Emerging Innovations

Integrated photonics’ major challenge is the efficient coupling of standard optical fiber to on-chip photonics waveguides and devices. Coupling devices must connect vastly different sized modes while preventing loss of light. This adiabatically tapered fibers coupler is unsuspended and obtains low loss over a large optical bandwidth.

In the US, windows are responsible for 12% of the total energy consumed by the existing US residential and commercial buildings due mostly to uncontrolled solar heat gains. Researchers at CU Boulder have developed PV arrays with sliding overhangs to both generate electricity and reduce heating and cooling thermal loads.

With unique platform technology that combines applied microbiology, enzymology and data science, Think Bioscience is developing small-molecule therapeutics against challenging targets.

Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are important epigenetic regulators, which impact chromatin condensation and gene expression. Tumor development has been linked to HDAC gene mutations and altered expression of HDACs. Therefore, inhibitors of histone deacetylase enzymes (HDACi) have been developed as potential cancer therapeutics. The researchers of the University of Colorado developed a series of hydroxamic acid derivatives as HDAC6 selective inhibitors. There is extensive national and international patent coverage for this technology.

Researchers at the University of Colorado have come up with a method for STED microscopy of a fluorescent species in an object to be imaged, the fluorescent excitation wavelength a fluorescence depletion wavelength and a fluorescence emission wavelength. This makes for a more accurate examination where subjects are free to move naturally possible.

Even though poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) is generally the most recovered plastic, the amount of waste PET that is recycled is still low, especially given the scale of use. The most commonly reported reason for the lack of recycling is the inaccessibility to recycling resources, and there is therefore a need for a more accessible way of sustainably recycling PET. CU Boulder researchers have produced new methods for the chemical recycling of end-use PET in batch, microwave and electrochemical reactors.

Mode-locked lasers are imperative for the generation and application of coherent optical frequency combs. Low noise is necessary for many applications. However, the current super low noise MLLs are massive lab-bench systems and unusable in industry applications. This technology is an extremely low-noise, low-power and high-repetition rate mode-locked laser.

Despite well-controlled production and purification processes, protein particulates in therapeutic protein formulations may still arise from protein adsorption to the surfaces of containers such as vials and pre-filled syringes, as well as the mechanical stresses resulting from these containers being agitated, dropped, or roughly handled. Researchers at the University of Colorado have shown that hydrogel coatings are able to protect the protein formulation against mechanical stresses responsible for subsequent protein aggregation and particle formation.

This phased array radar device is easy to produce, cheaper, and more efficient. It has a modular nature that makes swapping liquid crystal cells and printed circut boards easy.

This technology is a patent-pending method and process to utilize tantala material for nonlinear photonics. Tantala offers superior material properties for integrated nonlinear photonics compared to other materials such as silicon nitride.