November 23, 2005, Rochester, NY--The University of Rochester's Center for Electronic Imaging Systems (CEIS) has received $1 million from the state of New York to help develop technology in the Rochester area that focuses on shrinking computer circuits beyond the microelectronics scale to the nanoelectronics scale. The technology will include nano and optoelectronics.
Current research in microelectronics design technologies is focused on placing millions of transistors on a common substrate to implement a large variety of digital and analog functions. As transistors are reduced in scale from micrometers to nanometers, complexity moves from millions of transistors on a chip to billions, and operating speeds increase from a gigahertz to tens of gigahertz.
Members of CEIS expect that products and technologies that exist today as electronic imaging systems will exhibit explosive commercial growth when combined with micro and nanoelectronic integrated circuits (ICs). These ICs will incorporate electrical and photonic pathways and interfaces to increase computational bandwidth, reduce susceptibility to interference, and lower power consumption while reducing cost in such consumer applications as computers, game devices, home-entertainment systems, and communications devices. Complete camera systems on single ICs will enable low-cost imaging devices for security, medical imaging, sports, and automotive equipment.
"These awards will support the world-class innovation being done by some of the best young minds at New York's colleges and universities and will complement our other high-tech economic development initiatives such as our Centers of Excellence program," New York governor George Pataki said.
The award, given by the New York State Office of Technology and Academic Research (NYSTAR), recognizes CEIS as a nationally significant and growing center for micro and nanoelectronics design for imaging systems and augments research efforts over the next three years by reaching out across the state to further develop technologies and expertise through networking, education, and training.