Explore New Business Fields for Light Sensitive Sensors

[TCL-Experte]

Hey :)

I am currently doing a project on university in cooperation with CERN where I have to find new business fields for light sensitive sensors (CMOS) which every camera contains. The special feature is the radiation hardness. So you can use it for example for detecting x-rays or you can use it in space because it resits cosmic rays. It can detect electromagnetic waves with a spectrum from infrared to x-rays. My question is: Have you an idea where this technology could be used or do you have a problem which can be solved by this technology or do you know somebody who is dealing with such a problem.
I hope you can help me, thank you for your time. :D

 

[ZapperZ]

Hey :)

I am currently doing a project on university in cooperation with CERN where I have to find new business fields for light sensitive sensors (CMOS) which every camera contains. The special feature is the radiation hardness. So you can use it for example for detecting x-rays or you can use it in space because it resits cosmic rays. It can detect electromagnetic waves with a spectrum from infrared to x-rays.

Sorry, but NOTHING resists radiation at any and all levels. So unless you specify at what level these CMOS are able to withstand (i.e. you need to give us concrete specs, including the levels of sensitivity), then it is rather difficult to know where it can suitably be used.

I always need a radiation-capable imaging camera in the accelerator beamline, but they all die eventually.

Zz.

 

[TCL-Experte]

The measurements are NIR fluorence, UV, x-ray and alpha particles monitoring of fluids. But x-ray can just be measured if you combine den sensor with a scintillator crystal.
According to the radiation hardness we actually don't know how much the sensor can resist, we just know that it has a higher radiation hardness than typical CMOS sensors because it is used in the LHC.
The task of my project group is to find possible business fields so the scientist know on which aspects they should focus the development of their sensor.
I hope this information helps you!

 

[mfb]

Applications based on the higher radiation tolerance? Then you first have to figure out how much radiation the detector can withstand.

Applications could be in and around particle accelerators and detectors, in space, in nuclear power plants, ... but everywhere you’ll get asked how much radiation the detectors can handle.

 

[phyzguy]

If you don't know how much radiation it can withstand, how do you know that it is any better than what is in my cellphone?

 

[TCL-Experte]

We know that it resists more than a casual CMOS sensor but we don't know how much because they have not tested it.
But let`s forget about how much radiation hardness it has. Where could you use such a sensor and how much radiation hardness needs it? The development of this sensor is not our task, we are just interested in possible business fields for this technology and the engineers' challenge is to find a technical solution

 

[anorlunda]

The development of this sensor is not our task, we are just interested in possible business fields for this technology and the engineers' challenge is to find a technical solution

No, the engineer's challenge is to test it to find out what you have.

Asking about marketing ideas before knowing the product's properties is silly.

 

[TCL-Experte]

I agree with you but this is the task university gave us

 

[phyzguy]

Well, to answer your question, I think most of the market for rad-hard imagers is for space-based imaging. This includes astronomical imagers like space-based telescopes as well as satellite imagers of the ground (weather satellites, etc.). Teledyne is a major supplier in this space, so you could look at the products they provide.

 

[TCL-Experte]

Thank's a lot phyzguy!

 

[TCL-Experte]

Do you maybe know a more commercially attractive business filed?

 

[phyzguy]

No, I don't. But I think this market is a multi-billion dollar market:

http://www.parabolicarc.com/2016/02...ket-driven-emergent-commercial-space-economy/

 

[mfb]

We know that it resists more than a casual CMOS sensor but we don't know how much because they have not tested it.

Just to give you an idea of the magnitudes involved:
Your average phone camera might struggle after receiving as little as 100 rad (~1 Sv, but that unit doesn't work well for non-living materials). Your sensor is better - does that mean it survives 100 rad but fails at 300 rad?
For space applications it should survive of the order of 1000 to 10,000 rad. For particle detectors the requirements vary from "negligible" to 1 gigarad (innermost detectors of ATLAS and CMS in future upgrades). In nuclear power plants there are places that get even higher doses, but currently they don't have cameras there due to the immense radiation damage. If something would survive there it would be an amazing application.

That is at least 7 orders of magnitude in radiation. Where on this range would such a detector be?

we just know that it has a higher radiation hardness than typical CMOS sensors because it is used in the LHC.

Where in the LHC? What is the dose it will receive there? Someone must have tested the detectors if there was a decision to put them in. What was the result of these tests?