SAN DIEGO, Feb. 22 -- Jmar Technologies Inc. announced it has received $3.5 million in funding from the US Department of Defense (DoD) under a previously announced $34.5 million defense contract to continue development of a compact soft x-ray light source for applications that would otherwise require access to a synchrotron facility. The funds will be used to make the compact x-ray source sufficiently robust for continuous operation and to advance its performance, reliability and maintainability, Jmar said. "Enhancements such as improving laser produced plasma (LPP) source laser-to-x-ray conversion efficiency, refining the debris management approach and completing development and testing of an improved LPP target delivery subsystem will ultimately make this technology more readily usable by the Department of Defense and other potential customers," said Scott Bloom, general manager of Jmar's research division. JMAR has developed advanced LPP x-ray source technology for semiconductor nanolithography under a multiyear contract with the DoD. In conjunction with its ongoing work for the DoD, JMAR has expanded the research and commercial application of the technology by producing soft x-ray light at wavelengths optimized for advanced instrument functions, including high-resolution microscopy and chemical analysis and fabrication at the nanoscale. "This funding, along with a previously announced award of $2.1 million from the Naval Air Warfare Center for x-ray mask development, allows us to develop the enabling x-ray source and mask technology for nanolithography," said Ronald Walrod, Jmar's CEO. "And it is this x-ray source and the resultant fine-featured nanolithography that will dramatically reduce the cost of x-ray optics and make soft-x-ray-based instruments economically feasible for defense and commercial applications." In addition to the funding provided by these contracts, Jmar said it is investing its own funds, augmented by its recent $4 million financing, to help accelerate development of its compact x-ray microscope and x-ray nanoprobe. Jmar makes laser-based equipment for imaging, analysis and fabrication at the nanoscale. For more information, visit: www.jmar.com