Released on: June 2, 2008, 6:34 am

Press Release Author: Yuebin Ning

Industry: Electronics

Press Release Summary: Norcada Inc., a MEMS product development company, announced
today that reports out of Yale University show successful Q-factor results for
Norcada's silicon nitride membrane windows.

Press Release Body: A recently published study by a group of physicists at Yale
University reported extremely high Q-factors (1.2x10E7 at 0.3 K) for Norcada\'s
nitride membrane windows. The high mechanical Q-factor and low optical loss of the
silicon nitride windows were key factors cited in the report for enabling potential
observation of quantum fluctuations.

Silicon nitride membrane windows are typically used as sample support or holding
cells in UV, IR, and X-ray Spectroscopy studies of materials owing to their ability
to offer high mechanical strength with nanometer scale thickness. More recently,
the silicon nitride windows are also finding increased applications in nano
mechanical studies where high mechanical Q-factors are extremely important.

"Norcada is excited about the role its nitride windows played in this ground
breaking study" said Yuebin Ning, VP R&D of Norcada. "The report findings are
another example of the high quality of Norcada's silicon nitride membrane windows."

The study appeared in the March 6, 2008 issue of Nature (Vol 452, March 6, 2008).
A similar study focusing on the mechanical and optical properties of the silicon
nitride membranes was also reported by the same group which appeared in Applied
Physics Letters (online version) in March 2008 (APL 92, 103125, 2008).

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About Norcada Inc.
Norcada is a MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical-System) product development company with
extensive industrial experience in MEMS design and fabrication for sensors and other
commercial devices. Founded in 2001, Norcada has a state-of-the-art MEMS design,
prototyping, and test facility in Edmonton, Canada, which is home to one of the
largest micro and nano technology clusters in North America. Norcada offers a wide
range of MEMS products including standard silicon and nitride membrane windows for
the TEM microscopy and X-ray spectroscopy research community, custom optical mems
mirrors for the telecom industry, as well as MEMS micro-relay technology.



Web Site: http://www.norcada.com

Contact Details: For more information please contact:
Yuebin Ning
Norcada Inc
780.431.4403
yuebin@norcada.com