4 April 2011

Group4 Labs to site manufacturing facility at Ualbany’s CNSE

New York State’s Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that Silicon Valley firm Group4 Labs Inc of Fremont, CA, USA is opening a manufacturing facility at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) of the University at Albany — State University of New York (SUNY).

Founded in Menlo Park, CA in 2003, Group4 Labs develops and supplies ‘extreme materials’ that aim to improve the performance of gallium nitride (GaN) based devices. The firm’s technology enables epitaxial GaN layers to be atomically attached (regardless of lattice mismatch) to a free-standing, proprietary chemical-vapor-deposited (CVD) synthetic polycrystalline diamond substrate. The wafer’s GaN exterior then presents an atomically smooth finish with a gallium-facing surface that is epi-ready for further epitaxial deposition. Resultant devices exhibit improved efficiency and hence reduced energy consumption, as well as high temperature resilience and thermal conductivity, for very high-power, high-frequency electronic, solid-state white lighting, military and photonics applications, including in radar systems, smart phones, tablet computers and cellular transmission towers.

Investment of $1.5m in the new plant is coming from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), whose interest stems from the potential to reduce energy use through more efficient chip designs (reducing the use of fossil fuels as well as greenhouse gas emissions). “Under Governor Cuomo's leadership, NYSERDA remains committed to nurturing innovative clean-energy companies as part of our larger effort to create jobs and build an environmentally friendly economy in the state,” says NYSERDA’s president & CEO Francis J. Murray Jr. This deal is also expected to leverage an additional $4m in private funding.

The firm will lease space in CNSE’s cleanroom and install its own equipment there. Group4 Labs New York should start manufacturing by this summer and create 10 jobs initially, rising to a targeted 50 in the Capital Region ultimately by 2015.

The firm previously announced a manufacturing and test facility in Syracuse, NY, which is expected to grow to about 94 jobs by 2015. Group4 already provides its product to Lockheed Martin in Syracuse for use in its radar equipment. “We like New York because of the talent that is available, and the incubation resources at CNSE, and because of the fact that it is close to our customers,” comments CEO & co-founder Felix Ejeckam.

“Bringing business to our state and creating jobs is essential to getting New York back on the right path,” Cuomo said. “As part of our state’s recovery, we must maximize New York’s reputation in innovative nanotechnology and we look forward to working with Group4 Labs to bring good jobs to the Albany and Syracuse areas.”

Tags: Group4 Labs GaN

Visit: www.Group4Labs.com

Visit: http://cnse.albany.edu

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