Marlborough, MA -September 25, 2003 - Block MEMS, LLC was recently awarded a $2 million contract by the U. S. government. The contract, managed by the Soldier Biological and Chemical Command (SBCCOM) at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, provides funds to develop a miniaturized chemical detector for wide area detection. This new product will be called "ChemPen". Block MEMS will develop ChemPen using state-of-the-art micro machine technology in conjunction with Sandia National Laboratories.

Block MEMS, LLC is a company that was recently formed to develop the ChemPen and other related products using micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) technology. Block MEMS is affiliated, through common ownership, with Spectra Optics, Inc., whose Block Engineering division has more that 50 years of experience making custom and standard chemical detection spectrometers and radiometers for a number of government and commercial customers.

The ChemPen will use MEMS technology that has been developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and Sandia National Labs. MEMS technology adapts silicon fabrication techniques (that have been used for decades to make microelectronics) to make micron sized motors, gears, and mirrors all smaller than the thickness of a human hair. MEMS products are currently used in automobiles, computing equipment, and a rapidly growing number of other applications. The MEMS market is growing at 30% per year and is projected to be $30 billion by 2004.

The ChemPen will be light weight, no larger than a fountain pen and will cost under $1000 in comparison to current detectors that cost $10,000 to $20,000. Its software can be programmed to detect a wide variety of vapors including nerve gasses and toxic industrial chemicals.

The contract resulted from the lead support of Senator Kerry of Massachusetts, with additional support from Senator Kennedy and Congressman McGovern. Specifically the ChemPen project was nominated by Block MEMS' congressional supporters as a candidate for funding under the $ 25 million "Chem-bio Defense Initiatives Fund". Block MEMS successfully competed with a large number of other nominees for funding, and was awarded this contract on the technical merits of its proposal. Dr. Daniel J. Cavicchio, Jr., President of Block MEMS, expressed his great appreciation "... to all of our congressmen who have provided continuing support of our efforts to develop state-of-the-art products in defense of the chemical and biological threats that face our country, both in our homeland and abroad."

Block MEMS will be working with Sandia Laboratories in developing ChemPen. Sandia Laboratories is at the forefront of developing multiple moving layer MEMs design, fabrication and evaluation techniques. Its multiple moving layer Summit V technology constitutes the state-of-the-art in MEMS fabrication techniques, and it is critical to ChemPen's development. For more information on Sandia's capabilities, consult http://www.sandia.gov/capabilities/microsystems/index.html.

Block Engineering is a market leader in the development and manufacturing of state-of-the-art infrared spectrometers for passive remote detection of gases. For example, Block developed the rapid scan Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer. Block has served the needs of the Department of Defense (all services), the intelligence community, NASA (Surveyor, Gemini, Skylab), and commercial/industrial customers since 1956.

Many significant contributions to state-of-the-art sensing equipment are credited to the company and its staff. The Block name, reputation and the performance of its instruments are well known. Most recently, Block has focused on developing a family of more standardized FTIR products for surface and airborne applications. These FTIR systems allow for the standoff/remote detection and measurement of chemicals along an optical path.

Block is teamed with Northrop Grumman to develop the Mobile Chemical Detection system (MCAD). MCAD is a chemical detection system for detection of remote chemical attacks and is used to protect soldiers on the battlefield, military facilities or in homeland defense. For further information consult http://www.ngnavsys.com/Monitoring/.

Block's products are also used to identify aircraft or rockets based on their plume spectra and to detect illicit chemical or drug manufacturing by identifying fugitive emissions from these facilities.

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