Siemens AG Exclusively Licenses Imaging Technology to NikkoIA SAS

Newly created Grenoble, France-based startup NikkoIA becomes a worldwide exclusive licensee of NIR patents and associated know-how developed by Siemens AG.

Created in May 2011, NikkoIA aims at designing and manufacturing photodetectors and multispectral image sensors in the visible and near infrared spectrum (0.7 - 3μm). It takes advantage of technology developed by Siemens Corporate, which is said to provide a significant cost benefit over existing near infrared sensors.

The Siemens technology combines both organic and inorganic materials sensitive to specific wavelengths and deposited as thin film layers onto industry-standard electronic substrates. The technology benefits are the versatility in sensor size (up to several hundreds of square inches), shape, sensitivity and resolution, as well as a simplified manufacturing process, the process compatibility with any reading substrates (CMOS, amorphous Silicon thin-film transistor backplanes or printed electronics in the future). Functional sensor prototypes have already been built and tested.

By settling down in the Grenoble area in France, NikkoIA and its future production facilities reinforce and benefit from the rich environment in electronics, semiconductor and imaging competencies, and the local world-renowned infrared industry.

Thanks to DR for sending me the news.