Mar 27 2008
The nanotechnology company Carbon Nanoprobes Inc. (CN Probes) was awarded an Industrial Incentive Grant from the Materials Research Institute of Penn State this week. The Materials Research Institute will provide funds for CN Probes newly established fabrication project at Penn State. Theresa S Mayer, PhD and Director of the Nanofabrication Network Facility was "very pleased to extend this opportunity to CN Probes and looks forward to working with …CN Probes on this project."
ANews Images explained by the company's CEO, 24-year-old Brian Ruby, "We take pictures of tiny things. We're nanophotographers and our pictures provide value to scientists in multiple fields." The Grant funding will be used to complete the development and launch of CN Probes' flagship product, a carbon nanotube probe tip for the atomic force microscope (AFM). The product is a revolutionary imaging platform, allowing scientists and engineers in multiple fields, from biotech to chip fabrication, to, as CN Probes' tagline proclaims, "See more and know more."
Silicon pyramids are the standard used as probes for AFM today by most biotechnology companies. However, some of their inherent properties currently limit the applicability of AFM to a wider and more demanding range of applications.
Key manufacturing challenges exist in the production of carbon nanotube probe tips. CN Probes has a continually growing IP portfolio designed with these challenges in mind. The nanotechnology company expects a release of its signature products some time in 2008. CN Probes is confident that the introduction of their carbon nanotube probe tips will have a positive impact in the AFM industry, specifically in the semiconductor, biotechnology, academic and research industries.