The Nanoelectronic Road Ahead
Despite challenges, silicon offers 20 more years of semiconductor progress.

Increasingly smaller and faster semiconductor circuitry has fueled an information technology boom over the past four decades, producing cheaper and more powerful computing devices that have boosted virtually every aspect of our economy. But fundamental limits imposed by the laws of physics threaten to halt continued miniaturization, clouding the future of silicon-based semiconductors.

photo by Stanley Leary Though significant challenges lie ahead, the semiconductor industry has the potential for at least two more decades of continuing miniaturization, according to Jim Meindl, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Georgia Tech.

A paper published in the Sept. 14, 2001, issue of the journal Science provides some good news: though significant challenges lie ahead, the semiconductor industry has the potential for at least two more decades of continuing miniaturization.

That opportunity should encourage the research necessary to master nanometer-scale technologies needed to overcome these challenges, the paper's author contends.

"The laws of physics reveal the potential for 20 more years of exponential progress ahead of us," says James D. Meindl, a professor of electrical and computer engineering and director of the Microelectronics Research Center at the Georgia Institute of Technology. "If the engineers are clever enough – which historically they have been – they will be able to find ways to produce the nanoelectronic structures that physics says are feasible and reasonable."

Based on a comprehensive analysis of the fundamental, material, device, circuit and system limits on silicon semiconductors, Meindl predicts engineers will be able to downsize transistors by an additional factor of 10, producing terascale integration chips containing more than a trillion transistors. (Chips poised for production today contain a billion transistors).

Understanding the fundamental limits governing future miniaturization should give semiconductor companies the confidence to pursue costly nanotechnology innovations necessary to produce the trillion-transistor chips. The Georgia Tech paper is the first to provide a comprehensive look at those limits.

– John Toon

To read the complete article, see gtresearchnews.gatech.edu/newsrelease/FUTURECHIP.html.   For more information, contact James Meindl, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Tech, Atlanta, GA 30332-0269. (Telephone: 404-894-5101) (E-mail: james.meindl@mirc.gatech.edu).

Innovation Powerhouse
Georgia Tech forms VentureLab to accelerate technology commercialization and formation of new ventures from research.

For more than 40 years, the Georgia Institute of Technology has been an innovation powerhouse fueling development of new products and formation of technology-driven companies. To expand the amount of commercialization activity arising from its $300 million a year research program, Georgia Tech has established a new initiative known as VentureLab.

As a one-stop center for technology commercialization, VentureLab provides faculty a clear pathway from laboratory innovation to commercial market. It offers assistance throughout the process, including help in evaluating the commercial value of an innovation and guidance from entrepreneurs with experience in forming new companies.

"VentureLab provides comprehensive assistance to faculty members who want to commercialize the technology developed in their labs," says Wayne Hodges, associate vice president for Economic Development and Technology Ventures at Georgia Tech. "By providing the faculty with the right kind of support and working closely with other campus units providing complementary services, we expect to significantly improve the commercialization process and increase the economic return from Georgia Tech's top-ranked research program."

VentureLab builds on 20 years of experience at the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), one of the nation's most prestigious business incubators. During calendar 2000, companies associated with ATDC attracted nearly a half-billion dollars in investment.

Since 1992, ATDC has operated the Faculty Research Commercialization Program (FRCP), which provides small grants to help faculty move innovations from the laboratory to the commercial marketplace. From research at the six Georgia Research Alliance universities, FRCP has helped generate about $1 million in licensing revenue and create 22 new ventures that together produced $16 million in revenue.

"Our experience with commercializing faculty research and ATDC's 20 years of success together provide a strong foundation on which to build this new initiative," Hodges says. "With the exciting new entrepreneurship initiatives in the DuPree College of Management and expanded activities in the Office of Technology Licensing, now is the right time to launch a broad-based new technology commercialization effort at Georgia Tech."

– John Toon

To read the complete article, see www.atdc.org/news/november72001.html.   For more information, visit www.venturelab.gatech.edu, or contact Steve Derezinski, Advanced Technology Development Center, Georgia Tech, Atlanta, GA 30332-0390. (Telephone: 404-385-2346) (E-mail: steved@venturelab.gatech.edu).

Brainpower
Neural signals enable paralyzed patients to control computers through thought.

With cell phones, e-mail, pagers and plain old-fashioned conversation, most of us are overwhelmed with options to communicate. But for someone who is "locked-in" – cognitively aware but paralyzed by stroke, disease or injury – the body becomes a prison.

photo by Gary Meek Neural Signals, a company founded by former Georgia Institute of Technology researcher and physician Phillip Kennedy, is developing technologies that use brain and muscle electrical activity to help paralyzed patients communicate – and eventually restore movement. (300-dpi JPEG version - 456k)

The goal of Neural Signals, an Atlanta-based research and development company, is to win back some independence for the disabled. The company, founded by former Georgia Institute of Technology researcher and physician Phillip Kennedy, is developing technologies that use brain and muscle electrical activity to help paralyzed patients communicate – and eventually restore movement.

Neural Signals – which is part of the Georgia Tech-based business incubator, the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) – is making headway with two products:

The Brain Communicator. A tiny, hollow glass cone, filled with wires and chemicals that promote nerve growth, is implanted in a patient's brain. About the size of a ballpoint pen tip, this "neurotrophic electrode" records electrical activity from brain cells, then relays those signals to an amplifier and transmitter inserted just under the scalp, which sends the signals to a computer. By imagining movement, locked-in patients can control a virtual keyboard to access a word processor, speech synthesizer, the Internet or environmental controls such as lights, music and TV.

The Muscle Communicator. A non-invasive device that records electromyographic (EMG) signals, electrical measurements of muscle activity. Even if a person is not able to move, there may be some residual activity left in his or her surface muscles. EMG electrodes transmit these signals to a computer.

Using the same software as the Brain Communicator, the Muscle Communicator enables patients who are almost completely paralyzed to communicate via the computer or control electrical devices. The device targets anyone who suffers from a physical disability including brain-stem stroke patients and sufferers of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), muscular dystrophy and cerebral palsy.

– T.J. Becker, freelance writer

To read the complete article, see www.atdc.org/news/neural.html.   For more information, visit www.neuralsignals.com, or contact Phillip Kennedy, Neural Signals, 430 10th St., Suite N009, Atlanta, GA 30318 (Telephone: 404-872-5757) (E-mail: info@neuralsignals.com)

From Lab to Market
Faculty Research Commercialization Program advances technologies in genetics, sensing and medicine.

Stephen Traynelis could be onto something huge. Traynelis and Raymond Dingledine, researchers at Emory University School of Medicine's Rollins Research Center, are working on drugs to treat stroke and potentially other brain trauma. Their mission is to devise an effective therapy and build a company around it.

At this early stage, a $50,000 grant from the Advanced Technology Development Center's (ATDC) Faculty Research Commercialization Program (FRCP) is crucial to fund small, but essential steps toward the marketplace. The grant has allowed Traynelis and Dingledine to forge ahead with their next phase of experiments.

"It has been a tremendous help," Traynelis says.

That's the essence of the FRCP, a state-funded program to provide modest grants to help faculty at the state's six Georgia Research Alliance universities move research projects "one step closer to commercialization," says Steve Derezinski, a venture catalyst at Georgia Tech's ATDC and manager of the program. What makes FRCP different, he adds, is that, unlike many academic grants, FRCP funds can be spent on pursuits other than pure academic research, such as building a prototype device to show potential investors.

The FRCP was launched in 1992, shortly after the formation of the Georgia Research Alliance, and has awarded about $3 million in grants, Derezinski says.

FRCP has helped launch several companies that are operating successfully. A sampling includes:

AkroMetrix, founded by Georgia Tech mechanical engineering Professor Charles Ume. The company designs a measurement system to detect warping in printed circuit boards.

Photonic Sensor System, a 1993 FRCP grant recipient that designs "biochips" used to identify human genes and proteins. Genomic Solutions Inc. of Ann Arbor, Mich., recently agreed to invest as much as $10 million in the company.

CAMotion, a 1997 grant winner, creates motion control software that helps robots "learn" on the fly and thus perform tasks in manufacturing plants that have traditionally required humans.

For fiscal year 2002, seven faculty members received FRCP grants.

– Charles Davidson, freelance writer

To read the complete article, see www.atdc.org/news/september42001.html.   For more information, contact Steve Derezinski, Advanced Technology Development Center, Georgia Tech, Atlanta, GA 30332-0390. (Phone: 404-385-2360) (E-mail: steve.derezinski@atdc.org)

Engineering Edibles
Georgia Tech researchers bring innovation to the food industry.

Robotic fingers grasp food packages and place them in shipping containers, grapefruit whiz by high-speed inspection cameras and an automated visual inspection system examines chicken parts for traces of bone missed during deboning.

photo by Gary Meek GTRI systems analyst Joe Thompson types a message on a wearable computer system. A tiny view screen is attached to the earphones.

It isn't the production floor of a major food processor, but the research lab of the Food Processing Technology Division at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

This is where Georgia Tech scientists and researchers work daily to develop and test technology to advance the operating capabilities of the food processing industry through two programs, the Agricultural Technology Research Program (ATRP) and Georgia's Traditional Industries Program for Food Processing, which is managed through the Food Processing Advisory Council (FoodPAC).

"The food processing industry relies heavily on third-party equipment manufacturers to develop and introduce new processing technologies. This tack reduces industry risk, but also limits innovation," says Craig Wyvill, director of the Food Processing Technology Division, part of the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI).

Founded in 1973, Georgia Tech's ATRP is one of the oldest and largest agricultural technology research and development programs in the nation. Its poultry industry focus is directed at innovations ranging from biosensors to test poultry for salmonella and other harmful bacteria to a portable computer system for screening the risk of worker injury on the job.

ATRP is also developing information technology systems for the food industry. Voice-operated wearable computers have been used in Claxton Poultry's processing plant in Claxton, Ga. The system is used to record data gathered during processing, says Jennifer Stavriotis, hazard analysis critical control point coordinator at the plant.

– Maria M. Lameiras

To read the complete article, see gtalumni.org/news/magazine/fall01/research.html#article2.   For more information, contact Craig Wyvill, Food Processing Technology Division, Georgia Tech Research Institute, Atlanta, GA 30332-0823. (Telephone: 404-894-3412) (E-mail: craig.wyvill@gtri.gatech.edu).

Faculty Awards and Honors
Georgia Tech faculty and staff receive recognition.

Krishan Ahuja, a Regents Researcher and Georgia Institute of Technology professor of aerospace engineering, was elected to the grade of fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. AIAA fellows are researchers who have made "notable and valuable contributions" to the profession. Ahuja studies aeroacoustics at the Georgia Tech Research Institute. (See the faculty profile on Ahuja in this issue of RESEARCH HORIZONS.)

El-Sayed

Regents Professor Mostafa A. El-Sayed, the Julius Brown Professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, will receive the 2002 Irving Langmuir Award in Chemical Physics, the nation's highest prize in the field. El-Sayed earned the Langmuir Award for his work using short-burst lasers to study the transportation of electrons within different materials, including semi-conductor and metallic nanoparticles and photosynthetic systems. He will be honored for his achievement at the American Chemical Society awards ceremony on April 9 during the 223rd ACS National Meeting in Orlando, Fla.

Mostafa Ammar, a professor in the College of Computing was named a fellow by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Board of Directors. Ammar was chosen for his contributions to the design of scalable multimedia services and their network support. The grade of fellow is conferred by the Board of Directors upon a person with an extraordinary record of accomplishments in any of the IEEE fields of interest. About 250 fellow awards are named each year for the entire IEEE, which has a membership of about 250,000.

Flannery

Regents Professor M. Raymond Flannery of the School of Physics has earned the 2001 Sir David Bates Prize from the Institute of Physics in the United Kingdom. Flannery was awarded the prize for his distinguished contributions to the field of theoretical atomic physics and, in particular, for his studies of recombination processes with applications to astrophysics and plasma physics.

Ian Akyildiz, the Byers Professor of Telecommunications in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, was awarded the 2002 Harry Goode Memorial Award by the IEEE Computer Society. Akyildiz was recognized for significant and pioneering contributions to advanced architectures and protocols for wireless and satellite networking. The award is based on a researcher's outstanding achievements in the information processing field – either a single contribution of theory, design or technique or the accumulation of important contributions on theory or practice over time.

Also see Research Notes news stories.

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Last updated: Feb. 9, 2002