One of Chippewa Valley’s newest high-tech businesses, Resonant MicroSystems Inc. (RMS) thinks small, really small. RMS has partnered with area higher education institutions to develop a micro-scale sensor device for the U.S. Department of Defense that will contain features that will measure just one thousandth of a millimeter in size.

The device called “Fuze-on-a-Chip” is a Micro Electrical Mechanical Systems (MEMS) device. RMS is the first MEMS manufacturer in the Chippewa Valley region.  MEMS technology is applicable in the medical device, automotive, communications and aerospace industries. The project is funded by a $7.2 million Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase III contract from the U.S. Department of Defense.

“This technology is designed to make our munitions safer for our soldiers and civilians as well as reducing collateral damage,” explains RMS General Manager, Frank Bucheger, at a recent press conference. “A second product, a MEMS-based micro-contact switch, is under development that will improve the efficiency of most any transistorized product.”

“Our three-year contract is a research and development (R&D) contract to perfect the Fuze-on-a-Chip device and in that time develop a process for mass production,” adds Bucheger. “These are made using batch fabrication techniques similar to those used for computer chip manufacturing.”

To perfect the micro device, RMS utilizes specialized equipment and instruments at the UW-Eau Claire Material Science Center, including electron and atomic force microscopes and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.

“They’ve got the equipment there that would be necessary for our quality control and metrology needs,” says Bucheger. “This is equipment that a startup like us couldn’t even touch because of the cost.”

RMS leases 6,000 square feet at the NanoRite Innovation Center at Chippewa Valley Technical College (CVTC). Currently employing ten, RMS expects to double employment by the end of the year. It draws employees from a pool of displaced Cray, SGI and Hutchinson Technologies professionals along with graduates of CVTC’s Nanoscience Program, UW-Eau Claire’s Material Science Program and UW-Stout’s Engineering Programs.

“We have three material science students working with us now and two CVTC Nanoscience graduates,” says Bucheger.

It was the expertise and the high-tech capabilities available in the Chippewa Valley that caught the attention of RMS. The assistance from the Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Network helped to make the move happen.

Bucheger says WEN Northwest Regional Director Pat Dillon introduced RMS to “a very unique combination of resources” available at the NanoRite Innovation Center. She also introduced RMS to Doug Dunham, PhD, of the UWEC Material Science Center.

“This was a great opportunity for the region. The Materials Science Center has instrumentation needed to help Resonant and a strong relationship with CVTC and UW-Stout in advanced technology,” said Dunham. ”It’s an excellent example of how the resources and expertise at universities in the UW-System can be leveraged for economic development throughout the state.”

Bucheger praised UW-Eau Claire’s Material Science Center along with engineering programs at Stout and the Nanoscience program at CVTC as critical partnerships. “Put those all together and they [RMS] weren’t able to find that combination anywhere else in the U.S.” 

UW-Eau Claire, UW-Stout and CVTC are all partners in the Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Network. WEN director Dillon notes, “This is a shining example of the power of the Network, and a clear demonstration of the Triple Helix:  collaboration among government, industry and academia to support  high-tech economic development in the region, the state and the nation; all the while providing critical technologies and capabilities for our men and women in uniform.”

Dillon adds, “Our assistance will continue with the company to successfully address any business development needs and successfully execute their Defense contract.” 

Once RMS perfects the Fuze-on-a-Chip device, it could employ up to 100 in the production phase, which Bucheger says is three to four years down the road.

He adds, “We thank our partners and sponsors for all of the help they have provided and look forward to developing a successful business here in the Chippewa Valley.”

In Photo: RMS employees Aaron Davison and Don Gisch run a photolithograghy process in the Nanorite Innovation Center’s cleanroom.