Collaborations

DRS Technologies Inc. of Arlington, Va., will transfer its microbolometer technology for uncooled infrared detectors to Cypress Semiconductor Corp. of San Jose, Calif., for high-volume manufacturing. The proprietary production process, developed by DRS Technologies’ Network and Imaging Systems Div., will be transferred to Cypress’ 65-nm Class 10 8-in. wafer fabrication facility in Bloomington, Minn. The agreement will allow DRS Technologies to continue sensor production improvements through Cypress’ manufacturing for significantly reduced wafer costs. DRS and Cypress expect to have qualified products by early 2014.

This photo was taken at DRS Technologies’ semiconductor fab in Dallas.

Si-Ware Systems (SWS) of Cairo, Egypt, has licensed its microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) Fourier transform infrared spectrometer technology to Hamamatsu Photonics of Japan for use in a new device. SWS said the spectrometer is the world’s first single-chip spectrometer. Using SWS’ SiMOST (silicon-integrated micro-optical system technology) platform, optical and mechanical components of the spectrometer are monolithically “microsized” on a single MEMS chip. The device “opens up many more possibilities for portable spectrometry, enabling the move from bulky and costly equipment in a laboratory to compact and inexpensive equipment in the field,” said Bassam Saadany, SWS’ Optical MEMS Technology division manager.

Si-Ware Systems’ FTIR spectrometer engine.