DAILY NEWS AND INFORMATION FOR THE GLOBAL GRID COMMUNITY / SEPTEMBER 22, 2003: VOL. 2 NO. 38    ( Table of Contents )

Breaking News - Networking:

4Wave Awarded $2 Million from NIST To Develop Optical Filter

4Wave Inc, a thin film deposition development company, has been awarded a $1.97 million grant from the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Advanced Technology Program (ATP) to develop a four-channel miniature optical filter chip. The chip will be a coarse wave division multiplexer (CWDM) for use in 10-Gigabit Ethernet transceivers. Development includes the continued innovation of a thin film deposition technique called Biased Target Ion Beam Deposition (BTIBD).

"We are very encouraged by the ATP grant," said Trey Middleton, 4Wave's vice president of business development. "The BTIBD technique and the multi-filter chip will enable nanotechnology companies to develop advanced devices not currently possible."

Compared to today's products, 4Wave's four-channel CWDM mux/demux optical filter will be 250 times smaller, far more reliable and up to 80 percent less expensive to manufacture. Critical components of the chip include four optical filters and a reflective mirror all fabricated on a single glass substrate interlaced with channels for linking to other elements of optical assemblies. This single-chip integration breaks new ground in the communications industry and will help meet the emerging demand for CWDMs driven by new IEEE standards for 10-Gigabit Ethernet transceivers, a market estimated to reach $4.4 billion by 2005.

4Wave is a Milestone Equity Partners portfolio company. Milestone's Chris Bradley commented, "Despite optical industry challenges, 4Wave's commitment to their technology and business opportunity has been unwavering. 4Wave is lighting a path to significant growth in the optical, storage and nanotechnology industries."