Grant: Alliance Grants

Commercial research and development when paired with the more meticulous tools and methods of university research can result in superior product development while also providing university students with excellent exposure to real-world problems. In this project, Avalon Holographics, makers of 3-dimensional appearing displays is advancing its technology to create a more realistic 3D viewing experience and thereby reach a larger user market. Near term uses in Canadian manufacturing and in defense applications are just two of many targeted opportunities. In order to create cutting edge 3D displays it is necessary to overcome existing display performance limitations that result from defects formed during the lithographic printing of display elements. Professor Robert Wolkow and his team at the University of Alberta's Department of Physics are among the world's leaders in cutting-edge lithography. They have created processes at the ultimate scale - printing with individual atoms without a single atom out of place. While the scale of that prototype process is far smaller than Avalon Holographics currently requires, the state-of-the-art inspection tools and understanding of fundamental structural and electronic properties that Wolkow's team can offer are precisely what is required to resolve current 3D display limitations. In addition, Wolkow's team has a new type of lithographic tool that very gently impresses lithographic designs into a device and thereby gets around the defect-inducing damage caused by conventional electron beam lithography tools. The maker of the tool, Heidelberg Instruments, is also a partner in this work. They provide critical advice on optimal processes for use of their device. While helping Avalon Holographics to upgrade its displays, the University of Alberta team will also be considering entirely new device principles and, in so doing, will train excellent scientists and engineers for Canada's growing semiconductor nanotech industries.