NVE Receives GMR Sensor
Order from Starkey Laboratories
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn.--October 13, 2004--NVE Corporation (NasdaqSC:
NVEC) has received an initial order from Starkey Laboratories Inc.
for custom-designed ultra-miniature spintronic sensor integrated
circuits. The NVE devices will replace electromechanical sensors
in Starkey hearing aids. The order has a value of more than $100,000
with shipments scheduled to begin in early 2005. Starkey has said
that the NVE product could eventually be used in all of its hearing
aids, which could lead to additional orders.
The sensors use NVE's patented Giant Magnetoresistor (GMR) elements
embedded in a conventional integrated circuit. Giant Magnetoresistors
are nanotechnology spintronic devices that produce "giant" changes
in resistance when subjected to magnetic fields. The GMR effect
requires conduction layers thinner than the mean free path of conduction
electrons. The critical conduction layers in the devices for Starkey
are approximately three nanometers thick, less than ten atomic layers
and less than one-ten thousandth the thickness of a piece of tissue
paper.
"The small size, high precision, and low power of the NVE devices
allow us to reduce the size and increase the performance of our
hearing aids," said Thomas Victorian, Starkey's vice president of
engineering. "Prototype hearing aids incorporating these NVE sensors
have performed extremely well in real-world field tests. The new
sensor will make it easier for patients to use cellphones or other
electronic devices and improve the quality of our patients' lives."
NVE President and Chief Executive Officer Daniel A. Baker, Ph.D.
added, "Starkey is an innovative force in their industry, and we
are proud to be part of a major product improvement. This order
is the culmination of rigorous testing and qualification by Starkey,
and an important step in our goal of expanding our presence in the
medical sensor market with the world's only GMR medical sensors."
The medical sensor market is projected to grow to $845 million
in 2008, from $600 million in 2003, according to The Freedonia Group,
a leading international business research company.
Privately-held Starkey Laboratories Inc. is the world's leading
manufacturer of custom hearing instruments with 33 facilities in
18 countries and a workforce of over 4,000.
NVE is a leader in the practical commercialization of spintronics,
a nanotechnology which many experts believe represents the next
generation of microelectronics. NVE licenses its MRAM intellectual
property and sells spintronic products, including sensors and couplers
to revolutionize data sensing and transmission.
Statements used in this press release that relate to future
plans, events, financial results or performance are forward-looking
statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties including,
among others, such factors as risk of order cancellations, risks
related to competitive threats, risks associated with our reliance
on several large customers, and risks associated with meeting stringent
customer technical requirements, as well as the risk factors listed
from time to time in our filings with the SEC, including our Annual
Report on Form 10-KSB and other reports filed with the SEC.
|