Partnership with Texas State University in San Marcos

To successfully negotiate the final product development phase, MicroPower has partnered with Texas State University to enable the company to develop prototype chips at Texas State’s Multifunctional Materials Laboratory building in San Marcos. The arrangement provides a low-cost base for the Company’s engineering work at a facility specifically designed for commercialization projects of this nature. As well as housing equipment perfectly suited to MicroPower’s needs (an MBE machine dedicated to lead salts), Texas State also provides the people and skills needed to accelerate this development process.

To view a short video presentation and find out more about the partnership, click on the picture below.



MicroPower's technical team officially moved in and began working alongside Texas State staff in January 2010.In addition to providing a facility in which MicroPower can carry out its final development work, Texas State also plans to build an off-campus commercialization center which could act as the perfect home for the Company from year two onwards. This building will contain a clean room and a high-powered MBE machine to which MicroPower would have permanent access, again at low cost - the University's aim is to promote economic growth and carve a niche for itself as one of the leading academic institutions in the area of technology development.

MicroPower/Texas State University Project Team

Dr. Thomas Myers – Lead Professor

Thomas H. Myers joined Texas State University as Director of the Materials Science and Engineering Program in July of 2008. In Spring of 2009, he also accepted the position of Associate Dean in the College of Science. Prior to coming to Texas State University, he was the Robert C. Byrd Professor of Physics at West Virginia University and Co-Director of the WVNano Initiative, the State of WV’s nanoscale science, engineering and education initiative.

Dr. Myers has a broad background of research experience in advanced electronic and energy materials growth, materials and surface science and device fabrication, with an emphasis on interdisciplinary research. He has 145 publications in this area, three book chapters, and has presented more than 200 invited and contributed presentations at national and international venues in the last 10 years. In recognition of his educational accomplishments, he was chosen as a WVU Foundation Outstanding Teacher, a recognition limited to three people per year University-wide. He has also been recognized with the Outstanding Researcher Award twice, and was an Erskine Fellow at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand in 2005.

Recently he has focused on developing interdisciplinary research at the undergraduate and graduate level. Prior to moving to WVU in 1993, Prof. Myers was Manager of General Electric Electronics Laboratory's Infrared Materials and Devices Lab and was responsible for a group of 43 professionals involved in activities ranging from basic materials development to prototype infrared focal plane array fabrication for system insertion.

Dr. Terry Golding – Director, University Center for Research Commercialization

Dr. Terry Golding joined Texas State University in 2006 and currently holds a dual role - he is both University Chair in Materials Science and Engineering, and Director of the University Center for Research Commercialization. Following a spell as a research scientist at the U.S. Army Center for Night Vision and Electro-optics, he was awarded a Ph.D in Semiconductor Physics from Cambridge University in England in 1989 and has gone on to accumulate a wealth of experience as a high-impact technology transfer researcher with specialization in the synthesis and characterization of nanophase and multifunctional materials.

He is also an innovative business strategist with expertise in leveraging his strong investigative research background, and extensive management skills, to translate basic research into commercial products, and currently serves as the founding CEO and CTO of Amethyst Research Inc., an Oklahoma-based company that provides technologies to improve the performance and reduce the price of infrared sensors. Dr. Golding has spoken at over 50 conferences and technical meetings, and has over 70 publications in scientific journals, and seven patents, to his name.

Dr. Ravi Droopad – Lead Professor

Dr. Ravi Droopad joined Texas State University in 2008 as a professor after spending 13 years at Motorola Labs/Freescale semiconductors developing novel materials for future device applications. His early education took place in England where he was awarded a BSc in Electronics & Communications from the University of Birmingham and a PhD in Semiconductor Physics from Imperial College, London. After a stint as a Research Scientist at Arizona State University, he joined Motorola Labs where he developed growth processes for PHEMT and EMODE type devices for power amplifiers. He has led a team to develop multifunctional oxides on semiconductors including oxides on silicon as a high k dielectric replacement for SiO2 in Si CMOS devices and GaAs on oxide on silicon technology.

More recently his work on oxides on III-V semiconductors has led to the successful demonstration of Fermi level unpinning on GaAs and the realization of high-performance enhancement mode III-V MOSFET devices. In 2002, he was elected to the Motorola’s Scientific Advisory Board Associates for his contributions to materials research. In 2006 he received the IEEE Phoenix section engineer of the year award. He currently has 39 issued patents and has published over 140 refereed papers in scientific journals.

The MBE Machine

The multi-chamber Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) equipment at Texas State University is the critical fabrication tool required to produce designed and well behaved thermoelectric diode devices. The MBE tool consists of ten chambers including a dedicated lead salt-based chamber (pictured) where uniform atomic layers of Lead Telluride or Lead Tin Telluride growth will occur on substrates up to three inches in diameter.

Furthermore, the MBE system incorporates several analytical characterization tools required for in-situ layer characterization to ensure high-quality growth. The MBE Laboratory at Texas State University also includes a larger MBE production tool that handles either larger wafers (up to eight inches) or multiple wafers simultaneously, allowing for a controlled process transfer to a manufacturing level tool on-site as MicroPower Global enters early-stage production.



Dr. Kyoung-Keun Lee is in charge of developing thermoelectric materials using Texas State’s MBE machine including characterization. He is working as Post-Doctoral Research Associate in Material Science and Engineering Program at Texas State University. He's received the Ph.D, MS, and BS degrees in Electrical Engineering.




Kevin Doyle is assisting with MBE growth and electrical characterization of PbTe samples. He is a graduate student experienced with photo-conductance and variable-field-Hall measurements of different semiconductors. Currently he holds a BS and MS in physics, and is working towards his PhD.




Dr. Weerasinghe Priyantha is responsible for spectroscopy and microscopy analysis of the materials grown in Texas State’s MBE machine. He is working as Post-Doctoral Research Associate in Material Science and Engineering Program at Texas State University. He received his Ph.D in Physics.




Dr. Gokul Radhakrishnan is responsible for developing contact materials for thermoelectric devices using Texas State's MBE machine. He will also be assisting Kyoung-Keun Lee as necessary in the development of thermoelectric materials. He is working as a Post-Doctoral Research Associate in Material Science and Engineering Program at Texas State University. He has received PhD and MS degrees in Electrical Engineering.



Eric Schires is responsible for MBE clean room and lab facilities operations. He works as the Senior Laboratory Instrument Mechanic at Texas State University. He received his Bachelors in Physics at West Virginia University, where he also worked in a similar capacity to his current role at Texas State.