March 3, 2003

Polymicro Technologies Receives Two Prestigious Awards from the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)
Awards Presented for Contribution for Technologies Used in CERN’s Particle Accelerator Which May Answer Why Objects in the Universe Have Weight

Phoenix, Arizona/Geneva, Switzerland, March 3, 2003. Polymicro Technologies, LLC, the world's leading supplier of fused silica and natural quartz components was presented with two awards by the CMS Collaboration of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) The CMS Gold and the prestigious CMS Crystal awards were in appreciation of Polymicro Technologies’ innovative achievements in the development and production of radiation resistant silica optical fibers for use in the CMS (an acronym for Compact Muon Solenoid) detector designed to find the Higgs boson.

The CMS detector is one of the largest international scientific collaborations in history, utilizing over 2000 scientists and engineers from 36 different countries (refer to their website at http://cmsdoc.cern.ch/cms/outreach/html/index.shtml). The detector is currently under construction at CERN’s particle accelerator located underground near Geneva, Switzerland. The detector itself is 15m in diameter, 21.5m in length, and carries a weight of 12,500 tons. This immense undertaking is in effort to find the tiny and obscure Higgs boson, an elementary particle believed by many physicists to be the foundation for 21st century physics, and the answer to the age-old question of why objects in the universe have weight.

Polymicro Technologies was the developer and manufacturer of over 1 million meters of a special optical fiber which makes up the critical particle sensor medium of the CMS detector. The fiber consists of a 600µm diameter synthetic silica glass core and a fluorinated acrylate plastic coating. The fiber is designed to withstand the high radiation environment emanating from the high velocity particle collisions induced by the CERN particle accelerator. Polymicro Technologies has collaborated with CERN and CMS for over a decade in the development of this fiber, going into final production just this past year.

“Polymicro is honored to receive these awards and we are very proud to be able to apply our expertise in optical fiber design and development to such a significant advancement in our understanding of the laws of physics”, states Gary Nelson, President and General Manager of Polymicro Technologies. Mr. Nelson accepted the two awards in a ceremony in Geneva on February 24. The Crystal Award is the highest recognition of the CMS Collaboration and is given only to companies who have demonstrated outstanding accomplishment during the construction of the CMS Experiment.

Image of CMS detector

About Polymicro Technologies, LLC

Explore the Capabilities™ Located in Phoenix, Arizona, Polymicro Technologies, LLC is the world's leading manufacturer and supplier of silica capillary tubing and specialty optical fibers, optical fiber and capillary assemblies, discrete micro components and quartz optical fiber ferrules. Since 1984, Polymicro Technologies has served the analytical, medical, aerospace, military, manufacturing, telecommunication and communication industries. Polymicro Technologies offers a total manufacturing solution, providing initial product design, product & process development, prototyping & beta trials and volume production.
Website: www.polymicro.com

About CERN

CERN is the European Organization for Nuclear Research, the world's largest particle physics centre near Geneva, Switzerland. Technological development at CERN has given the world advances as varied as medical imaging and the World Wide Web. Founded in 1954, the laboratory was one of Europe's first joint ventures and has become a shining example of international collaboration. From the original 12 signatories of the CERN convention, membership has grown to the present 20 member states.
Website: www.cern.ch

About CMS

The CMS detector is one of the largest international scientific collaborations in history. As of February 2003 there are 2300 people working for CMS, 1940 of which are scientists and engineers. These people come from 159 institutes in 36 countries, spanning Europe, Asia, the Americas and Australasia.
Website: cmsdoc.cern.ch/cms/outreach/html/index.html

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