Belfast, 01 May, 2014

Andor Technology Ltd., an Oxford Instruments company and world leader in scientific imaging and spectroscopy solutions, today announced the launch of its most sensitive, OEM-dedicated NIR spectroscopy detector to date. The iVac 316 offers the latest innovation in sensor technology with an unsurpassed combination of high sensitivity in the NIR region, high resolution 15 µm pixels and broadest spectral range (+10% greater than traditional spectroscopy sensors). The ‘Low Dark Current – Deep Depletion’, or LDC-DD, technology builds on the benefits of traditional Back Illuminated - Deep Depletion (BI-DD) sensors but offers an order of magnitude lower dark current.

Andor’s iVac 316 LDC-DD combines superb dark current performance – over 10 times better than existing deep depletion CCD technologies - and up to 95% quantum efficiency, further incorporating fringe suppression technology for ultralow optical etaloning. Andor’s Ultravac™ vacuum technology’s outstanding track record ensures that the best performance can be extracted from the CCD sensor year-after-year.

Thermo-Electric cooling down to -60°C ensures that, by simultaneously minimizing dark current and maximizing NIR photon collection, the best signal-to-noise can always be achieved for a wide range of applications. These approaches include Raman or photoluminescence-based benchtop systems in analytical laboratories, process control in industrial environments, and the growing and demanding area of spectrally-assisted diagnostics for clinicians in the medical field.

Dr Gerald Cairns, Application Specialist for Time Resolved and Spectroscopy at Andor, said, "We are excited about this new product and expect it to be a key enabler in a diversity of applications where there is an ever increasing demand for sensitivity and speed. Raman and photoluminescence spectroscopy in the NIR are important analytical techniques which will benefit from the iVac 316."

Further Information : http://www.andor.com/oem