Company

In 2002, LumArray was spun off from MIT’s NanoStructures Laboratory (NSL) which, in 1978, was spun off from MIT Lincoln Lab. The NSL students and staff have a long history of innovations in micro- and nanofabrication techniques including: comformable-photomask lithography, x-ray lithography, interferometric alignment, the phase-shift mask, the attenuating phase shifter, phase-locked interference lithography, spatial-phase-locked e-beam lithography, achromatic-interference lithography (AIL), coherent-diffraction lithography, immersion photolithography, zone-plate-array lithography (ZPAL), absorbance-modulation optical lithography and nanomembrane assembly.

The NSL at MIT was also noted for innovations in post-lithography processing for applications in: short-channel, single-electron and quantum-effect devices; graphoepitaxy and directed self-assembly; nanomagnetic, photonic-crystal and microphotonic devices; and high quality gratings for lasers, x-ray astronomy, spectroscopy and neutral-atom diffraction, the latter using free-standing gratings of 10,000 lines/mm that were unique in the world.

LumArray’s business model is based on commercializing the NSL culture by continuously improving nanofabrication technology and providing nanofabrication service to the academic, commercial and defense sectors. LumArray’s staff are all former members of MIT’s NSL.

In general, LumArray’s products are customized to user specifications. Products include: (1) linear and variable-line-space (VLS) X-ray and VUV diffraction gratings for monochromators and spectrometers; (2) diffractive-focusing optics; (3) computer-generated holograms (CGH) for metrology, security and anti-counterfeiting; (4) wire-grid polarizing beam splitters; (5) photomasks; (6) imprint molds and templates; (7) photonic devices; and (8) structures and devices for biotech.

Management

Dr. Henry I. Smith

President and Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Henry I. Smith is the President and acting CEO of LumArray, as well as a Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering at MIT. He and his co-workers were responsible for a number of innovations in nanostructures technology and applications including: comformable-photomask lithography, x-ray lithography, the phase-shift mask, the attenuating phase shifter, spatial-phase-locked e-beam lithography, achromatic-interference lithography, spatial-frequency doubling, coherent-diffraction lithography, immersion photolithography, zone-plate-array lithography, absorbance-modulation optical lithography, interferometric alignment, graphoepitaxy, templated self-assembly, and a variety of quantum-effect, short-channel, single-electron, nanomagnetic, photonic-crystal and microphotonic devices. Prof. Smith is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Inventors, the IEEE, the Optical Society of America and the International Society for Nanomanufacturing. He holds over 40 US patents and has published over 400 technical articles.

Dr. Michael Walsh

Chief Technical Officer (CTO)

Michael E. Walsh received his Ph.D (2004) and M.S. (2000) degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is currently managing the development of LumArray's prototype zone-plate-array lithography system. His doctoral thesis, entitled "On the design of lithographic interferometers and their application", contains numerous novel technical and theoretical advances in the field of high-resolution optical lithography, including the correction of systematic aberrations, novel high-resolution photoresist processes, and solid-immersion interference lithography. He has applied these advancements to the fabrication of a variety of devices including magnetic-random-access memories, DFB lasers, and self-assembled systems. He is the author of more than 12 technical articles and 2 patents in the fields of advanced lithography and the fabrication of nanostructures.

Dr. Feng Zhang

Vice President of Research

Dr. Zhang received his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2005. He is the author of more than 5 technical articles and 1 patent in the fields of advanced lithography and fabrication processes. Since joining LumArray, Dr. Zhang has led the development of control software for LumArray’s ZP-150 Maskless Photolithography system, as well as software for proximity-effect correction and enhancing pattern placement.

Dr. Timothy Savas

Chief Research Scientist

Dr. Savas received his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2000. As part of his research at MIT’s NanoStructures Lab, Dr. Savas designed and built an Achromatic Interference Lithography (AIL) system for fabricating 100-nm-pitch gratings and grids. These were used in a variety of applications, including diffraction experiments with neutral-atoms, electrons, EUV photons and soft x-rays. Dr. Savas was the Founder and President of NM2, a company that provided lithography and nanofabrication services to customers around the world. He built several Interference Lithography (IL) systems capable of patterning full wafers with pitches from 2000 to 170 nm. He consults at MIT, teaching IL techniques to graduate students. He’s the author or coauthor of 27 technical publications and one patent.

Board of Directors

The members of LumArray’s Board of Directors are Dr. Nicholas P. Economou, Chair, Dr. Michael Walsh, Dr. Henry I. Smith and Prof. Rajesh Menon.

Dr. Nicholas P. Economou

PointSpectrum Corporation CEO

In addition to chairing the Board, Dr. Economou is a key business advisor to LumArray. He is President and CEO of PointSpectrum Corporation, a developer and manufacturer of advanced optical devices for the display, solar energy and lighting industries. He is the former President of Carl Zeiss SMT, Inc., a developer and manufacturer of ultra-resolution microscopes for the semiconductor, materials-science, nanotechnology and life-sciences industries. Dr. Economou began his career as a researcher at Bell Laboratories and MIT Lincoln Laboratory before launching his first start-up company in 1984. Over the last 29 years, he has served as chief executive officer for several successful venture-backed technology companies in the semiconductor and telecommunications industries. During this time, his companies introduced gallium and helium focused-ion-beam technology to the marketplace. Hundreds of systems were sold to customers in the semiconductor, display, materials-research and life-science industries, establishing these technologies as essential parts of the manufacturing infrastructure. Dr. Economou currently serves as a director on the boards of a number of private and public technology companies. He received his B.A. in physics from Dartmouth College and his M.A. and Ph.D. in physics from Harvard University.

Prof. Rajesh Menon

Professor of Electrical Engineering at Univ. Utah

One of the founders of LumArray and formerly an employee of LumArray is currently Professor of Electrical Engineering at Univ. Utah. Continuing the tradition of the NSL at MIT, Prof. Menon develops technologies for improved patterning and explores photonic applications of diffractive-optical structures. Particularly important is Prof. Menon’s research on Absorbance Modulation Optical Lithography (AMOL), which was patented at MIT. AMOL provides a means for surmounting the so-called diffraction barrier and thereby achieve deep sub-100 nm resolution lithography using near UV sources.
http://lons.utah.edu/

Dr. Michael Walsh

See resume above

Dr. Henry I. Smith

See resume above