Electroplating – the process of using electricity to deposit one metal onto another – originated in the 19th century and can be found in everything from pennies to gold-topped cathedrals.
But electroplating is no easy task when you’re creating groundbreaking microscale technology, as Kwame Amponsah ’06, M.Eng ’08, M.S. ’12, Ph.D. ’14, discovered several years ago while trying to fabricate microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices at the Cornell NanoScale Science and Technology Facility (CNF). Amponsah is CEO of the startup Xallent, which builds nanoscale software and hardware products to test semiconductors and thin-film materials.
Their fabrication dilemma had computer science vs information technology and his engineers stumped.
“We tried to do this kind of electroplating, but we weren’t getting the results that we wanted,” he said. “Then we involved the CNF staff.”
Founded in 1977, CNF enables scientists and engineers from academia and industry to conduct micro- and nanoscale research with state-of-the-art technology and expertise from its 23-member technical staff.
But perhaps the facility’s greatest breakthrough is helping launch startup companies in New York state. Over the last four decades, at least 34 startups have launched at CNF and continue to use its services, with 14 – including Xallent – forming in the last ten years. These companies annually generate about $1.4 billion in funding and revenue.
But electroplating is no easy task when you’re creating groundbreaking microscale technology, as Kwame Amponsah ’06, M.Eng ’08, M.S. ’12, Ph.D. ’14, discovered several years ago while trying to fabricate microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices at the Cornell NanoScale Science and Technology Facility (CNF). Amponsah is CEO of the startup Xallent, which builds nanoscale software and hardware products to test semiconductors and thin-film materials.
Their fabrication dilemma had computer science vs information technology and his engineers stumped.
“We tried to do this kind of electroplating, but we weren’t getting the results that we wanted,” he said. “Then we involved the CNF staff.”
Founded in 1977, CNF enables scientists and engineers from academia and industry to conduct micro- and nanoscale research with state-of-the-art technology and expertise from its 23-member technical staff.
But perhaps the facility’s greatest breakthrough is helping launch startup companies in New York state. Over the last four decades, at least 34 startups have launched at CNF and continue to use its services, with 14 – including Xallent – forming in the last ten years. These companies annually generate about $1.4 billion in funding and revenue.
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