New Light Industries Ltd. will use access to a $2.5 million Washington Technology Center microfabrication laboratory to improve its new liquid-crystal technology, President Steve McGrew said.

The center said it awarded Spokane-based New Light three months of free access to help move the company's patent-pending technology to market faster.

The lab's centerpiece is a electron beam lithography tool able to etch features as small as 10 nanometers, or less than one-two thousanth of a human hair.

McGrew said New Light wants to explore new aspects of its technology, which has potential uses in cell phones, digital cameras, eyeglasses and other devices.

Using the center's lab will save New Light money during a development process McGrew said he expects will take another two years.

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