Putting chips down

The race of new players into the microarray field reflects perceptions that the true market potential is yet untapped - indeed, that existing manufacturers have yet to fulfill customer needs - coupled to the belief that barriers to entry are low for technology that already has proven itself in other market segments.

Thus the field has lured big new players like Motorola Inc., which believes it can apply its expertise in semiconductors and electromagnetic science to arrays for pharmaceutical research and diagnostics (see BioCentury, Sept. 11, 2000). ...