Jmar Licenses CSU X-Ray Laser

SAN DIEGO, Feb. 13, 2006 -- Laser technology developer Jmar Technologies Inc. announced today that it has finalized a licensing agreement with Colorado State University (CSU) for the use of its discharge-pumped soft x-ray laser, developed at the Center for Extreme Ultraviolet Science and Technology, an Engineering Research Center (EUV ERC) funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and based at CSU. Jmar officials say the laser produces high-intensity soft x-ray radiation at a wavelength shorter than any other laser on the market and complements Jmar's laser-produced plasma x-ray source that produces even shorter wavelengths.

"The CSU soft x-ray laser enhances Jmar's ability to create an entirely new class of analytical instruments and nanostructure characterization tools," said Ronald A. Walrod, Jmar CEO. "Characterized by a combination of high-spatial resolution (50 nm) and ultrahigh detection sensitivity, Jmar's instruments and tools using CSU soft x-ray laser technology will enhance nanotechnology, life science and materials research."

Walrod says applications for these Jmar products include: geolocation for nuclear forensics, assessment of microbial mineralization, molecular uptake imaging for cancer therapy, cellular uptake of carcinogens, cosmochemistry analysis and defect-analysis and repairs for the semiconductor industry.

CSU electrical engineering professor Carmen Menoni, the lead principal investigator on the project, added, "This collaboration with Jmar started about six months ago. As an affiliate member of the NSF EUV ERC, Jmar became aware of the soft x-ray laser source and its potential applications through recent results obtained by our group in high-resolution imaging experiments. Jmar approached CSU to license our soft x-ray laser technology as the light source for a very high-resolution analytical chemistry tool. This alliance presents an opportunity for us to realize an important part of the EUV ERC mission -- to collaborate with industry to commercialize center technology."

The NSF EUV ERC is a collaboration between Colorado State University, the University of Colorado at Boulder, the University of California at Berkeley and the Center for X-Ray Optics at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. The EUV ERC develops compact extreme ultraviolet lasers and laser-like coherent sources and uses these sources in novel and challenging applications, such as high resolution imaging, spectroscopy and nanofabrication. For more information, visit: http://euverc.colostate.edu