An-Shyang “Hopper” Chu, PhD, joins WTC as Senior Research Engineer

While March 1 marked the first day that An-Shyang “Hopper” Chu officially joined the staff at the Washington Technology Center as Senior Research Engineer in the organization’s Microfabrication Laboratory, it certainly wasn’t the first time he walked through the doors to start his work day. Dr. Hopper Chu had been working in the laboratory for more than four years.

Dr. Hopper Chu

Before coming on board at WTC, Dr. Chu worked on site at the Microfabrication Laboratory for two Washington companies that have used the lab’s specialized equipment and facilities for process development and prototype manufacturing.

As Senior Process Engineer for nLight Photonics, Inc., a company based out of Vancouver, Washington, Dr. Chu worked on site at the Microfab Lab, where he co-developed the micro-machining processes for manufacturing silicon micro-lens arrays using gray scale photolithography and DRIE. Within eight months, through the use of WTC’s facilities, the fabrication of the micro-lens arrays moved from R&D stage to full-scale production generating the company’s first revenue and becoming one of nLight’s core products.

Dr. Chu became introduced to the Microfabrication Laboratory while working as a MEMS engineer for Bellevue-based MedCam, Inc. It was at the lab that Dr. Chu tested the processes of an optical switch redesign and fabricated prototypes of novel magnetic resonance scanners which he designed and which ultimately set a new industrial standard for scanning rates.

What attracted Dr. Chu to coming on board as a staff member for WTC? “While working in the Microfab Lab, I became aware of the variety of processes conducted at the facility,” Dr. Chu says. “I was attracted to the challenge and variety of work available and the opportunity to be at the forefront of new technology development,” he adds.

When asked about what process he’s most interested in seeing move to this forefront, Dr. Chu touted gray scale lithography, a process he’s had experience with and in which he holds a number of patents. “The ability to manipulate 3-D objects on a micro scale has great potential,” he says. “The capability is there, but currently it is not offered in MEMS process facilities. I’d like to see the Microfabrication Lab fill this gap.”