People say everything is big in Texas. While in term of nanotechnology, Texas is also doing well. The state of Texas is primed to emerge as the leader in the global nanotechnology industry. At least ten Texas nanotechnology companies would justify this.
1. NovaCentrix
NovaCentrix is a nanotechnology company based in Austin TX. Novacentrix offers industry leading photonic curing tools, conductive inks, material and expertise enabling development and production of next generation printed electronic devices – some already on the market. PulseForge® tools utilize photonic curing which is a cutting edge technology that dries, sinters, and anneals functional inks in milliseconds on low-temperature, flexible substrates such as paper and plastic.
2. Electroninks
Electroninks Incorporated was founded in 2013 as a university spinout from UIUC.
Since its founding, Electroninks has been adopted in many consumer electronic devices as well as having their own consumer product, Circuit Scribe. Currently, Electroninks develops high performance solutions for many markets including display, plating, interconnects, wearables, as well as consumer devices. Electroninks has production facilities in Austin TX, with additional offices in Silicon Valley, Korea, and China.
The key feature of the ink by Electroninks is that their formulations are particle-free and have no binders, they can be printed to fine resolutions, annealed at low temperatures, and out-perform nanoparticle technologies. In addition, due to the particle-free nature of our conductive inks, it is readily absorbed into fabric and fibers to metallize them at the nanoscale. This truly enables stretchable electronics and a new class of intrinsically conductive e-textiles.
The interesting part of Electroninks is they offer learning kit through Circuit Scribe, good for kids and educational purpose.
3. Molecular Imprints, now Canon Nanotechnologies
Molecular Imprints Inc., was founded in 2001 by Cockrell School of Engineering professors S.V. Sreenivasan and Grant Willson. Molecular Imprints offers nanopatterning systems and solutions for the hard disk drive and semiconductor sectors. Molecular Imprints’ innovative technology is the result of extensive research conducted at the Cockrell School and is a successful example of how UT Austin ingenuity is shaping the future of the nanomanufacturing industry.
In April 2014, Canon completed the acquisition of Molecular Imprints’ semiconductor business. The business has been renamed Canon Nanotechnologies. Canon Nanotechnologies, together with Canon, is the market and technology leader for high-resolution, low cost-of-ownership nanoimprint lithography systems and solutions for the semiconductor industry. Canon Nanotechnologies systems feature its innovative Jet and Flash Imprint Lithography (J-FIL) technology to help create the extremely small features required in today’s state-of-the-art semiconductor memory devices.
4. Zyvex
Zyvex Corporation was founded by Jim Von Ehr in 1997 to develop and commercialize atomically precise manufacturing (APM) technology to build products with atomic precision. When developed correctly, APM allows for the flexible manufacture of a wide variety of products, ranging from designer materials to supercomputers to advanced medical devices.
Early on, Zyvex Corporation conducted fundamental research into APM, often building its own tools in the process. More recently, the company took that technology to market by developing commercial nanomaterial and nanomanipulation products.
By 2007, Zyvex research had been commercialized in several products. As those product lines grew, in April 2007, Zyvex Corporation reorganized itself into three independent companies to ensure continued product focus: Zyvex Performance Materials LLC, Zyvex Instruments LLC and Zyvex Labs LLC. Assets were distributed among the three companies and dedicated management was hired for the Materials and Instruments businesses.
Zyvex Labs funding comes from government R&D contracts, private investment and contract research.
5. Xidex
Xidex was founded in 1997 as an Austin-based Texas Corporation by Vladimir Mancevski, President and Chief Technology Officer and Dr. Paul F. McClure, CEO. Xidex manufactures and sells the NanoBot® system, an easy-to-use, highly versatile, user programmable nanomanipulatorfeaturing specialized end-effectors for nanodevice fabrication and testing inside scanning electron microscopes (SEMs) and focused ion beam (FIB) tools. They offer best-in-class turnkey solutions to customers with well-defined requirements that are stable over time, and highly adaptable solutions to customers who need a system that can easily be augmented with additional plug-and-play nanopositioners and end-effectors as their needs evolve.
6. Uni-Pixel
Uni-pixel was founded in 1998 at the Woodlands, TX and later moved to California. Uni-Pixel, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, and markets micro-structured polymer film materials and related technologies for the display, flexible electronics, and automotive industries in the United States. The company markets its touch screen films as sub-components of a touch sensor module under the XTouch brand; and hard coat resin and optical films under the Diamond Guard brand. On February 21, 2018, the voluntary petition of Uni-Pixel, Inc. for reorganization under Chapter 11 was converted to Chapter 7. It had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on August 30, 2017.
Nanospectra Biosciences is a medical device company pioneering a patient-centric use of nanomedicine for selective thermal ablation. Nanospectra’s proprietary AuroLase® Therapy utilizes ‘optical tunability’ for a new class of nanoparticles, called nanoshells, that convert light into heat and thermally destroy solid tumors without damaging adjacent healthy tissue.
Nanospectra was founded in 2002 in Houston. Nanospectra has an exclusive license from Rice University to eleven issued US patents related to nanoshells and related commercial uses of these and other nanoparticles.
8. Nanostructured & Amorphous Materials Inc. (NanoAmor)
Nanostructured & Amorphous Materials Inc. (NanoAmor) was founded in Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA, in September 2001 and now based in Houston Texas, USA. NanoAmor is a leading nanomaterials company involved in all aspects of the business: manufacturing, research and development, processing, supplying and marketing of nanostructured materials and their dispersions.
C-Crete Technologies is a Houston based nanotechnology company. C-Crete has developed proprietary formulas to produce new ceramic-based products that are:
-Lightweight with enhanced mechanical properties
-Scalable by using earth abundant materials
-Eco-friendly by using soft chemistry methods
-Economical by eliminating the high temperature needs in typical products
C-Crete has patented technologies based on creating size- and shape-controlled nanoparticles, which facilitates formation of superior microstructures. C-Crete is constantly developing new ceramic/polymer-based nanomaterials and nanocomposites with exciting new characteristics including enhanced mechanical, thermal and radiational properties as well as self-healing and self-sensing capabilities.
10. MicroPower
MicroPower Global is a private company that has developed a groundbreaking form of thermoelectric technology that can convert heat directly into electricity far more efficiently than current alternatives. Unlike most thermoelectric products, MicroPower’s devices are capable of working at relatively high temperatures (250°C to 600°C), enabling their application across a vast array of different industries.
Having purchased the intellectual property in 2008, MicroPower has spent the last seven and a half years perfecting the technology for commercial use at its research and development base near Austin, Texas. The company is now working with partners, suppliers and customers to bring products to market at a purpose-built production facility just a few miles from the initial R&D base.
We will add more Texas based nanotechnology business. If you want us to add your company info, please let us know.