Semiconductor crystal growth for sensors (CZT)
High tech company Durham Scientific Crystals and Cenamps are renewing a £700,000 contract until 2009 after a successful first year.
Cenamps has subcontracted the County Durham-based company to build a prototyping facility for the manufacture of specialist semi-conductor materials in the form of cadmium zinc telluride crystals.
Durham Scientific Crystals (DSC) is uniquely placed to address billion dollar world markets in medical imaging, security screening and industrial inspection.
The Durham University spin-out company is set to benefit from the current transition to x-ray digital imaging which is forecast to be as revolutionary as the shift from film to digital photography.
DSC has developed breakthrough vapour-phase production processes for the Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) family of semiconductor materials. The outstanding properties of these crystals make them the preferred materials for digital x-ray detectors. Their use until now, however, has been limited by severe cost and quality constraints, but DSC’s process fundamentally addresses these problems, transforming commercial viability and driving the development of new applications.
International application markets are large and growing, driven by a strong demand for instrumentation in all the market sectors of interest. Various x-ray based techniques remain the most important form of medical imaging, with world markets of more than $10 billion in devices alone.
CdTe offers advantages including greater sensitivity to x-rays (ten times that of silicon), enabling faster imaging, which is important for lower dosage or for moving images. This has far-reaching implications for the increased understanding of diseases such as Alzheimers and cancer. There is also huge potential to use these materials in security screening, as they allow much faster screening and direct ‘fingerprinting’ of dangerous materials such as plastic and liquid explosive. There are further potential applications in non-destructive testing for industrial processes.
Formed in 2003, with private equity financing, DSC recently became a partner company of Amphion Innovations plc, to take the business to its next stage of development. DSC has one fundamental patent, whilst another family of patents have been filed which will lead to the development of a new generation of products based on DSC’s core technology competence. The company is currently developing other IPs and is in the process of acquiring further IP and technology. Since its formation the company has invested more than $3.5 million to aid the early stage development of the technology, IP and products and DSC is working with several other partners, including the European Space Agency.
DSC board members have three previous successes in x-ray and medical imaging companies listed on the LSE and NASDAQ. DSC’s management team is comprised of Prof. Brian Tanner, Chairman, who is a Professor of Physics and founder of Bede plc, a high tech spin out company listed on the LSE, Dr Arnab Basu, the Managing Director, with a background in sensors and electronic materials industry, Prof. Max Robinson, a Director with previous experience of a successful IPO of a high technology company, Dr Andy Brinkman, a Director and leader of the University research group and Dr Ben Cantwell, Technical Manager.
DSC, now based at NETPark, has worked closely with a number of regional agencies including Cenamps, One NorthEast and the County Durham Development Company, which has supported the company in a number of ways including a Strategic Investment Grant. The company has worked particularly closely with Cenamps from its early development stage in areas such as commercialisation strategy and sourcing funding.
For further information visit www.dscrystals.com