October 29, 2008: Helios Applied System says its proposal for the world’s first HAS1000 commercial nano 2-photon lithography tool has won a grant from the inaugural Technology Enterprise Commercialization Scheme (TECS) by SPRING Singapore at the Matrix@Biopolis.

HAS1000 system uses two-photon lithography technology to focus the laser beam onto a volume of bio-compatible MPP1000 photopolymer to initiate polymerization via two-photon absorption. The system is able to fabricate three dimensional structures in high resolution. After illumination, the arbitrary sub-micron 3D device is washed to remove the nonilluminated region and the polymerized material remains.

Helios Applied System beat 200 firms to emerge as one of the 17 winners at the ceremony, who garnered a total of $6 million worth of grants from the organizer.

“We feel very privileged and encouraged to be awarded the TECS,” said Kan Shyi Herng, the author of the winning proposal. “Start-ups and SMEs often have very good ideas and R&D concepts but are limited by their resources. With this funding, we can then embark on our project to develop the first commercial HAS1000 system.”

The award aims to catalyze the formation of technology enterprises in Singapore and enable them to grow past their embryonic phase, secure third party funding and achieve growing revenues. Proposals are ranked based on the evaluation of a team of industry leaders including Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Infocomm Development Authority (IDA), National Research Foundation (NRF), entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and researchers. The proposals are assessed based on their technological and commercial merits; only the best proposals are funded.

Helios is currently housed under local company Zugo Photonic, and utilizes the lab facilities of partner Ilios Systems for the development and building of its systems.