Detectors & Imaging

Sydor Instruments awarded nearly $1M SBIR grant from LBNL for Spectro CCD

Sept. 15, 2017

Sydor Instruments was awarded a $991,741 SBIR Phase IIA grant from the DOE to commercialize the Sydor Spectro CCD.

Sydor Instruments was awarded a nearly $1 million dollar SBIR from LBNL for its Spectro CCD for soft X-ray spectroscopy.

Sydor Instruments, a Sydor Technologies Company (both in Rochester, NY), was awarded a $991,741 dollar SBIR Phase IIA grant from the Department of Energy, Office of Science to commercialize the Sydor Spectro CCD. Sydor Instruments will use this grant in collaboration with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL or Berkeley Lab). The CCD includes specific features to improve resolution in soft X-ray spectroscopy. This improved resolution allows spectrometers to be shorter, which is critical for cost savings as well as achieving the high tolerance positioning when moving the spectrometer during experiments.

The Phase 1 award developed the concept and the Phase II award developed a prototype detector. The prototype detector was demonstrated in a test at Berkeley Lab's Advanced Light Source (ALS) on the RIXS beamlines 8.0.1 and 6.3.2. The Phase IIA will increase the sensor size, plus repackage the system into a commercial offering. Sydor will add this product to the suite of soft and hard X-ray detectors and beam monitors that are used globally for synchrotron and XFEL applications.

Mark Katafiaz, VP of US Operations at Sydor Technologies says, "The SBIR support letters and strong customer demand verify that the Sydor Spectro CCD solves a significant problem. Results at ALS further confirm that our 5 micron pixel resolution, ultra low noise, and the highest ultra-soft X-ray QE will enable beamlines to fully utilize their source capabilities for years to come."

Sydor Instruments provides solutions for high-speed imaging and diagnostics. The company provides state-of-the-art streak cameras, x-ray detectors, x-ray beam monitors, image intensifiers, photomultipliers, and more.

Sydor Technologies has two primary operating units, Sydor Instruments, a Sydor Technologies Company that specializes in high-speed imaging systems and diagnostics, and Sabre Ballistics, a Sydor Technologies Company that specializes in ballistic and impact test systems. The company operates in 33 countries around the world with its world headquarters located in Rochester, NY.

SOURCE: Sydor Technologies; http://sydortechnologies.com/sydor-instruments-receives-1-million-sbir-award/

About the Author

Gail Overton | Senior Editor (2004-2020)

Gail has more than 30 years of engineering, marketing, product management, and editorial experience in the photonics and optical communications industry. Before joining the staff at Laser Focus World in 2004, she held many product management and product marketing roles in the fiber-optics industry, most notably at Hughes (El Segundo, CA), GTE Labs (Waltham, MA), Corning (Corning, NY), Photon Kinetics (Beaverton, OR), and Newport Corporation (Irvine, CA). During her marketing career, Gail published articles in WDM Solutions and Sensors magazine and traveled internationally to conduct product and sales training. Gail received her BS degree in physics, with an emphasis in optics, from San Diego State University in San Diego, CA in May 1986.