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PSI President and co-founder Dennis Prather and Chief Operating Officer Ahmed Sharkawy speak before the Council on Development Finance, making the case for $705,000 in grant funds. | DBT PHOTO BY KATIE TABELING[/caption]
NEWARK — A mid-stage technology firm that manufacturers semiconductors and wireless communication systems received a combined $705,890 in taxpayer-backed grants Monday to move to a new facility.
Founded in 2007 by University of Delaware engineering professor Dennis Prather, Phase Sensitive Innovations Inc. (PSI) develops devices that detect millimeter waves. By focusing on those waves — which have a higher frequency of microwaves, but are lower than infrared waves — the tech company has also developed devices that can “see” through solid objects.Â
PSI is also one of the few chip manufacturers in the First State and is a U.S. Department of Defense supplier. Roughly 95% of its work is federally-backed, PSI President Prather said.
“A lot of the projects we currently have are $80 million,” he told the state's investment board, the Council on Development Finance (CDF), on Monday. “Some of our system work last year was on Blackhawk helicopters. We fly drones for different mission scenarios. All of it hinges essentially on devices that allow us to convert radio signals into lasers. If I can figure out how to process things using light, I can essentially get the upper bounds of information.”
With modern warfare using electronic signals, the radio frequency spectrum is expanding and the need for devices to monitor and communicate with a wide range of frequencies is more important than ever. PSI develops technology that is able to see invisible or infrared wavelengths.
PSI’s main product is a photo-detector, a camera-like device that can detect millimeter waves and transform it into an image as energy is reflected from objects in its path. Other products include high communication systems outside surveillance. The company holds about 60 patents.
PSI first started as a UD-spin off, but later moved off campus grounds after the company’s work with the Department of Defense took off and tighter security was needed. At its current facility today, PSI has a few labs at top-secret level clearance.
PSI is seeking to move into a new 34,000 square-foot building across the street from its existing facility on 125 Sandy Drive in Newark. With renovations underway, the move will add more than 8,000 square feet of lab space for the firm to be used for research and development of specialized products.
PSI's new building will also have four dedicated rooms for clean manufacturing.
“Growth is happening very rapidly, we’re literally bursting at the seams. We have people in the company right now that do not have a desk, so we cannot wait for the new facility to be complete,” Prather said.
PSI also plans to hire 54 new jobs over the next three years, bringing its headcount to 100 employees. Salaries average around $95,000 and could reach $100,000. Roughly 73% of its staff are Delawareans, while others come from Maryland, southern Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Another 12% of its employees relocated from New York, California and South Carolina.
“I often use my position and our close proximity to the University of Delaware to hire the best and the brightest. I’d say about 90% of my employees are former students,” Prather said.
When asked by CDF Board Member Sen. Nicole Poore, Prather said it was getting more difficult to recruit locally forcing PSI to begin looking regionally and overseas for new employees. Â
Some of PSI’s employees also end up working with ivy-league schools. Prather said at least five students have left to head to MIT or Harvard.
“We’re trying to cast a broader net. Honestly, out of all the employees we have, we have three administrative people. Everyone else is an engineer or scientist,” he said.
To support PSI’s growth, CDF unanimously approved the company for a $566,090 in a Graduated Lab Space Grant and a Strategic Fund Grant in the amount of $139,800.
While PSI has focused on military operations in the past, Prather noted that there is a strong opportunity for the company to tap into the commercial market like its recently signed deal with Formlabs. He did note international competitors have the edge, but PSI has the ability to manufacture technology on the same scale on American soil.
“I frankly think we have our hands full, at least for the time being,” he said.
