Noren Pan, CEO and President
Dr. Pan founded MicroLink Devices in 2000 and has guided the company to become a recognized leader in epitaxial wafer manufacturing for heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) and epitaxial lift-off (ELO) solar cells. Under his leadership, MicroLink established key early customers, reached profitability within its first five years, and built advanced manufacturing capabilities for high-efficiency solar cells for aerospace and terrestrial applications. Prior to MicroLink, Dr. Pan served as Chief Scientist at Kopin Corporation, leading the development of AlGaAs and InGaP HBT materials and launching more than ten global HBT programs, generating peak annual revenues of $80 million. Earlier, he was a Senior Scientist at Raytheon Research, where he advanced high-electron-mobility and bipolar transistor technologies using MOCVD epitaxial growth. Dr. Pan earned his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, is a Senior Member of IEEE, has authored over 70 technical publications, and was inducted into the Chicago Entrepreneurial Hall of Fame in 2007.
Mark L. Osowski, Vice President of Business Development
Dr. Osowski joined MicroLink in 2009 and has played a key role in building the company’s solar business through strategic leadership and technical contributions to product development and engineering. Dr. Osowski has over 25 years of experience in the semiconductor and energy industries, with leadership roles spanning engineering, product development, and business development. Prior to MicroLink, he held key positions at Spectrolab (Boeing), QPC Lasers, and Lucent Technologies–Ortel Corporation, contributing to advanced laser and solar technologies for commercial, defense, and aerospace applications. Throughout his career, he has driven revenue growth, managed high-value government and commercial programs, and built strong customer relationships across global markets. Dr. Osowski earned his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Christopher Youtsey, Chief Technology Officer
Dr. Youtsey received his PhD at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where his thesis work was pioneering in developing photo-enhanced wet etching methods for GaN materials, currently widely used in the manufacture of high-brightness LEDs. He previously worked with TriQuint Semiconductor as a manager in the process engineering group. He was directly involved in the development of GaAs-, InP-, and GaN-based electronic and optoelectronic devices and the transfer of these products into production. He has guided development of the ELO solar cell device fabrication processes at MicroLink Devices over the past fifteen years and is currently focused on developing the next-generation roadmap for high-volume production.
Andree Wibowo, Vice President of Corporate Strategy
Mr. Wibowo joined MicroLink Devices in 2001 after receiving his B.S in Chemical Engineering from University of Wisconsin at Madison. He has over 20 years experience in the compound semiconductor industry specifically in MOCVD systems and volume manufacturing of GaAs materials including HBT and solar cells. Mr. Wibowo was responsible for transitioning HBT and BiFET devices from R&D to volume manufacturing, successfully earning ISO 9001:2000 certification for high-volume production at MicroLink Devices. In this capacity, he was responsible for establishing solar cell epitaxy production expansion of lightweight, high efficiency solar cells for space and terrestrial application. Mr. Wibowo also obtained an MBA from the University of Chicago in 2012.
Raymond Chan, Vice President
Mr. Chan joined MicroLink Devices in October 2008. Previously, Mr. Chan worked at TriQuint Semiconductor in Hillsboro, Oregon, where he was responsible for the development and sustaining of various sputtered metal deposition processes and electroplate activities. He was a project leader for the development and production ramp of CuSn pillar bump technologies on 150 mm and 200 mm wafers for flip-chip assembly and packaging.
Glen Hillier, Development Manager
Mr. Hillier joined MicroLink Devices in 2004 after working at Bell Northern Research (BNR) in Canada for 19 years. Glen has over thirty-five years of experience in materials research, development, and support of III/V compound semiconductor devices using Low Pressure Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (LPMOCVD), and he has demonstrated leadership in complex system design and development using state-of-the-art tools and equipment. He was responsible for the development and manufacturing of compound semiconductors such as laser diodes, detectors, modulators, and transistors for use in optical communication systems. At MicroLink, he focuses on the development of epitaxial lift-off technology using both GaAs and InP based solar cells along with materials engineering and switching components for key customers.
Rao Tatavarti, Technical Director
Dr. Rao Tatavarti has served as Technical Director at MicroLink Devices since 2007 and was instrumental in the early development of inverted metamorphic (IMM) solar cells for space and terrestrial applications. He earned his Ph.D. in Solid State Physics from the University of Delhi, India. Dr. Tatavarti has led programs funded by the DOE, Air Force, Navy, Army, NASA, and DARPA focused on epitaxial lift-off (ELO) of multijunction solar cells for CPV, space, and UAV applications. He has published over 80 papers in refereed journals and conference proceedings and has served as a symposium organizer for PV materials and devices at MRS, IEEE PVSC, Gordon Research Conferences, and other international venues.