Zecotek Photonics Inc. has been granted full patent rights for its latest Micro-channel Avalanche Photodiode solid-state photo detector by the Agency for Intellectual Property Protection in Russia. Zecotek currently has pending U.S. and Patent Cooperation Treaty counterpart applications for worldwide patent rights and anticipates approvals. Zecotek´s proprietary and patented MAPDs have been designed in several configurations to offer significant cost and performance advantages over the current vacuum tube based photo multiplier tubes (PMT) and other solid-state photo diodes. Zecotek´s MAPD-2 addresses specific, high-demand requirements in high-energy physics such as particle accelerators where PMTs are vulnerable to the magnetic environment created by the superconducting magnets used in the collimation of particle tracks. The MAPD-3 meets required specifications for advanced, high resolution PET (positron emission tomography) scanners and gamma camera applications, particularly when matched with Zecotek´s patented LFS scintillation materials. Photo detectors, together with the scintillation material, typically constitute 50 to 65% of the manufacturing cost of a PET scanner. Existing photo multiplier tubes are also key components of medical inspection devices used in blood analysis and DNA sequencing.

Zecotek Photonics Inc. announced that the Department of Physics at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, U.S.A., has ordered its proprietary TIS-SF-777 Ti: Sapphire laser (Triple Seven laser) and a FD-SE-07 resonant frequency doubler. The tandem device has the ability to deliver a super-narrow line of powerful radiation in the blue spectral range and provides a significant new tool for application in fields such as nanolithography, nanostructured materials and quantum physics where single atoms and ions can now be cooled, trapped, and precisely manipulated using laser beams.

Zecotek Photonics Inc. has announced the introduction of its SL 1.4 Fiber Coupled Laser, designed specifically for surgical applications in the ophthalmic market where it can be used for a variety of coagulatory procedures. Zecotek´s SL 1.4 Laser utilizes a proprietary design and offers a more effective and less expensive solution than presently used holmium lasers. The 1.4 micron wavelength can be used for a variety of coagulatory surgical procedures including Laser Thermal Keratoplasty (LTK), a refractive surgical procedure which uses an infrared laser to reshape the cornea for correction of low ranges of hyperopia (farsightedness), presbyopia (age-related loss of focus) and over-corrections from radial keratotomy and LASIK procedures. The company is currently preparing for filing for patent protection in a number of jurisdictions.