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News

30 July 2007

 

Award-winning two-colour thermal imaging chip uses Wafer Technology's GaSb substrates

The research team of Dr Martin Walther, Dr Robert Rehm, Joachim Fleissner and Dr Johannes Schmitz at Fraunhofer-IAF in Freiburg, Germany was recently awarded Baden-Wurttemberg state's Euro 100,000 Landesforschungspreis 2006 for applied research for developing the world’s first bi-spectral (two-color) infrared detector chip (co-developed with AIM Infrarot-Module GmBH of Heilbronn, Germany, which manufactures infrared detectors and modules for thermal imaging systems).

The two-color thermal imaging cameras consist of InAs/GaSb type-II superlattices (SLs) deposited using molecular beam epitaxy on epitaxy-ready GaSb substrates made by the Milton Keynes, UK-based Wafer Technology division of epiwafer foundry IQE.

“We are delighted to be able to support the 2” and 3” GaSb substrate requirements of this programme and congratulate Dr Martin Walther and his team on this work,” said Dr Mark Furlong, Wafer Technology’s director of sales & marketing. “The highest quality of wafers is an absolute must for these imaging arrays,” he adds.

“Our new infrared detector is ideally suited for new state-of-the-art early-warning defence systems and, as such, has a big market potential within the civil and military aviation industry,” said Walther.

The team is now working towards a multi-color IR sensor that can provide images in the whole spectrum.

Visit: http://mwk.baden-wuerttemberg.de

Visit: http://www.aim-ir.com

Visit: http://www.wafertech.co.uk