Detect(ive) work
SAXONBURG — In a 35,000-square-foot warehouse, Kromek is developing groundbreaking radiation detection products used for high-resolution medical imaging and security screening devices.
Kromek is creating a chemical compound known as cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) that can provide more accurate imaging for applications in the medical, nuclear and security screening markets. CZT is a semiconductor that converts X-ray or gamma-ray photons into electrons.
Kromek, formerly Durham Scientific Crystals, was incorporated in April 2003. The company is a spinoff of research that was being done in the physics department of Durham University in the United Kingdom.
In 2013, Kromek acquired eV Products based in Pittsburgh with offices and a plant in Saxonburg. The company also operates a manufacturing plant in Durham in the United Kingdom, where it is headquartered, and in California, called Kromek-Nova.
The company creates many imaging products that can help track tumor growth in cancer patients or measure fill lines for beverage companies.
Perhaps the most sought after commodity the company produces is D3S. This is a small, cell-phone sized scanner that detects radiation and can be used by law enforcement or the military to detect a terrorist threat at borders, high profile events or festivals.
According to Kromek CEO Berry Beumer, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which is an agency of the U.S. Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military, has invested in this latest innovation with the company.
“Imagine emergency response people, the police or the military benefiting from networked detection like this that allows great sensitivity in those areas.
“It helps keep our country safe. It helps keep our people safe. It's a wonderful tool.” Beumer said. “This model is core to our business and a very exciting area for us to invest in and to drive forward.”Kromek also has developed a single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) camera, which incorporates the CZT technology with electronics to produce a camera capable of providing higher resolution pictures than technology currently in use. SPECT cameras are used for medical imaging, nuclear detection, and laboratory and research imaging.Beumer explained that the company's new technology is helping pave the way to better quality medical imaging while reducing the amount of patient radiation exposure.“These are mainstream medical imaging techniques that are going to the next level, and Kromek is very much at the core of driving innovation in those industries,” he said.The Saxonburg plant not only develops these products, but also grows the CZT crystals on site in 20 furnaces that were developed by the company. These furnaces were cloned and shipped to the United Kingdom facility a year ago.Alan Peters, Kromek manufacturing manager, said this type of furnace had never been created for a commercial venture before the company developed them five years ago. Previously, similar furnaces had only been developed in the academic sector.“This was a home grown, home-designed system that was built and developed with the people within these buildings,” he said.“This type of method was dabbled on in academic settings, but it was never productionized when we went into it.”According to Peters, the furnaces provide high-quality CZT crystals at higher yield and lower cost.CZT is created by combining cadmium, zinc, and telluride and freezing them into crystals. The entire freezing process takes 3 to 4 months.Brian Harris, Kromek manager of engineering, explained that CZT crystals are created similarly to freezing ice or creating rock candy.“If you made rock candy as a kid, you take water and put sugar in it. You dip the string in it, freeze it and then pull out the string and you have crystals. It's very similar,” Harris said.Once produced, the raw CZT ingots are then cut to different sizes, mechanically and chemically polished and then metallized to prepare them for electrode deposition.CZT detector assemblies are mounted and combined into final electronic or mechanical designs.The detectors are tested to ensure they meet performance requirements. When completed, the detector sensors can be used for any number of products being developed by the company.Although the company has specific products, Beumer said that more than half of all the products developed by Kromek are custom-designed for each client's specifications.The company has done business with many high-profile organizations, including NASA.“In some cases we make the end product. In some cases we make subsystems that other manufacturers put in their systems,” Beumer said.“If you can imagine, every original equipment manufacturer has their own design, and we need to fit into those design limitations with our subsystems,” Beumer said.“So much of what we do is very specific and unique and custom designed to fit into that particular custom application.”
