Contact: Maridith Geuder
A Starkville-based high-technology company launched from a Mississippi State research program is receiving $750,000 from the U.S. Department of Defense to continue its research in silicon carbide.
SemiSouth Laboratories Inc., an incubator business housed at the Mississippi Research and Technology Park adjacent to the university, recently was awarded a second Small Business Innovation Research grant from the federal agency's Ballistic Missile Defense Organization.
SBIR grants are highly competitive funding sources for companies whose work is deemed important to the U.S. military and the national economy. Selected projects also must have the potential to be transferred to commercial production.
Silicon carbide is used to make integrated computer circuit chips. Semiconductors made from the material are especially effective in high-temperature, high-power and high-frequency circuits such as long-range radar, air traffic control radar, power management systems, and medical devices.
SemiSouth Laboratories grew out of faculty research in the emerging silicon carbide semiconductor field, said Robert A. Altenkirch, MSU research vice president.
"The university assigned the technology's intellectual property rights to the nonprofit MSU Research and Technology Corp., which holds equity in SemiSouth for the benefit of the university," he said. The RTC has a goal of extending the impact and commercial potential of research at Mississippi State, he added.
Total sales of devices and materials made from silicon carbide in 2001 are estimated to reach $250 million. According to Wall Street analysts, the total market is expected to expand at a 26 percent rate over the long term.
"Silicon carbide is a breakthrough technology," said Michael S. Mazzola, MSU associate professor of electrical and computer engineering. "Because it could result in a dramatic improvement over traditional chips, DoD includes it among the 'critical' technologies."
Mazzola, whose research led to the company's creation, and assistant professor Jeff Casady are SemiSouth's founding members.
SemiSouth president Charles Grayson, who is not affiliated with MSU, said the company initially received $100,000 last year from the department after successfully demonstrating the scientific and commercial merits of its work.
"Based on our success, we were invited to apply for a second phase of funding," he said. "This $750,000 Phase II award will allow us to further develop the concept and take it to the prototype stage."
With this latest grant, SemiSouth moves to the design of one product within the field of radio frequency devices. "These devices are very complicated and difficult to manufacture, but we have some new ideas about accomplishing the task at lower costs," Grayson explained.
Through its MSU link, the company will draw on campus research facilities that include the nation's only university-based silicon carbide electronics prototyping facility. When complete, California-based defense contractor Lockheed Martin will independently test the prototype product.
"This is an outstanding example of applying research to real-world needs as we advance the economic development capabilities of our state," vice president Altenkirch said.