Minalogic

Minalogic announces a new generation of x-ray and infrared detectors for the security, automotive, aviation, and healthcare industries

Grenoble, France, May 31, 2011 - The Minalogic global competitive cluster for micro and nanotechnology and embedded systems today announced that all the goals of its Imalogic project have been successfully achieved-including the goal of limiting production costs. This project was initiated by Sofradir and four other project partners in 2006.

According to Michel Vuillermet, head of the project at Sofradir, "Enhanced CMOS circuit features, greater capacity, and new detection materials are revolutionizing the imager industry."

For the five companies involved in the project, the major challenge was to develop new technology that could achieve superior detection performance while lowering imager production costs-and thereby create opportunities in new markets.

The new technology developed under the project will primarily target applications in industrial control, security, healthcare, and aviation.

• Industrial control: Heat detection systems for building energy audits (heat loss)

• Security and surveillance: Heat sensors for airport security checks (fever detection) and night surveillance
• Healthcare: Improved medical radiology performance through the reduction of exposure to x-ray radiation
• Civil aviation: Infrared images of an aircraft's environment for pilot use in foggy conditions and during takeoff and landing; the new IR detectors will first be installed in private jets and later in commercial aircraft

In 2010, Sofradir sold several hundred high-resolution IR detectors using technology developed under Imalogic. The project help cut production costs by 40%, giving Sofradir a significant competitive advantage-which should let it successfully penetrate the high-growth detector market.

ULIS has gained a substantial share of the booming surveillance equipment market by offering new products to leading manufacturers. ULIS has also stepped up its efforts in the field of thermography by developing systems for building energy audits. Imalogic helped ULIS triple its annual sales over the duration of the project.

In the healthcare market, new x-ray detectors developed under Imalogic can help reduce x-ray exposure by improving detector performance for medical radiology applications.

"These innovations in micro and nanoelectronics clearly have the ability to improve sensor performance, giving the project partners new business development opportunities and helping them gain a competitive advantage," said Mr. Vuillermet.