed activities will contribute to not only ensuring the high quality of color in the consumer electronics industry but also advancing personalized point-of-care, environmental monitoring, and homeland security. The proposed project will also contribute to the maturation of the "Agile Innovation Process" project of the i6 challenge winning team in the region.
While the benefits and advantages of conventional optical spectroscopy technology are great; non-invasive, and the optical spectroscopy techniques have been used in so many fields, these devices have not entered personal everyday lifes because their size (PDA to Desktop size) and price ($1,000 ~$10,000+) have been restricting their use to laboratory environments or for professional settings. (A good analogy: mainframe computers in old days in contrast to micro controllers and smart devices today) By converging nano plasmonics technology with the advanced semiconductor wafer process technology and the brain power of intelligent software, one of the very first consumer plasmonics products, apolloTM an ultra compact low cost spectrometer-on-a-chip was developed. The size of apolloTM sensor is smaller than 5mm x 5mm x 2mm and the cost is expected to be lower than $10 at volume production, less than 1% of the size and cost of conventional solutions. The monolithic fabrication technology of the plasmonic nano-optic filter array structure directly onto the CMOS detector array on a wafer scale, enables the very low cost, affordable for most of consumer electronics devices. Thanks to its ultra compact size at a very low cost, apolloTM sensor can be directly embedded inside multitudes of personal everyday devices for noninvasive health monitoring ( blood glucose level, heart rate, respiration rate etc.), water/liquid quality monitoring, and accurate color calibration consistently across different consumer electronics devices such as TV/display/smartphone/camera or LED lighting devices. The potential market opportunity for the disruptive apolloTM sensor platform is expected to exceed multi billion dollars in 2015. The project also demonstrates a solid and effective methodology to commercialize the novel nanotechnology through continuous supports and collaboration with local expertise groups in the region through multiple programs including NSF i6 challenge project.
