NORTH BRANCH, N.J., Jan. 13, 2006 -- Voltaix Inc., a manufacturer of specialty gases and chemicals that enhance the performance of electronic and photonic devices, was awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation SBIR/STTR Program to accelerate the development of silicon-germanium (SiGe) technology that uses molecules designed by John Kouvetakis, a professor at Arizona State University, and his team to enable new approaches to computer chip design and fabrication. Voltaix secured worldwide exclusive rights to the technology through a licensing agreement with Arizona Technology Enterprises, Arizona State University's technology commercialization company. The technology reduces power consumption, increases performance and enables low-temperature deposition of high-germanium-content SiGe films that could revolutionize the production of CMOS-integrated michroelectromechanical systems (MEMS), said John de Neufville, president of Voltaix. The grant provides support of the project "STTR Phase I: Germyl Silanes-Enabling Precursors for Chemical Vapor Deposition of Advanced CMOS Substrates, CMOS-Integrated MEMS, and Nano-Scale Quantum-Dot Silicon Photonics." The funds will support development efforts at Voltaix and ASU. The company's products include germane, silicon tetrafluoride, trimethylsilane (3MS) and Silcore. For more information, visit: www.voltaix.com