Chicago, IL -- (SBWIRE) -- 10/22/2010 -- MicroLink Devices, Inc. (http://www.mldevices.com), a Niles, IL-based semiconductor manufacturer, has been awarded a research contract from UES, a Dayton OH-based science and technology company, to develop high-efficiency, light-weight, flexible solar panels for the Raven RQ11-B (Raven) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). This research project is funded by the United States Air Force.

The Raven is a lightweight, low-altitude remote-controlled UAV system designed and developed by AeroVironment, which is based in Monrovia, CA. Developed for the United States Armed Forces, the Raven performs intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) operations. The Raven is currently being used in several countries.

According to Dr. David McCallum, MicroLink’s VP of Marketing, “Our proprietary manufacturing process, epitaxial lift-off (ELO), gives us the ability to offer unique enhancements to the Raven power system that have the potential to dramatically improve the capabilities of the aircraft.”

McCallum adds, “We appreciate the confidence shown in MicroLink. We believe our ELO process can change how military and general industry manufacturers think about using solar We believe our ELO process can change how military and general industry manufacturers think about using solar power in their products and systems. The Raven is another example of this.”

About MicroLink Devices, Inc (MLD)
MLD was founded in 2000 by Dr. Noren Pan. The epitaxial wafers produced by MLD have been an essential component in the high speed communication industry. The company has earned the ISO 9001 Certification for its quality and service practices and has been a prime federal contractor on solar cell, transistor, and radio frequency communications projects for the past six years. MLD has collaborated with many other companies’ research and development projects; many of these initiatives have become widely-used commercial products.