National Science Foundation (NSF) Awards Joint Research Grant to KEMET Electronics Corporation and The Pennsylvania State University

GREENVILLE, S.C., June 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- A joint proposal submitted by researchers at KEMET Electronics Corporation (KEMET) and faculty members at The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) was approved for funding by the National Science Foundation under their GOALI (Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry) Program. The KEMET-Penn State team plans to investigate some fundamental aspects of Base Metal Electrode (BME) multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCC), including the bonding and phase chemistries at the electrode-dielectric interfaces and the degradation of BME dielectric materials over time and under bias conditions. The funding, $89,000 per year for the next four years, will also support one student/post-doctoral fellow at Penn State for the duration of the project.

The NSF-GOALI initiative aims to synergize university-industry partnerships by making funds available to support high-risk/high-gain research with a focus on fundamental topics that would not have been undertaken by industry alone, new approaches to solving generic problems, development of innovative collaborative industry-university educational programs, and direct transfer of new knowledge between universities and industry.

Researchers who submitted the grant proposal and will lead the investigation are Drs. Abhijit Gurav and Pascal Pinceloup of the KEMET Ceramic Innovation Center and Professors Clive Randall and Beth Dickey of The Pennsylvania State University. "We are very pleased to win an NSF grant for this important work," said Dr. Abhijit Gurav, Director of Dielectric Development. "There is a high level of competition from all across the nation for these grants, and only one out of about 15 proposals gets funded."

"These studies are expected to be key in the development of new generations of MLCC," added KEMET CEO Per Loof. "These new generations will offer even higher numbers of increasingly thinner layers of electrodes and ceramic, along with ever-improving reliability and robustness, in order to satisfy the complex needs of our customers."

KEMET Corporation provides industry-leading, high-performance electronic component solutions, including the world's most complete line of surface-mount capacitor technologies across tantalum, ceramic, and solid aluminum dielectrics, provided with the world's best quality, delivery and service. KEMET's common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol KEM. Additional information can be found at http://www.kemet.com/.

Contact: Dean Dimke Director of Corporate and Marketing Communications deandimke@kemet.com 864-228-4448