VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 25, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Zecotek Photonics Inc. (TSX-V:ZMS) (Frankfurt:W1I) today announced that it has received an order for its proprietary Micro-pixel Avalanche Photo Diode (MAPD) solid-state photo detectors from the University of Geneva, Switzerland. The MAPD photo detectors have been selected as an alternative to photo multiplier tubes (PMTs) in the development of new calorimeters for high energy physics. This follows a recent order from the Swiss Institute of High Energy where Zecotek's 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 with the growing interest of the scientific community in our MAPD photo detectors," said Dr. A. F. Zerrouk, Chairman, President and CEO of Zecotek. "We identified high energy physics as one of the important target markets for our MAPDs and these initial sales are validation of both our designs and our market projections. The calorimeter is an essential tool in this area of research, where each device will typically use more than one thousand photo detectors and this is just one of many possible applications in this exciting and high-priority field. Our MAPDs are also currently being evaluated by large medical imaging manufacturers and we are seeing strong interest for many other research and industrial applications."
Zecotek has developed a compact and cost-effective solid-state photo detector aimed at replacing the bulky and expensive PMTs presently used in a wide range of imaging applications such as PET (positron emission tomography) scanners, gamma cameras and high-energy nuclear physics.
Zecotek's new MAPDs detect very small signals and are effective for photon counting. They feature extremely high gain, typical of PMTs (approx. 10exp6), with the advantage of low operating voltage (approx. 50 V compared to approx. 1000 V for PMTs) and their solid-state design makes MAPD photo detectors compact and insensitive to magnetic fields. Zecotek's MAPD photo detectors also incorporate break-through technology that dramatically improves linearity and allows for very tight timing resolution by providing fast pulse rise time and low jitter. Together with its new LFS scintillation material, Zecotek's photo detectors provide a powerful platform for new-generation medical imaging applications relying on y-ray detection, such as PET scanning. Other applications include: confocal microscopy, flow cytometry, DNA sequencing, LIDAR and environmental monitoring, industrial inspection, defense and Homeland security.
About Zecotek
Zecotek Photonics Inc. (TSX-V:ZMS) (Frankfurt:W1I) is a photonics technology company developing leading-edge products: crystals, photo detectors, lasers, imaging and 3D display technologies, for medical, biotech, industrial, nanotech and atomic/molecular science applications. Founded in 2003, the company has three distinct operating divisions: imaging, lasers and 3D display and labs located in Canada, the United States, Singapore, Malaysia 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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