News Article

UC Davis startup gets National Science Foundation grant to make high-tech surgical blades
Date: Sep 19, 2014
Author: Mark Anderson
Source: bizjournals ( click here to go to the source)

Featured firm in this article: Atocera Inc of Davis, CA



A startup company at the University of California Davis has won a $200,000 award from the National Science Foundation to move its silicon blades to commercial development.

Atocera Inc. is working to fine-tune the manufacturing and packaging of its silicon blades for the surgical market and shaving uses, said Saif Islam, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at UC Davis.
Saif Islam, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at UC Davis, hopes to develop surgical blades from silicon.
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Saif Islam, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at UC Davis, hopes to... more

Kevin Tong | University of California Davis

The business end of the silicon blade is only two atoms across, has a sharper edge than a steel blade -- and is far less expensive than a ceramic or diamond blade.

The company launched two years ago after Islam discovered the sharp edges while building silicon walls in solar cells. Some of the walls were incorrectly made, and it turns out they were extremely sharp.

The company is now perfecting its manufacturing of blades, Islam said. One of the advantages of the silicon blades is that they are inexpensive, so they are disposable, which is a benefit for medical use.

There currently are silicon blades on the market, but they are made by sharpening the edge of a silicon wafer. Islam's patented method builds blades on the surface of the silicon wafer, allowing a sharper, more uniform edge.

Islam is now working to perfect the mass production of the blades.

The National Science Foundation grant is for bringing the university research to the market. Atocera has a license from the university to take the blades to commercial development. Atocera was formerly called Nano-Sharp Inc.

Atocera is currently housed in the the College of Engineering's incubator -- officially known as the Engineering Translational Technology Center.