RONKONKOMA and BROOKLYN, N.Y., March 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- FirstNano, a division of CVD Equipment Corporation (CVD) and The City University of New York at Brooklyn College, today announced the signing of a Sponsored Research Agreement to jointly develop Zinc Oxide (ZnO) nano materials and related semiconductor devices. This joint research is also supported by a matching NYSTAR-CAT Grant. Under the terms of the agreement, CVD has a non exclusive license and an option to an exclusive license of CUNY Intellectual Property related to this project and that is developed either solely by Brooklyn College researchers or jointly with the First Nano/CVD team.

The technology is being developed in research laboratories (Prof. Kai Shum and Prof. Mim Nakarmi) at Brooklyn College and in First Nano's Laboratory on EasyTube 3000 Systems. This leverages the device design and semiconductor industry experience of Prof. Shum and the strength in material process development, equipment design and manufacturing of First Nano/CVD.

"We are extremely pleased that CVD shares our vision and confidence," stated Prof. Kai Shum, "in developing this innovative technology to fabricate ultraviolet (UV) light emitting chips with variable sizes and shapes. These chips are based on ZnO nanowire grown by chemical vapor deposition. Since these new photonic devices rely on one-dimensional electronic density states of nanowire structures and the large exciton binding energy of ZnO, they will offer superb performance in power, efficiency, and integration. Major applications of these novel UV light emitting chips include medical and data- storage devices, forensic and biological analysis tools, UV-based secure communications, space sensors, mineral identification and miniature displays. This novel technology is well suited for scaling up to commercial production since it uses nanowires as templates, eliminating the delicate and time- consuming task of placing each nanowire separately on a device. This agreement also demonstrates NYSTAR-CAT's commitment to partnering with industry leaders such as First Nano/CVD, to help bring important, leading-edge technologies to the marketplace and to invest in New York based growth opportunities."

"We are excited to have the opportunity to collaborate with Prof. Shum, who worked at Bell Laboratories/Lucent Technologies and Agere Systems prior to his return to the academic field," said Dr. Karlheinz Strobl, VP of Business Development for CVD Equipment Corporation. "The collaboration of our in-house process, equipment design and manufacturing capabilities with the Brooklyn College team has the potential to evolve into several important business opportunities. Signing this Agreement and focusing some of our R&D and Engineering capabilities on this growth opportunity is inline with our vision of enabling tomorrow's technologies(TM), today."

About First Nano and CVD Equipment Corporation (CVD):

FirstNano, a division of CVD Equipment Corporation manufactures the Easy Tube equipment product line used by many researchers around the world for developing and growing a wide variety of next generation Nanowire, Nanotube and Thin Film Materials. CVD is a designer and manufacturer of standard and custom state-of-the-art equipment used in the development, design and manufacture of advanced electronic components, materials and coatings for research and industrial applications. CVD offers a broad range of chemical vapor deposition, gas control, quartzware and other equipment that is used by its customers to research, design and manufacture semiconductors, solar cells, carbon nanotubes, nanowires, LEDs, MEMS, industrial coatings and equipment for surface mounting of components onto printed circuit boards.

ABOUT THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK:

Founded in 1847 as the Free Academy, The City University of New York is the nation's largest urban public university, and, with more than 100 nationally recognized research centers, institutes and consortia, CUNY is also one of the nation's major research institutions. CUNY comprises 23 institutions: 11 senior colleges, six community colleges, as well as an Honors College, a downtown Graduate Center, a Graduate School of Journalism, a School of Law, a School of Professional Studies, and the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education. The University serves more than 231,000 degree-credit students and an additional 230,000 adult, continuing and professional education students. College Now, the University's academic enrichment program for 32,500 high school students, is offered at CUNY campuses and more than 300 high schools throughout the five boroughs of the City of New York

ABOUT BROOKLYN COLLEGE:

Brooklyn College, a senior college of the City University of New York, is a comprehensive college with undergraduate and masters programs in the liberal arts and professional areas. The faculty also participates in doctoral training at the CUNY Graduate School in on-campus doctoral programs in physics; biology; biochemistry; computer science; earth and environmental science; and cognition, brain and behavior (psychology). Students work with research faculty in labs equipped with state-of-art equipment on projects funded by the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, US Department of Energy, DARPA, and other federal, state, and private agencies. The college's science research efforts are broadly distributed across the sciences, but are notable for interdisciplinary research programs in semiconductor development and characterization; applied biomedical and drug design; cellular and behavioral neuroscience; and urban environmental studies, particularly on the marine environment in New York City. This work educates a diverse student body of more than 15,000 to become scientifically and technologically literate citizens, science educators, and scientific professionals to needs for a highly educated scientific and technologically literate workforce for the 21st century.

ABOUT NYSTAR:

NYSTAR is a government public-benefit corporation that supports collaborative industry/academic partnerships to foster integrated approaches for developing and commercializing innovative technologies. NYSTAR's initiatives include investment in academic research and development facilities to promote work with industry, recruitment and retention programs for higher education researchers, technology transfer initiatives and efforts to ensure a skilled workforce through high technology training programs.

ABOUT CUNY-CAT:

The New York State Center for Advanced Technology in Photonics Applications (CAT) at the City University of New York (CUNY) develops and disseminates knowledge in photonics technology in order to promote New York economic development for the medical, biological, industrial and military sectors. To fulfill its mission, the CAT carries out cutting edge photonics research, develops technological innovations and applications, facilitates product development and leverages its NYSTAR funding with industrial and federal funds. It supports NYS industry through licensing of intellectual property, technology transfer, project collaboration and training of technicians and students.

This press release contains forward-looking statements set within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, except for historical information contained herein; the matters set forth in this news release are forward-looking statements. Readers should note that the forward- looking statements set forth above involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any such statement, including, without limitation, the uncertainties discussed under the caption "Risk Factors" in the Company's Registration Statement on Form S-1 filed with the SEC on July 3, 2007, as subsequently amended, which discussion is incorporated herein by reference. Readers should also read the periodic filings and current Form 8-K reports of the Company.