RNT, developer and manufacturer of its patented NanoFoil, which precisely controls the instantaneous release of heat energy for joining and reaction initiation applications, has announced $500,000 of funding from the U.S. Army's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II Plus program. This, in addition to the original $725,000 awarded by the U.S. Army is in response to the military's essential need to join dissimilar materials for use in armor on lightweight ground vehicles. RNT will use these funds to perform further research of reactive multilayer joining of silicon carbide (SiC) and titanium (Ti).

The NanoFoil creates high-performance bonds that are 100% stronger than current epoxy technology, without compromising the integrity of the materials being joined. The company also plans to explore other joining applications of dissimilar materials including additional metal/ceramic combinations.

“The U.S. Army understands the breakthrough NanoFoil represents for the joining of dissimilar materials,” noted Joseph A. Grzyb, RNT's chief executive officer. “This grant showcases NanoFoil's importance for military vehicles where equipment capabilities are a matter of life and death.”

RNT is leveraging its commercial success in large area joining of dissimilar materials for sputtering targets and industrial ceramics to highlight NanoFoil's use for other purposes such as defense. Additionally, NanoFoil's rapid technology acceptance in other applications including reaction initiation, microelectronics packaging and thermal management is showcasing the versatility of NanoFoil technology to serve a variety of industries and functions.

For more information, visit www.rntfoil.com.