The company recently won a £680,000 contract from Cenamps to develop the new material, which has a worldwide patent for commercialisation, and is interested in spinning-in new partnership and licensing deals, said managing director Arnab Basu.
DSC was formed in 2003 after researchers from Durham University found a way to crystallise cadmium telluride from vapour instead of the traditional freezing from the liquid form, thereby reducing costs and increasing yield.
The material, which has the potential to convert high-energy radiation into digital images, would have applications in security screening, such as in airports, as well as in medical instrumentation such as those used in early-stage cancer detection. The optoelectronic material, which can detect X- and gamma-rays, could also be used in space exploration and nondestructive testing.
The abundance of future applications means DSC's technology could enter a multi-billion dollar market where the appetite for improved radiography is increasing rapidly, said Basu who heads the team of six at DSC. Having already received £1 million from last year's deal with US group Amphion Innovations, the new deal with UK-based Cenamps will allow DSC to develop a secondary product.
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