VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Dec. 13, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Zecotek Photonics Inc. (TSX-V:ZMS) (Frankfurt:W1I), formerly Zecotek Medical Systems Inc., today announced that it has received an order for a supply of its proprietary Micro-pixel Avalanche Photo Diodes (MAPD) solid-state photo detectors from the Institute of High Energy Physics Research (INR). The MAPD photo detectors will form a critical component in a new, high-performance hadron calorimeter, a device used in key experiments at the European Centre for High Energy particle Physics (CERN) in Switzerland.
"We are very pleased that the INR has selected our MAPD as a critical component for their high-performance calorimeter to be used in the prestigious CERN program," said Dr. A. F. Zerrouk, Chairman, President and CEO of Zecotek. "The INR is a leading and highly respected Institute in the field of particle physics and we believe this type of application should result in significant additional and recurring sales for our MAPDs."
The hadron calorimeter will be used for the detection of particles in nucleus-nucleus collisions at the energy range from 10 to 160 GeV per nucleon. Each calorimeter will contain of a large number of modules consisting of multiple layers of plastic scintillator material. Light produced by the particles in the scintillator is collected by a wavelength shifting fiber and collected at a MAPD. The MAPD will provide both high pixel density in excess of 10,000 pixels per square mm and required gain.
The INR successfully constructed and tested the first supermodule with MAPDs as a critical component in its CERN labs in Switzerland. Results of the successful application were announced at a recent CERN workshop by the leading researcher, Dr. Fedor Guber.
INR's first calorimeter will require over one thousand MAPDs which will be supplied through Zecotek Imaging Systems Pte. Ltd., Singapore, a wholly owned subsidiary of Zecotek Photonics Inc. The MAPDs are manufactured under contract by the Malaysian Institute of Microelectronic Systems.
About the INR
The Institute for Nuclear Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences conducts research activities in the fields of atomic, nuclear, elementary particle physics, cosmic ray physics and neutrino astrophysics. The Institute is particularly known for its research in the studies of correlation between particle physics and cosmology.
About CERN
CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, is one of the world's largest and most respected centres for scientific research. Founded in 1954, the CERN Laboratory sits astride the Franco-Swiss border near Geneva. The Organization's mission is to "provide for collaboration among European States in nuclear research of a pure scientific and fundamental character. The Organization shall have no concern with work for military requirements and the results of its experimental and theoretical work shall be published or otherwise made generally available." It was one of Europe's first joint ventures and now has 20 Member States. For more information, please visit www.cern.ch.
About Zecotek
Zecotek Photonics Inc. (TSX-V:ZMS) (Frankfurt:W1I) is a photonics technology company developing high-performance crystals, photo detectors, lasers, optical imaging and 3D display technologies for commercial applications in the medical diagnostics and high-tech industry. Founded in 2003, the company has three distinct operating divisions: imaging, lasers and 3D display, with labs located in Canada, USA, Singapore and Russia. Zecotek commercializes its novel, patented and patent-pending photonic technologies directly and through strategic alliances and joint ventures with multinational OEMs, distributors and other industry leaders. For more information, please visit www.zecotek.com.
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