Photonic Glass was founded by Mark Spitzer in 2008. The company is engaged in research and development in optical materials for solar energy and other applications.
earned the Ph.D. in physics from Brown University in 1981. His thesis topic was
on the subject of the upper limit to the efficiency of photovoltaic solar
cells. Although formally trained
in physics, Spitzer focused on applied science and also studied electrical
engineering at Brown. He
was designated the Amperex Electronics Fellow in Applied Research.
In 1980 Spitzer
joined the technical staff of Spire Corporation where he obtained funding from
the Solar Energy Research Institute (now NREL) to develop highly efficient
ion-implanted silicon solar cells. Spitzer delivered solar cells exceeding
contact goals and that established a new conversion efficiency record. He served as Principal Investigator on
solar cell development contracts from the NASA, the Jet Propulsion Lab, Solar
Energy Research Institute, Sandia National Laboratory and the Department
of Energy. In 1984 he was promoted
to Manager of Photovoltaics Research, and his team developed highly efficient
InP solar cells for space applications, heteroepitaxial layers on Si, and
AlGaAs lasers. Spitzer and his
team also developed a flat plate solar module with 15% conversion efficiency
which held the record for highest module efficiency for several years. While at Spire, Spitzer developed a
reputation for deliveries exceeding contract requirements.
In 1987 Spitzer joined Kopin Corporation to
lead development of a threat-hardened concentrator solar cell for Air Force
space power systems. This work led
to delivery of GaAs solar cells that exceeded both performance and hardness
requirements. Under contract to
Sandia, Spitzer delivered a monolithically interconnected 12V GaAs photovoltaic cell for
Spitzer was promoted to Principal Scientist at Kopin (reporting to the CEO) and
in that capacity led development of LEDs and displays. He won three contracts from DARPA to
develop both electroluminescent and liquid crystal displays based on a CMOS
active matrix backplane. His multi-company team delivered working prototypes of each technology
with pixel densities of up to 2000 DPI.
Variants of these displays are now provided to the military for thermal
weapons sights and other applications.
In 1995, Spitzer founded The MicroOptical Corporation (now Myvu
Corporation) and in 1996, Spitzer left Kopin to lead MicroOptical as CEO. During his 10-years as CEO, the company performed DARPA contracts to develop advanced eyeglass displays for the
military; this technology was later licensed to Raytheon for
military display development.
In 2005, Spitzer
began a shift in MicroOptical’s focus from technology development to offshore
consumer electronics product manufacturing. His team developed a consumer products strategy, Myvu® and
SolidOptex® brands and a consumer electronics display product prototype. Spitzer hired new management in 2006
from the consumer electronics industry, and moved to the position of Chief
Technology Officer. The company
subsequently changed its name to Myvu and moved engineering and development
operations to Singapore and Malaysia.
In 2008, Spitzer left Myvu to form the Photonic Glass
Corporation which is commercializing the incorporation of
new photonic layers in solid optical and thin-film materials. Throughout
Spitzer’s career, he has focused on difficult technical challenges that others
consider impossible. Spitzer is the inventor or co-inventor
on 50 issued U.S. patents, and has authored or co-authored over 80 technical
papers. In 2007 Spitzer was
designated a Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum.