The NYS Center for Advanced Technology in Photonics Applications at the City
University of New York (CAT) is completing its 10th
year of funding through the NYS Office of Science, Technology
and Academic Research. Since its inception (1993), the CAT
has leveraged this funding with industrial, federal and institutional
support to accomplish its mission: to develop and disseminate
knowledge in photonics technology in order to promote New
York economic development for the medical, biological, industrial
and military sectors.
The CAT has accomplished these goals by drawing
on its outstanding and well recognized research and development
capabilities in such areas as: optical medical diagnostic
techniques, tunable solid state lasers, optical imaging, semiconductor
growth and characterization, nanoscale photonic materials,
and compact photonic devices. We briefly present a few of
the technological contributions of the CAT program:
Cancer Detection and Diagnosis Using Minimally/Non-Invasive
Optical Techniques. Techniques include spectroscopic
techniques for minimally invasive early detection of cervical,
prostate, oral, gastrointestinal and skin cancers and breast
cancer imaging technology that uses safe ultrafast lasers
to see deep into the breast. The former technique has advanced
to the stage where prototype instruments are being prepared
for clinical trials. These efforts have been funded in part
by Mediscience Technology Corp. and through $1M in US Army
research grants.
Detection of cracks and corrosion under
paint. This work, funded in part by Lockheed
Martin Corp., has led to prototype detection devices for use
on airplane wings that are in the process of being brought
to market.
Bacteria and Virus Detection for Homeland
Defense. This technology, which recognizes spectroscopic
signatures of bacteria and viruses, is funded in part by Northrop
Grumman and NASA.
Compact Photonic Explorer. Funded
in part by the NYS Infotonics Technology Center, we are developing
a sophisticated "photonic pill" that can perform
remote diagnostics in such places as the digestive tract and
send information back to doctors Ð like the Mars explorer
but nearby and on a smaller scale.
Contactless Characterization of Semiconductor
Wafers. This technology led to a successful
NYS spin-off company, Semiconductor Characterization Instruments,
with cumulative sales of nearly $4M and high-profile customers
like TRW and Nortel.
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