Essex-based e2v Technologies has joined a consortium set up by
molecular simulation and modelling specialist Accelrys to help
develop software tools for the design of nanoscale materials and
devices.
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| Nanoscale modelling by Accelrys | |
Brian Allen, a technology strategist at e2v, said the company
was "developing technology within the life science arena" for which
it originally invested in the software, but has since found it can
use it to gain a better understanding of the operation of existing
products, for example its gas sensors.
"As we're entering the nanotechnology era, we're starting to
realise that you've got to start building structures up from the
atom level, rather than coming down from the bulk material," said
Allen. "Really if you're wanting to understand the chemistry behind
your activities then this modelling is a very powerful tool. It can
cut down your experimental variables significantly."
Accelrys, which has its European HQ in Cambridge, provides a
suite of models that apply to structures on a range of different
scales, from a few atoms to macroscopic materials. Its
Nanotechnology Consortium includes companies developing,
validating, and applying simulation to a particular research area,
among them Fujitsu and Imperial College.
"What we're doing is providing first-line user guidance of what
new models we are requiring - what is it in physics that's not yet
developed in the modelling capability that we actually would like,"
said Allen.
e2vtechnologies.com