Jefferson Draws Photonics, Photovoltaics Firms
Published Apr 16, 2007
Oerlikon’s thin-film products are used in medicine, biotech and other industries.
Whether enlisting the ultraviolet or the infrared end of the electromagnetic spectrum, Jefferson County companies are transforming light into profits – or certainly working toward that goal – while boosting the nation’s understanding and use of photonics and photovoltaics.
The county has emerged as a breeding ground for innovative, light-related research, both publicly and privately funded. Companies large and small are capitalizing on the area’s technology-savvy workforce and entrepreneurial environment.
Photovoltaic technology produces electric power from the sun’s abundant rays, while photonics uses radiant energy, such as light, as a power source and incorporates technologies such as fiber optics and lasers.
Jefferson County boasts big names in photonics, including Lockheed Martin, CoorsTek and Pentax Imaging, and it is also home to the Colorado School of Mines’ advanced programs in applied optics. In nearby Denver is the Colorado Advanced Photonics Technology Center, under the umbrella of the University of Colorado.
When it comes to photovoltaics, Jefferson County lays claim to the National Center for Photovoltaics, where the U.S. Department of Energy houses its solar electric research and development activities.
Ascent Solar Technologies Inc. in Littleton is an example of a company building on Jefferson County’s synergies. Founded in October 2005 as a spinoff of ITN Energy Systems, Ascent Solar focuses solely on a thin-film photovoltaic product that has piqued the interest of the space industry.
“A lot of our funding has come from NASA and the Air Force Research Laboratory and the like,” says Matthew Foster, president and chief executive officer. “They’re interested in our product because of its lightweight characteristics and its packaging. It doesn’t take up a lot of space, because you can either roll it up or fold it up to be deployed on a spacecraft.”
In July 2006, Ascent Solar completed an initial public offering that raised $16.5 million. As a result, a small manufacturing facility is under construction in south Jeffco, with the capability of producing 1.5 megawatts annually beginning in early 2008.
“With that capacity,” Foster says, “we’ll be able to serve the space and near-space markets adequately, because those markets don’t require a lot of capacity. It will also allow us to begin developing product prototypes and working with customers for the large terrestrial market.”
Integrating Ascent Solar’s thin-film technology into roofing materials, shades and awnings is one possibility for the future.
MULTIPLE USES FOR OERLIKON PRODUCTS
On the photonics front, Golden is the home of Oerlikon Optics USA Inc., part of a company based in Switzerland. Oerlikon’s versatile thin-film products are used in industries as diverse as medicine and biotechnology, security and protection, and projection display. The Golden operation, with about 100 employees, develops, manufactures and markets the optical components.
Richard Caluori, who heads the Golden plant, says production requires sophisticated clean rooms, in which specialized equipment produces a vacuum. “In these vacuum chambers, we create little ions that are deposited as thin films on glass and plastics. The thin films are applied by coating,” he explains.
Oerlikon engineers and scientists work with clients to customize the product. In fact, Caluori says, Oerlikon credits its success in Golden to an unusually innovative and knowledgeable labor pool.
Thanks to Oerlikon and other light-related enterprises, Jefferson County ranks fifth among Colorado’s 65 counties in the concentration of photonics employees. One might say Jeffco is light-years ahead of most.
Story by Sharon H. Fitzgerald
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