Inventors' Corner: CMOS Integrated Silicon Nanophotonics patents

IBM has achieved a significant advancement in chip technology that will produce smaller, faster and more power-efficient chips than is feasible with current chip-making techniques. The new technology is called CMOS Integrated Silicon Nanophotonics and is the result of a 10-year research effort across IBM's global research labs.

IBM researchers have generated dozens of pending and issued patents associated with the technology, which integrates electrical and optical devices on the same piece of silicon, and enables computer chips to communicate using pulses of light (instead of electrical signals).

Some of the CMOS Integrated Silicon Nanophotonics patents that IBM inventors hold, include:

U.S. Patent #7,790,495 - Optoelectronic device with germanium photodetector

U.S. Patent #7,738,753 - CMOS compatible integrated dielectric optical waveguide coupler and fabrication

U.S. Patent #7,711,212 - Junction field effect transistor geometry for optical modulators

U.S. Patent #7,684,666 - Method and apparatus for tuning an optical delay line

CMOS Integrated Silicon Nanophotonics is expected to facilitate terabyte-per-second class of single-chip transceivers that will further IBM's Exascale computing program, which is aimed at producing a supercomputer capable of performing one million trillion calculations—or an Exaflop—in a single second.

IBM researchers Yurii Vlasov, William Green, Solomon Assefa, Alexander Rylyakov, Clint Schow and Folkert Horst contributed to the development effort that led to the Nanophotonics technology achievement.

IBM scientist wins major research prize of the German Physical Society

The German Physical Society (DPG), today awarded the Robert-Wichard-Pohl Prize 2011 to Dr. Gerhard Meyer of the IBM Research lab in Zurich, Switzerland for "his pioneering research in the field of scanning probe microscopy and spectroscopy."

The last IBMers to receive the Prize are none other than Nobel Laureates J. Georg Bednorz and K. Alex Müller in 1987.

In recognizing Gerhard the DPG comments, "His impressive results are a further step to make the world of atoms comprehensible."

In a prepared statement the DPG adds, "Meyer's work has inspired physicists, chemists and biologists alike. The results of his research have generated fascinating images of atoms and molecules that are now included in the textbooks and that illustrate the nano world for all to see."

About Gerhard

Gerhard studied physics in Hanover and achieved his doctorate in 1987. In addition to his first experiments with the scanning tunneling microscope, as a postdoctoral fellow at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, he also developed an optical readout technology, which has led to breakthroughs in scanning force microscopy.

Then he developed at the Free University of Berlin a low temperature scanning tunneling microscope, which is now used worldwide. After a two-year stay at the Paul Drude Institute in Berlin, he moved to Switzerland where he conducts research since 2002 at IBM Research in Rüschlikon.

Below is a video featuring some of Gerhard's recent work:

IBM receives Visionary Leadership Award for innovation in accessibility

Guest blog post from Jim Sinocchi, director of IBM Workforce Communications:

Last evening, I attended the 20th Anniversary Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation gala in New York City, as one of several guests invited by IBM's Senior Vice President and Director of Research Dr. John E. Kelly III. John was there to accept the prestigious Visionary Leadership Award on IBM’s behalf. The award was a tribute to all IBMers around the world, who help create new innovations and help improve the quality of life for people with disabilities.

Getting to sit next to John, with my service dog and companion Veronique, made me privy to the positive comments his acceptance speech received, but everyone heard the thunderous applause when he talked about IBM's unrelenting support and commitment to accessibility, and IBMers with disabilities, dating back to 1914 – when IBM hired its first employee with a disability.

I wanted to share this with all of you, my extended IBM family around the world, because it underscores one of our company's most powerful characteristics and advantages: we understand what can be made possible when like-minded people, teams, or organizations leverage their will and vision to achieve a common goal.

The award reminded me of IBM’s 90 years of leadership in research and development that help all people reach their full potential in work and life.

We introduced the first Braille typewriter in 1946; today we’re modeling the behavior of the human brain’s neural tissue to learn how our minds function on a basic level. How incredible is that?

For me – as someone who has been involved in finding a cure for spinal cord injuries since I broke my neck in an accident in 1981 – the event was a doubly emotional experience because IBM was a corporate sponsor of the event.

This is the kind of leadership that is going to build a Smarter Planet. Today, at least 750 million people on our planet (more than twice the population of the US) have some type of mobility or sensory disability. IBM understands that we can't achieve a smarter planet unless we have an inclusive one.

Through partnerships with industry, academia and government, IBM will continue to lead and succeed in offering hope to people with disabilities.

I'm Jim Sinocchi, and I'm proud to be an IBMer.

photo 1: Alexandra Reeve Givens, daughter of Christopher Reeve, presents Dr. John E. Kelly III, senior vice president and director of IBM Research, with the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation's Visionary Leadership Award for IBM's creation of innovative technologies to improve human accessibility.

photo 2: Jim Sinocchi, director IBM Workforce Communications; Stanley Litow, vice president, IBM Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affairs and President; John Kelly, senior vice president and director of IBM Research; Frances West, director, IBM Human Ability and Accessibility Center.

IBM Fellow Josephine Cheng honored as UCLA's 2010 Alumna of the Year

Guest blog post from Vijay K. Dhir, Dean, UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science:

"The UCLA Engineering Alumnus/Alumna of the Year Award, established in 1965, honors the superior achievements of alumni who have brought honor and distinction to the school. The hallmark of each recipient is a sterling record of distinguished career accomplishments, complemented by a history of outstanding contributions to the engineering profession.

For the past 20 years, Josephine Cheng has been at the forefront of relational database technology. As the Vice President of IBM Research - Almaden, a member of the National Academy of Engineering, winner of the 2006 Top 10 Software Leaders in China and UCLA's 2007 Professional Achievement Award, Josephine, without exception, has established new standards of excellence in her field.

With the numerous contributions to her profession, and notable service to the community, Josephine serves as a role model to so many. We are honored she will be accepting the 2010 Alumna of the Year Award on November 5 at our annual UCLA Engineering Awards Dinner. "

Learn more about Josephine's experience at UCLA and how her education helped her become one of the most influential women at IBM:








Josephine received both her B.S., 1975, Mathematics and Computer Science and M.S., 1977, Computer Science from UCLA. Her bio can be read here.