Technology Licensing Firm InterCrossIP Signs Exclusive Global Agreements for Commercialization of Thin Film Deposition Technology; Seeks Interested Parties for Exclusive Global Sublicenses.

PMOD Thin Film Deposition Used With Electronic Materials to Produce Linewidths Below 5 Nanometers; InterCrossIP Specializes in Enabling Materials for Electronics, Solar, MEMS, bioMEMS, and Medical Devices

SAN FRANCISCO -- InterCrossIP Management LLC has signed exclusive, global license agreements with Ceimig Ltd., a specialty chemical manufacturer in Dundee, Scotland, and Simon Fraser University (SFU) in Burnaby, British Columbia, for the commercialization of a thin film deposition technology platform based on organometallic precursors.

Photochemical Metal Organic Deposition (PMOD[TM]) technology has significant advantages in the printing and production of integrated circuits. PMOD is used to deposit thin (<200nm) layers of metals such as Au and Pt, metal oxides such as Al2O3, ZnO and TiO2, and mixed metal oxides such as BaTiO3, PZT and ITO. These materials can be directly patterned to line widths below 5nm. The combined IP portfolios include 14 issued and 7 pending US patents, with numerous international counterparts.

InterCrossIP seeks inquiries from parties interested in exclusive global sublicenses of PMOD for application-specific fields of use. Additional application-specific development and samples can be arranged by InterCrossIP.

Benefits of PMOD

Deposition with PMOD has several unique benefits not achievable with other types of deposition:

1. PMOD is a low temperature process, compatible with plastic substrates

2. PMOD has the ability to pattern materials that cannot be etched

3. With PMOD metal lines can be patterned using ink jet printing

PMOD Thin Film Deposition

PMOD was developed in the early 1990's independently at SFU by a team led by Professor Ross Hill and in Dundee, Scotland by Ceimig's founder, Dr. James Thomson, according to Dr. Michael A. Fury, Founder and Managing Director at InterCrossIP. Instead of using sputtering or CVD to deposit thin films, with PMOD an organometallic precursor is deposited on a substrate by any one of several deposition methods (spin-on from liquid; inkjet printing; dip or meniscus coating; vapor sublimation). The precursor is then converted to a metal or metal oxide using flood ebeam or UV. If exposing the material through a mask or using direct-write ebeam, the process converts and patterns the film in one step, eliminating a number of steps in typical subtractive processing (blanket deposition, photoresist, exposure, develop, plasma etch, resist strip, and clean). Linewidths of 20nm have been demonstrated, and it is expected that linewidths <5nm are readily achievable with ebeam or nanoimprint lithography.

PMOD Applications

Applications for PMOD materials cover the full spectrum of electronic technologies, as well as many fields outside of electronics.

* High quality dielectrics have been fabricated for very thin capacitors, enabling printed passives to replace surface mount discretes.

* Platinum and gold interconnect traces have been deposited on a variety of rigid and flexible substrates.

* PMOD Pt has been used successfully as a transistor gate electrode.

* Electrostatic wafer chucks can be repaired or enhanced using a PMOD alumina like a spin-on glass.

* Nanoscale features can be patterned in one step using direct-write ebeam or nanoimprint lithography.

* When formulated as inks for inkjet printing, PMOD materials can inexpensively produce features needed for printed electronics, RFID, MEMS, and bioMEMS devices.

Background Information:

Ceimig is a manufacturer of specialty chemicals, specializing in precious metals and organometallics for catalysis and thin films. Through its relationship with Ceimig, InterCrossIP can arrange for production of PMOD chemistries, from samples to full production volumes.

With Simon Fraser University, the PMOD development team at Simon Fraser has formed 4D Labs and moved into a dedicated multi-million dollar facility on the SFU campus for cross-disciplinary research in clean energy, advanced electronic, photonic and magnetic devices, and electronic biosystems for improved health care. Through its relationship with SFU and 4D Labs, InterCrossIP can arrange for application-specific PMOD development projects as requested by interested parties.

InterCrossIP Patent Licensing

InterCrossIP Management LLC is a San Francisco-based technology licensing and commercialization firm specializing in enabling materials for electronics, solar, MEMS, bioMEMS, and medical applications. InterCrossIP is affiliated with Hultquist Capital LLC, an investment banking firm specializing in M&A and strategic advice for technology companies.