Keithley partners with Suny-Albany’s NanoTech Center

Albany, N.Y.—Keithley Instruments Inc. is partnering with the Albany NanoTech Center at the State University of New York (SUNY) Albany to share research information and cooperate to further the understanding of nanotechnology and optoelectronics technologies.

Albany, N.Y.— Keithley Instruments Inc. is partnering with the Albany NanoTech Center at the State University of New York (SUNY) Albany to share research information and cooperate to further the understanding of nanotechnology and optoelectronics technologies. Keithley is also giving Albany NanoTech a semiconductor device characterization system, which can making measurements on nano-sized devices.

‘The addition of this test equipment will have a great impact on several research programs being undertaken at Albany NanoTech, including development of electronic devices based on carbon nanotubes; molecular electronics and spintronics; and development of Gallium-Arsenide-based and Gallium-Nitride-based optoelectronic devices, such as photo detectors, light emitting diodes and vertical cavity surface-emitting and edge-emitting lasers,’ says Dr. Fatemeh (Shadi) Shahedipour-Sandvik, assistant professor and scientist at the SUNY Albany’s School of NanoSciences and NanoEngineering.

Mark Hoersten, Keithley’s business management VP, adds that, ‘Keithley expects to learn much from our information exchange with Albany NanoTech, and apply that knowledge to the products we create for the nanotechnology industry in the future. Our industry’s collective ability to solve the complexities of making accurate connections and measurements at the nano level will play a significant role in determining how rapidly these exciting innovations move into full-scale production. What we learn in partnerships with Albany NanoTech and other leaders in this field are critically important windows into the needs of our customers.’

Keithley adds that electronic nanodevices are extraordinarily small and typically produce tiny signals, and that measuring these signals accurately demands very sensitive instruments. The equipment that Albany NanoTech Center will use from Keithley, the Model 4200-SCS Semiconductor Characterization System, offers sub-femtoamp (10-15) current measurement resolution. Model 4200-SCS is being used in nanotech research facilities worldwide because it can make extremely sensitive measurements, has open architecture, and is easy to use. This makes it useful in many applications, such as current-voltage characterization of carbon nanotube electronics, molecular electronics, optoelectronics, and materials research.

Control Engineering Daily News DeskJim Montague, news [email protected]