Industrial Interactions

Interactions with Companies in New York State

1. Veeco , Plainview.
   AMS contact: Dr. Y. Deng

   The problems considered are to find optimal conditions for ion-assisted deposition to achieve a particular micro-strcture and to attain uniformity of coverage and for etching to form a desired structure; to improve the design of deposition/etching equipment for the manufacture of 8-inch wafers; and to understand nano wire design and properties.

2. PALL Corporation
   AMS contact: Dr. S. Finch

   Hemoglobine Studies

3. Biota , Valley Stream, NY
   AMS contact: Dr. C. Fortmann

   The fundamentals of amorphous silicon electronic transport is studied by simulation. The simulaton is based on a stochastic model in which charge carriers move in a random field of hop sites. Both drift and diffusion are simulated. Thus far, the three dimensional version of the simulation has been applied to solar cell and thin-film-transistor device geometeries. In the case of solar cells the code has identified by a charge accumulation mechanism responsible to efficiency reducing field distortions. The model is expected to make an even greater impact on thin-film-transistor design consideraitions.

4. Biota, Valley Stream, NY
   AMS contact: Dr. C. Fortmann

   Advanced Power Transistor Design. New improved power transistor designed based on thin film silicon materials have been developed. These new designs have moved from theoretical studies to the present proof of concept devices. The research component of this activity involves a collaboraiton between SUNY Stony Brook, SUNY Buffalo and Biota Corp (of Long Island). We expect to produce and market these devices through collaboration with an established power transistor manufacturer. Thus far, Biota Corporation has made an initial contact with the recently restructured Fairchild Corp.

5. Plasma Physics Inc, Glenn Cove, NY
   AMS contact: Dr. C. Fortmann, J. Glimm, and S. Luryi (EE)

   Optical Crystals. A new class of phonic crystalline materials have been developed by a collaboration lead by SUNY Stony Brook Applied Math. The collaboration includes SUNY Stony Brook Applied Math, and Electrical Engineering, Plasma Physics Corp and the Naval Research Laboratory. A broad patent description has been generated and is presently being processed. Further, theoretical and technical issues related to these new photonic materials are presently under active developement. Mathematical activities include aspects of materials generation as well as light propagation in three dimensional arrays of refractive index varied media.

6. Northrup-Grumman Corporate Research Center, Bethpage, NY 11714
   AMS contact: Dr. Wing Chui, Dr. James Glimm and Dr. Folkert Tangerman

   Nortrup-Grumman employs the Resin Transfer Molding process for the manufacture of light-weight reinforced composite materials. The goal of this interaction is to develop computer models which forecast the amount of potentially disastrous micro-voids in these materials as a function of the details of the manufacturing process (ongoing).

7. Syngen Corporation
   AMS contact: Dr. J. Mitchell.

   Optical Character Recognition.

8. (PRA) Photon Research Associates, North Country Road, Port Jefferson, NY 11777
   AMS contact: Dr. Joe Mitchell

   PRA is involved in the design of automated sensor systems which detect incoming ballistic missiles in a noisy background (clouds etc.). In order for such a system to work it is important that the raw data it generates be processed in real time. The objective of this interaction is the construction of efficient data compression algorithms for multi-spectral images, which preserve the ability to discriminate missiles from (simulated) backgrounds (ongoing).

9. Plasma Physics Lab, Locust Valley, NY 11560
   AMS contacts: Dr. Yuefan Deng, Dr. Charles Fortman.

   The objective is to develop a quantitative model for the deposition of amorphous silicon for flat panel displays. This is effected by adding more physical realism to the molecular dynamics software designed by Dr. Deng. The scientific objective is to use a molecular description of the process to predict macroscopic properties of the resulting thin film (ongoing).

10. IBM, Watson Research Center
    AMS contact: Dr. J. Glimm, Dr. F. Tangerman.

    Depostion and Etching. Numerical simulation of the equations governing the evolving surface are simulated by a new method based on computational geometry. Solution of the major obstacle to these simulations (de-looping) has been largely overcome. Specific focus has been on inherently three dimensional features of the deposition-etching process, such as formation of three dimensional corners at the intersection of cusp lines, and the three dimensional geometry of pinch off (void formation) in the metalization of narrow aspect ratio trenches.

11. Suffolk Water Authority
    AMS contact: Dr. James Glimm, Dr. Brent Lindquist

    In this project we study the influence of pollutants on the groundwater in a region of Long Island. Our main tool is our groundwater transport code.

Interactions with Out-of-State Companies

1. Chevron, British Petroleum
   AMS contact: Dr. Lian Jun An, Dr. James Glimm and Dr. Brent Lindquist

   In collaboration with Chevron, BP and Los Alamos National Lab we are investigating strategies for the scale-up of small scale petroleum transport models in heterogeneous rock formations. This involves the mathematical formulation of larger scale effective models and their evaluation through ensemble averaging. This project is a heavy user of our parallel computer (ongoing).

2. Ferrofluidics
   AMS contact: Dr. James Glimm

   With Ferrofluidics, airforce laboratories and the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Stony Brook, we are constructing a simulation of Indium Phosphide crystal growth processes. These crystals are used to for the manufacture of opto-electronic devices (ongoing).

3. Kimberley-Clark
   AMS contact: Dr. B. Lindquist

   The charcterization of paper as a porous medium.

4. Boeing Aircraft
   AMS contact: Dr. Joe Mittchel

   The main issue is this collaboration is the development of sufficiently fast graphics routines for Boeing's Virtual Reality program. This program is used in the design of airplanes: these are many components systems which have to 'fit' together and be accessible for repair (ongoing).

5. EPRI (Electrical Power Research Insitute), Palo Alto, CA
   AMS contact: Dr. S. Finch

   With EPRI we made a statistical study of the health effects (death and morbidity) of ozone and other pollutants produced by electrical power plants.

6. Solustan, MA
   AMS contact: Dr. Joe Mitchell and Dr. Martin Held

   We are examining optimal tool path planning problems for use in engraving, routing, rapid prototyping, and sign-making. Solustan markets software products to drive relatively low-cost milling and cutting machines.

7. Bridgeport Machines, Bridgeport CN
   AMS contact: Dr. M. Held, and Dr. J. Mitchell.

   NC Machining

8. Sun Microsystems
   AMS contact: Dr. J. Mitchell.

   Robust 3D Rendering. The development of robost software for the display of three dimensional data.

9. Hughes Aircraft
   AMS contact: Dr. J. Mitchell.

   Air Traffic Control. Development of robust software to predict collisions.

10. Hughes Aircraft
    AMS contact: Dr. J. Mitchell.

    Route Planning. Development of methodologies to find efficient (shortest) paths in a complex two dimensional landscape.