NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) — Pacific Biosciences and Imec, a Belgian nanoelectronics research firm, are collaborating on developing advanced microchips for highly multiplexed single-molecule genetic analysis, the firms said today.
The goal of the multi-year research collaboration is to scale the capacity and throughput of PacBio's single-molecule real-time technology, PacBio President and CEO Michael Hunkapiller said in a statement.
Imec will help identify ways to bring greater economies of scale to PacBio's technology through nanoscale semiconductor fabrication, said Luc Van den hove, president and CEO of Imec.
The partners will combine PacBio's zero-mode waveguide technology and Imec's expertise in nanophotonics, CMOS sensors, technology integration, and fabrication.
Imec, headquartered in Leuven, performs research in nanoelectronics and has international partnerships in the areas of information and communications technology, healthcare, and energy. The company has a staff of almost 2,000, including more than 600 industrial residents and guest researchers. Last year, Imec had about €300 million ($363 million) in revenue.