BTG makes available a chalcogenide laser for license

West Conshohocken, PA, April 27, 2004--BTG announced that it is offering for license patented, fundamental chalcogenide semiconductor-laser technology, which can offer advantages for sensing and laser-ablation applications. The technology package, originally developed at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (Livermore, CA), provides a tunable and more economical alternative to products already available on the market. A commercial prototype is currently under development at Canada's INO (Sainte-Foy, Quebec, Canada) and will be available to demonstrate this technology in mid-2004.

The laser's configuration is versatile, both in application flexibility and potential implementation. Unlike currently available lasers in the 2- to 3-micron wavelength range, this laser's properties can be easily adjusted by changing either the doping material or the crystal material. In addition, the technology promises to be a low-cost alternative to other solid-state lasers because it is based on low-cost materials, existing pump sources, and established crystal-growth and fabrication techniques. The laser is applicable to the medical, sensing, military, and other fields.

BTG invests in intellectual property, technology development, and early-stage ventures. It realizes profits through technology licensing, patent assertion, and disposal of equity investments. The company relies on specialists' skills in science and technology to develop products in the health and high tech sectors. Its past successes include magnetic-resonance imaging, multilevel-cell (MLC) memory, and factor IX blood-clotting protein, the first recombinant treatment for Hemophilia B.