DENDRITECH RECEIVES $100,000 GRANT FOR CIRCUITRY RESEARCH

 

July 17, 2007

(MIDLAND, MI) - As microprocessing power grows greater over the next five to ten years, the components on circuit boards will need to be better insulated from the rigors of the heat generated by the electrical bursts racing through. Dr. Petar Dvornic thinks he has a way to make that happen.

Dendritech, Inc. has been awarded a grant totaling $100,000 from the National Science Foundation to conduct research on microcircuitry interlayer dielectrics, which are key components in virtually every electronic device in use today. The six-month project recently got underway, and if the research goes well, it could have extensive commercial consequences, says Dvornic, lead scientist on the project.

"When you talk about microcircuitry, as processors and the other components grow in power while shrinking in physical size, the spacing between the conducting lines has to shrink accordingly," Dvornic says. "Otherwise, the evolution of microelectronics will be stalled by this insulation shortcoming. With this in mind, we've set out to develop a method - using Dendritech's PAMAMOS dendrimers - that will be based on honeycomb-like nanosctructured films to allow for decreased spacing between conductors."

Dvornic says success on this project would enable miniaturization two to three times greater than the current standards. "Current technology is based on the 65 nanometer node," Dvornic says. "A year ago, it was 90. Within five to ten years, it should be somewhere near the 22 nanometer node. Materials are under development with that type of spacing in mind, so the advancement of microprocessing hinges on the ability to reduce those gaps without losing any of the essential insulating properties."

"If this technology proves out and is adopted," Dvornic adds, "it will be huge. There aren't many electronic devices in today's world - computers, cell phones, mobile electronics - that don't use integrated circuitry. The commercial possibilities for this research are enormous."

Dendritech, Inc. is a privately-held company established in 1992 whose main focus is the manufacture and sale of specialty dendrimers. Its operations include a 10-acre multi-million dollar manufacturing plant located in Eastwick Industrial Park in Midland, Mich. For more information about Dendritech, call 989.496.1152.