Innovative & Creative
Since its inception in 1988, Radiant Technologies, Inc. has been dedicated to innovating characterization equipment for non-volatile memory technologies, non-linear electromechanical materials, MEMS, and actuator/sensors.  Radiant pioneered and developed the first ferroelectric test system which quickly became the world-wide industry standard for characterizing non-linear materials. Precision and accuracy has been the driving force behind the engineering of our test equipment and thin ferroelectric film components.  Radiant designs its testers to minimize distortion and maximize accuracy.
Radiant offers a wide range of Precision Non-Linear Test Systems (PiezoMEMS Analyzer, Multiferroic II, Premier II, LCII and RT66C) for material research, development and device qualification. Precision Test Systems vary by Frequency, Sample Area and Voltage (see Precision Tester Comparison Chart Below).
Vision Data Management Software drives Radiant's test systems. Vision Software allows researchers the simplicity, power and flexibility to take experiments to the next level. Vision offers 155 Tasks in Total. Vision is the only software package available for ferroelectric testers that provides exceptional freedom to design, conduct and review all procedures associated with any material experiment. Vision Software dramatically increases the productivity of the researcher, reducing the time required to acquire data in an experiment. Vision’s enhanced productivity directly reduces cost of test. Vision dramatically increases the complexity of the research that may be accomplished by allowing researchers to combine different measurement tasks with environmental controls into an automated test procedure managed by programmable logic embedded with automated data collection, analysis and plotting tools.
Complete accessory packages for High Voltage Testing to 10kV, Thermal Testing, Piezoelectric, Magnetoelectric, Transistor and Reliability Testing are provided for each Precision Ferroelectric/Multiferroic Test System.
Precision Tester Comparison Chart
| Voltage Range (built-in drive voltage) | ±10V, ±30V, ±100V, ±200V or ±500V built-in | ±10V, ±30V, ±100V, ±200V or ±500V built-in | ±10V, ±30V, ±100V, ±200V or ±500V built-in | ±200V |
| Voltage Range with an external amplifier and high voltage interface (HVI) | 10KV | 10KV | 10KV | 10KV |
| Number of ADC Bits | 18 | 18 | 18 | 14 |
| Minimum Charge Resolution | 0.80fC | 0.80fC | <10fC | 122fC |
| Minimum Area Resolution (assuming 1 ADC bit = 1μC/cm2) | 0.080μ2 | 0.080μ2 | <1μ2 | 12.2μ2 |
| Maximum Charge Resolution | 5.26mC | 5.26mC | 276μC | 4.8μC |
| Maximum Area Resolution (assuming saturation polarization = 100μC/cm2) | 52.6cm2 | 52.6cm2 | 2.76cm2 | 4.8mm2 |
| Maximum Charge Resolution with High Voltage Interface (HVI) | 526mC | 526mC | 27.6mC | 480μC |
| Maximum Area Resolution (assuming saturation polarization = 100μC/cm2) w/o HVI | >100cm2 | >100cm2 | >100cm2 | 4.8cm2 |
| Maximum Hysteresis Frequency |
270KHz @ 10V 270KHz @ 30V 270KHz @ 100V 100KHz @ 200V 5KHz@ 500V |
250KHz @ 10V 50KHz @ 30V 50KHz @ 100V 50KHz @ 200V 2KHz @ 500V |
5KHz @ 10V 5KHz @ 30V 5KHz @ 100V 5KHz @ 200V 5KHz @ 500V |
1KHz |
| Minimum Hysteresis Frequency | 0.03Hz | 0.03Hz | 0.03Hz | 1/8th Hz |
| Minimum Pulse Width | 0.5μs | 0.5μs | 50μs | 500μs |
| Minimum Pulse Rise Time (5V) | 400ns | 400ns | 40μs | 500μs |
| Maximum Pulse Width | 1s | 1s | 1s | 100ms |
| Maximum Delay between Pulses | 40ks | 40ks | 40ks | 40ks |
| Internal Clock | 25ns | 25ns | 25ns | 50μs |
| Minimum Leakage Current (assuming max current integration period = 1 seconds) | 2pA | 2pA | 2pA | 10pA |
| Maximum Small Signal Cap Frequency | 1MHz | 1MHz | 20KHz | 2KHz |
| Minimum Small Signal Cap Frequency | 1Hz | 1Hz | 1Hz | 10Hz |
| Output Rise Time Control | 105 scaling | 105 scaling | 103 scaling | 2 settings |
| Input Capacitance | -6fF | -6fF | -6fF | 1pF |
| Electrometer Input All Test Frequencies for all test at any speed | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
* The minimum area resolution under actual test conditions depends upon the internal noise environment of the tester, the external noise environment, and the test jig parasitic capacitance.
*** Tester specifications are subject to change without notice.
Over 30 years of Experience
Since 1988, Radiant Technologies, Inc. has established the worldwide standards for electrical evaluation of ferroelectric materials of all types. Radiant continues to sell the most sophisticated test equipment for these materials and their applications. Ferroelectric are one of the foundations of modern society. They are found everywhere in everyday life: electronic equipment, cell phones, medical diagnostic instruments, cameras, and military sensors. Radiant makes its own ferroelectric materials and transfers these various functions into integrated circuit scale devices, greatly reducing their cost while greatly increasing their quality and functionality. The key to this strategy is an integrated ferroelectric device manufacturing process developed over the last decade that can support product development and sales. Today, Radiant offers this capability as the only integrated ferroelectric device foundry in the United States.
Radiant's advanced ferroelectric technology rests upon three legs:
1) Radiant's unique integrated ferroelectrics manufacturing process,
2) Radiant's position as the premier test equipment company in the world for ferroelectric materials, and
3) Radiant's proprietary model for the physics of ferroelectric devices.
Radiant's test equipment and procedures were created and refined on its ferroelectric process line, making them realistic and practical. In turn, Radiant's thin ferroelectric film process is one of the most advanced in the world from the proper use of Radiant's test equipment in refining film properties and reliability. Both the testers and the process are designed around a powerful physical model of the ferroelectric capacitor, a model that has been tested and proven continually with the testers in the fabrication process.
Joseph T. Evans, Jr.
The founder of Radiant Technologies is Joseph T. Evans, Jr. Joe Evans graduated first in his class in Electrical Engineering from the Air Force Academy in 1976. After pursuing a career as a jet Instructor Pilot, Mr. Evans completed his graduate work in lasers, control theory, and semiconductor fabrication at Stanford University. He then joined the Air Force Weapons Laboratory in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
As a principal investigator at the Air Force Laboratories at Kirkland Air Force Base, Mr. Evans was introduced to ferroelectrics. He realized that these not-very-new materials could improve or replace the capabilities of traditional silicon-based components. Mr. Evans left the Air Force to found Krysalis Corp in Albuquerque, NM, which built the world's first fully-functional CMOS ferroelectric random access memory. His name is on the fundamental patents for the FRAM now manufactured by Texas Instruments, Fujitsu, and Rohm.
Mr. Evans became convinced that in order to fully assess the characteristics of non-linear materials, proper evaluation technology was essential. The cutting edge work that resulted from this conviction laid the framework for Mr. Evans' many inventions related to the manufacture and application of thin ferroelectric film based devices. In 1988, Mr. Evans founded Radiant Technologies, Inc., where he developed the first commercial test system capable of evaluating the hysteresis of ferroelectric and piezoelectric materials. This tester allowed researchers worldwide to assess the characteristics of the many new electronic manufacturing materials. More importantly, it allowed Mr. Evans and his team at Radiant to parametrically test and improve manufacturing techniques for these temperamental materials. Radiant Technologies has since built a solid reputation for making components with highly specialized, nonlinear materials.
Patents
Radiant has a total of thirty US and foreign patents. They range from electro-optics (6 patents) to ferroelectric memories (12 patents) to infra-red sensing (1 patent) and fabrication methods and structures (11 patents). Radiant's processing and structures patents are of primary importance to integrated piezoelectric actuators, for they ensure high yield, high uniformity, and long-term reliability. Radiant's most important invention, however, is a one-of-a-kind, high-temperature platinum electrode capable of withstanding 850°C in oxygen, without hillock growth. A specialized photolithography process ensures that the dimensions of this high-temperature platinum yield down to 1.5µ widths, with 2µ spaces. The process also works with platinum/LSCO or ITO electrodes. The electrode process works in conjunction with piezoelectric film photolithography process, which resulting in clean capacitor dimensions without resorting to expensive ion milling or RIE etchers.
Radiant owns a fundamental passivation patent that protects the capacitor from process damage during fabrication and from environmental deterioration during use. Radiant's patent portfolio is the direct result of more than a decade of extensive research and development in FeRAM devices. Now, Radiant is transferring this proprietary IC technology to piezoelectric MEMs and other unique structures.
Recently, Radiant received a patent, 7,990,749, for an autonomous non-volatile latch that requires no control lines, no clocks, and no microprocessor for successful operation. This patent was issued within nine months after submission, giving an indication of how new and unique this idea is.