Zecotek Announces New Market Entry for LFS Scintillation Crystals and MAPD Photo Detectors
Singapore, August 10, 2011 - Zecotek Photonics Inc. (TSX-V: ZMS; Frankfurt: W1I),a developer of leading-edge photonics technologies for medical, industrial and scientific markets, today announced that a Japanese manufacturer has ordered the Company’s patented Lutetium Fine Silicate (LFS) scintillation crystals and patented Multi-pixel Avalanche Photo-Diodes (MAPD) solid-state photo detectors for trial use in radiation dosimeters. Radiation dosimeters, which are used to measure an individual’s or object’s exposure to ionizing radiation, can benefit from the unique properties of the LFS scintillation crystals and MAPD photo detectors, providing for devices of higher sensitivity, lower manufacturing costs and less vulnerable to high levels of radiation. Orders have also been received from a European device developer for a similar application in the detection of x-rays in medical, scientific and industrial use.
These are new applications for Zecotek’s LFS and MAPD technologies. The market for radiation monitoring equipment is both diverse and, in part due to the recent tragic nuclear accidents in Japan and the demand for more effective monitoring, is showing exponential growth. In addition to public health applications, end users of radiation monitoring instruments include inter alia aerospace and defense, health care, food service industry and research labs. As growth and differentiation in these markets will be determined in large part through the availability of more sensitive and accurate instruments, Zecotek’s advanced detection technologies have been gaining attention from manufacturers of these devices.
“Our patented LFS scintillation technology matched with our patented MAPD photo detector technologies represent a significant innovation in this area of radiation detection and we are delighted to see manufacturers now embracing this solution,” said Dr. A.F. Zerrouk, Chairman, President, and CEO of Zecotek Photonics Inc. “With the rapid growth in demand for more sensitive and robust detection devices we anticipate sales to this sector to develop into another potential source of revenue. Over the past year we have stepped up our marketing efforts into this sector and these efforts are now showing promising results.”
About Radiation Detectors
Scintillator-based detectors of ionizing radiation generally perform better than the traditional Geiger counters because of a much greater density of the material that captures high-energy photons. As such, the gas filled Geiger counter has a markedly inferior stopping power compared to a solid-state scintillator-based detector. Solid state detectors also provide superior detection of low radiation levels by giving a more continuous signal compared to the isolated pulses registered by Geiger counters, which are inherently difficult to separate from background noise. Due to its high brightness and sensitivity Zecotek’s patented LFS scintillation material is pushing the performance of ionizing radiation detectors even further.
Traditionally, solid-state radiation detectors have mostly used photo-multipliers tubes (PMT) in order to register gamma quanta absorbed by the scintillator. But high operating voltages necessary to power PMT and their relatively large dimensions make it difficult to use them in compact portable detectors such as personal dosimeters. Zecotek’s solid-state MAPD photo detectors offer a unique opportunity to enable highly sensitive and compact ionizing radiation detectors when combined with the Company’s advanced LFS scintillation material.
Zecotek’s LFS scintillation crystals are being used in particle physics experiments and in other environments where the detection hardware is exposed to very large doses of ionising radiation. Zecotek’s patented scintillation technology includes a variant LFS-3, a new bright and fast scintillation material for use in applications which require high levels of radiation hardness, cost effectiveness, higher resolution and superior timing when compared to other existing materials.
Zecotek’s MAPD’s are advanced high-performance solid-state photo detectors for the registering of various light intensities within the wavelength range from UV to near IR. The MAPD is designed to replace the earlier photo-detection technologies now used in areas such as high energy physics, astronomy, medical diagnostics, pharmaceutical research, and other areas of industry, security, and defense.
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About Zecotek
Zecotek Photonics Inc. (TSX-V: ZMS; Frankfurt: W1I) is a photonics technology company developing high-performance crystals, photo detectors, medical 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: medical imaging, medical lasers and 3D display and labs located in Canada, Singapore and Russia.Zecotek commercializes its novel, patented and patent-pending bio-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.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements that are based on management’s expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks and uncertainties, which are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual future results and trends may differ materially from what may have been stated.
For additional information please contact:
Zecotek Photonics Inc CHF Investor Relations
Michael Minder Julia Clark, Account Manager
T: (604) 783-8291 [email protected]
[email protected] T: (416) 868-1079 x236
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