(8th December 2014) – MicroPower Global today announced the successful transfer of thermoelectric ingot formation know-how, processes and equipment from Colorado Research Laboratories (CRL) to its manufacturing facility in Texas, enabling the company to prepare raw materials, grow ingots of various compound semiconductors, and supply the demand of both n and p-type material for the company’s chips and modules.
The transaction also provides the company with additional ovens for extra ingot capacity, and a refining tool to reduce base material costs.
Dr. Maurice Brau, founder of CRL and renowned compound semiconductor crystal grower, remains engaged with MicroPower as an expert consultant (and a shareholder too), guiding the continued development of thermoelectric materials for an ever-widening range of applications and temperature regimes.
MicroPower has been working closely with CRL for a number of years, and Dr. Brau’s expertise in the field, gained largely from over thirty years’ experience pioneering R&D on materials for night vision applications for Texas Instruments, has been critical to the development of excellent quality base material to which MicroPower’s patented “barrier” layer is then added to deliver significantly enhanced thermoelectric performance.
Dr. Ruwan Dedigama, Head of Crystal Growth at MicroPower, explains:
“Learning directly from Dr. Brau and having access to his extensive knowledge has been invaluable, not just for the successful transfer of the technology, but to give us the necessary practical experience and technical understanding to reach even higher performance levels.”
Dr. Maurice Brau, Founder and Owner of Colorado Research Labs, added:
“The completion of this transaction gives MicroPower close control of its base material supply, both in terms of quantity and quality. I have been impressed with their ingot growing capabilities, and I believe that they have every opportunity to become world leaders in this field.”
“Maurice Brau has been pre-eminent in his field for many years, and it gives us an enormous boost to have his processes, equipment and know-how in-house, as well as his continued guidance,” confirmed Max Lewinsohn, Chairman of MicroPower.