A new 5-millimeter (0.2-inch) calibration chip, ensuring accurate measurement by devices used in laboratories, produced at a university in central Türkiye garners interest from buyers from abroad, including Silicon Valley.
In collaboration with Necmettin Erbakan University in the Turkish city of Konya and the Turkish lab equipment manufacturer Teknotıp, the project to produce chips used in calibration measurements of electronic, optical and electro-optical devices was launched at the university's Science and Technology Application and Research Center (BITAM).
Yasin Ramazan Eker, the center's deputy director and project coordinator, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that nanometric-sized materials are used in research and development (R&D) and production.
Eker said that calibrated high-tech measuring instruments are needed to control sensitive production processes.
He added that the calibration process itself can be done by various independent firms and organizations.
"The chip has a footprint of 5 millimeters (0.2 inches) and only weighs 0.25 grams (less than .0001 ounce), we sell them for $100 each," told Eker.
Eker said the chip is receiving interest from international companies, including a Dutch firm and a company from Silicon Valley.
Physicist Oğuz Doğan, one of the project researchers, stressed that the chip is a high-value-added product and is commercialized in cooperation with the chip industry and the university.
Doğan noted that calibration is a very important stage in laboratories, especially in micro and nano applications, adding that chips used in these applications have not been produced in Türkiye before.
Arda Mungan, one of the project partners and the company's founder, highlighted that the chip is sold for $200 a gram, making it more expensive than gold, which costs $100 a gram.
"The target market is Silicon Valley, Germany and the Netherlands, where well-known companies in the semiconductor industry exist," he added. "We've also gotten interest from Japan. When we start active marketing, I think we'll be able to sell much more effectively."