Agnitron Technology Wins Competitively Selected DoD Contract
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Agnitron Technology Selected for DoD Contract
June 21, 2013, Eden Prairie, MN
Agnitron Technology announced today their Phase I proposal, entitled “Solar Blind MgZnO Photodetectors”, submitted under the Army Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program, has been competitively selected for a Phase I award. Agnitron’s partners for the effort include North Carolina State University (NCSU) and the University of Central Florida (UCF), represented by Professors Jack Rowe and Winston Schoenfeld, respectively. Photodetectors that exhibit maximum sensitivity at wavelengths shorter than those emitted by the sun are known as being solar-blind.
Agnitron’s President, Dr. Andrei Osinsky, spoke about the project, “We are excited to work with the distinguished teams at NCSU and UCF. This is a great opportunity to adopt the advanced material technology being developed by these groups into our existing UV photodetector products.” One of the stated STTR program goals is to foster technology transfer through cooperative R&D between small businesses and research institutions. Osinsky went on to say, “This funding will significantly accelerate the commercialization of advanced solar-blind photodetector technologies and these advances will expand upon Agnitron’s growing optoelectronic device Intellectual Property.”
Solar-blind UV photodetectors have dosimetry and imaging applications in a number of commercial and military areas including water purification, UV curing, atmospheric and astronomical science, flame detection, secure optical communications, biological and chemical sensors, determination of pollution levels in air, biological agents detection etc. The ability to fabricate wide bandgap photodetectors and arrays that are truly solar-blind simplifies detector signal processing and enables more sensitive UV measurements.
The Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program, like SBIR, is a government-wide program, mandated by the Small Business Research and Development Enhancement Act of 1992, PL102-564. STTR was established in FY94 as a three-year pilot program and has been reauthorized through Fiscal Year (FY) 2017. The 2012 STTR budget is determined by a set-aside of 0.3% of the Army’s extramural R&D budget; this set aside percentage is due to increase by .05% every two years until FY17. STTR was established as a companion program to the SBIR program, and is executed in essentially the same manner; however, there are distinct differences.
Agnitron Technology, Inc. specializes in developing emerging compound semiconductor material and device technologies into profitable commercial products as well as economical custom MOCVD equipment solutions. They currently market sale of UV photodetectors through their company website. Agnitron’s diverse team and partners draw from backgrounds in physics, materials science, semiconductor processing and electrical and mechanical engineering. Collectively, this team is credited with more than 400 published manuscripts and over 50 patents. Visit www.agnitron.com for more information.
