Mass High Tech June 7, 2004

Nantero to work with LSI Logic on nanotube CMOS chips

Woburn-based Nantero Inc. is teaming with LSI Logic Corp. to develop semiconductor process technology that will use carbon nanotubes in complementary metal oxide semiconductor CMOS chip fabrication.

The joint development project is taking place at Calif.-based LSI Logic's Gresham, Ore., manufacturing campus. Financial details of the partnership were not released.

The high electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity and tensile strength of carbon nanotubes make them a desirable technology for electronic device applications. According to Nantero, these properties enable performance breakthroughs both through incorporation into existing semiconductor products and in the development of next-generation products.

“LSI Logic has all of the necessary ingredients to accelerate the development of carbon nanotubes in CMOS: a strong focus on innovation, a highly qualified engineering team, and a world-class fab,” said Greg Schmergel, Nantero’s co-founder and CEO, in a statement. “All of these factors and more make LSI Logic an ideal partner for us in developing Nantero's carbon nanotube technology for high-volume manufacturing.”

On its own, Nantero is continuing to develop NRAM, a high-density nonvolatile random access storage device. The potential applications for NRAM include the ability to enable instant-on computers and to replace the memory in devices such as cell phones, MP3 players, digital cameras, and PDAs, as well as applications in the networking arena.