Jan. 23, 2007 — Planet82 announced the debut of their full-color imaging sensor, SMPD (Single carrier Modulation Photo Detector) at Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2007. Planet82 showcased its VGA-color, SMPD chip for taking images in the dark without a flash.

Planet82 is working to develop a partnership for the mass production of the SMPD. Planet82Eis in the process of conducting tests for a number of SMPD-based applications, including those for Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras, mobile phones, digital still cameras, night vision, and rearview-sensing automobiles.APlanet82 is also exploring SMPD-based applications in healthcare, the military and environmental industries. With the SMPD, manufacturers can build a new generation of products that take clearer, crisper images in low-light situations without the distortion or energy-drain of a flash.

Jan. 23, 2007 — NanoHorizons announced the availability of SmartSilver(TM) permanent anti-odor/antimicrobial for 100% wool. This new product joins the current line of SmartSilver for polyester, nylon, polypropylene, cotton and rayon. SmartSilver leverages nanotechnology to impart anti-odor performance to fabrics. SmartSilver is applied to wool using typical fabric and garment dye systems.

SmartSilver imparts anti-odor/antimicrobial capabilities to wool through modifications engineered at the molecular level. Wool, because of its native properties, such as natural oils, has posed unique challenges to previous anti-odor technologies. Wool’s original properties, including hand, dyeability, stretch, wicking and thermal properties reportedly remain unchanged with SmartSilver.

SmartSilver is compatible with existing manufacturing processes for fiber and fabrics. SmartSilver-enhanced fibers can be used to create odor-resistant undergarments, hats, gloves, socks, T-shirts, sweaters, shoe linings, carpets and more.

“SmartSilver has garnered great attention from manufacturers using cotton and synthetic fibers, particularly in the performance apparel market,” said Dennis I. Schneider, NanoHorizons’ Director of Sales and Marketing. “We recognized that wool, one of the most important natural fibers for consumer apparel and many other uses, needs a permanent anti-odor/antimicrobial solution. SmartSilver for wool gives manufacturers a best-of-class, cost-effective, safe and permanent way to provide anti-odor capabilities to their wool products.”

Jan. 22, 2007 — Industrial Nanotech, Inc., a Naples, Fla. company specializing in nanotechnology materials solutions, announced that it has agreed, at the request of the U.S. government’s Center For Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT), to expand the capabilities of its planned manufacturing facility in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to include the production of specialty advanced materials for certain undisclosed US Government agencies.

Industrial Nanotech has previously announced plans to build a manufacturing plant in New Mexico in order to facilitate the production of its new nanotechnology product and material, Nansulate Shield. It expects to begin the construction of a new facility or begin to move manufacturing equipment into an existing facility prior to the end of 2007.

Industrial Nanotech has been collaborating with CINT on the research & development of various nanotechnologies since 2003.

New Scale is expanding its facility and automating production of its tiny SQUIGGLE motors.

Jan. 22, 2007 — New Scale Technologies, Inc. of Victor, NY announced plans to create a $1M automated, high-precision manufacturing center for its patented SQUIGGLE motors. The new 15,000 square foot facility will allow New Scale to increase its production capacity to 100,000 SQUIGGLE motors per month. This capacity will be used to fulfill existing and anticipated contracts for SQUIGGLE motors for mobile phone camera modules and other miniature devices.

The company expects to begin using the new facility, located near its current Victor, NY headquarters, in March 2007. “This investment highlights the success of our newest and smallest SQUIGGLE motor,” said New Scale CEO and chief technology officer David Henderson in a prepared statement. “It is part of a phased plan to expand production of these tiny ultrasonic motors through increasing automation of our assembly processes.”

The state-of-the-art manufacturing center will feature micrometer-precision robotic assembly, which is essential for achieving the precision and repeatability needed to produce these millimeter-scale motors in high volumes. The new facility is also designed for flexibility, allowing New Scale to manufacture multiple SQUIGGLE motor products to target multiple OEM (original equipment manufacturer) markets.

New Scale is also actively pursuing market opportunities in medical devices, where the SQUIGGLE motor enables smaller devices such as drug pumps and MRI-compatible systems. Additional opportunities exist for electronic security locks, intelligent fasteners, cryogenic imagers for homeland security, and emerging microfluidic and lab-on-a-chip applications.

New Scale was founded in 2002 and shipped its first SQUIGGLE motors in 2004. It doubled its workforce in 2006 and plans to do so again in 2007, hiring approximately 30 new employees in skilled manufacturing, quality assurance, quality control and automated manufacturing equipment operation.

The new Victor manufacturing center is three times the size of the company’s existing facility. The investment is funded by the company’s ongoing profitable operations, with additional support planned from Ontario County’s Office of Economic Development Revolving Loan Fund. New Scale is already planning its next phase of manufacturing expansion, evaluating several potential locations for a facility with capacity to produce one million motors per month.

“New Scale Technologies is a great Ontario County success story,” said Ontario County Industrial Development Agency director Mike Manikowski in a prepared press release. “This high-tech product was invented here, first produced here by skilled technicians, and is now creating high-tech manufacturing jobs of the type that can’t easily be done using low-cost offshore labor.”

Jan. 22, 2007 — NanoAndMore USA, a Lady’s Island, SC distributor of nanotechnology products including atomic force microscope (AFM) probes, announced that it had been named as the exclusive distributor for the US by NanoSight, a British manufacturer of particle size analyzers, and by Lyncée tec, the Swiss manufacturer of Digital Holographic Microscopes.

The NanoSight nano-particle size analyzers are promoted as doing what PCS and other light scattering methods do, in addition to tracking every particle and reporting on the total distribution of particle sizes by count and percentage. “The NanoSight LM-10 and LM-20 not only report on the predominant particle size but also on any other particles present in the solution.” said George McMurtry, president and founder of NanoAndMore in a prepared statement. “The instruments use Brownian motion to track the speed and distance each particle moves during a fixed period of time and can then very accurately graph the total distribution of particles from around 15nm to nearly 1µm. This may not replace PCS but it will certainly sit beside it as a second method of analysis.”

“This is the second major scientific instrument added to our products which was always part of the master plan for our company”, said McMurtry. “It joins Lyncée tec’s Digital Holographic Microscope and will be sold by utilizing our network of well established independent sales agents who we have known for several decades and are already selling into the scientific instrument marketplace. We have full coverage across the US.”

Jan. 19, 2007 — Alcoa announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with India’s Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) to partner in collaborative research projects that address critical global issues such as energy efficiency, alternative and renewable energy sources, environmental technologies as well as multi-material engineered solutions.

The MOU establishes the CSIR/Alcoa Leadership Innovation Council that will steer and support innovations that generate value for both organizations.

“CSIR is happy to partner with Alcoa on challenging R&D activities that will help make tomorrow’s world better,” said Director General R.A. Mashelkar of CSIR in a prepared statement. “We are looking forward to connecting researchers with common purposes and common goals around innovation.”

Both CSIR and Alcoa will each have four standing members on the council, which will be co-chaired by Swaminathan Sivaram, director of the National Chemistry Laboratory of CSIR, and Ashok Nayak, director of external innovations and technology strategy at Alcoa.

Some of the areas of initial focus include energy innovations to ensure long-term sustainability of operations, environmental innovations that use nanotechnology and biotechnology to convert waste to products, packaging innovations that provide next-generation solutions to customers, and multi-material engineered solutions for a number of markets.

Jan. 19, 2007 — JMAR Technologies Inc., a San Diego developer of advanced laser, high resolution imaging and photonics technologies, announced it has successfully hit the 50 nm resolution milestone targeted in the development of its compact soft X-ray microscope.

The company says its compact soft X-ray Microscope (XRM) bridges the sizeable gap between optical microscopes, which are typically greater than 200 nm resolution, and transmission electron microscopes that resolve feature sizes as small as 0.1 nm. Key advantages of the XRM include the ability to provide not only 2D images, but full 3D topographic reconstructions of whole cells, without altering the cell structure by slicing.

Additionally, soft X-rays provide natural contrast for cell imaging, eliminating the need for staining. This reduces sample preparation time and complexity, as compared to transmission electron microscopy, while still providing high resolution imaging.

“This is a significant milestone in the development of a commercially viable compact soft X-ray microscope. Researchers in the bio and life sciences will be able to do in their own labs what is currently only possible at a few large scale facilities worldwide,” said Oscar Hemberg, general manager of JMAR’s research division, in a prepared statement. “We are very excited over our development progress and the potential for high-resolution, single-cell tomography.”

JMAR is completing its first working prototype of the XRM. The company says there is active interest from several companies in partnering on the final development and commercialization of the instrument.

Jan. 18, 2007 — Nanomix Inc., an Emeryville, Calif., nanoelectronic detection company commercializing high-value diagnostic and monitoring applications, announced the award of a $1 million project grant from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The company said the grant will cover a three year period and will be developed in cooperation with the Naval Research Laboratories. The company did not disclose additional details. Nanomix’s Sensation platform enables detection of a broad array of chemical and bio molecules. The company claims it has high specificity and reproducibility, operates at room temperature, consumes little power, and permits both wireless integration and simple deployment.