DRS microbolometers to be built by Cypress

DRS Technologies (Arlington, VA, USA) is to transfer its microbolometer production process for uncooled infrared detectors to Cypress Semiconductor (San Jose, CA, USA) for high-volume manufacturing.

The process, developed by the Network and Imaging Systems (NIS) division of DRS, will be transferred to Cypress’s 65nm Class 10 8-inch wafer fabrication facility in Bloomington, Minnesota.

At its Bloomington facility, Cypress has been accredited as a so-called Category 1A Trusted Fab for fabrication, design, and testing of US DoD microelectronic circuitry.

"With our proprietary microbolometer production process and Cypress’s manufacturing expertise, we can achieve the high-volume, high yield and low-cost capabilities that have become requirements of both the commercial and military markets," said NIS President Mike Sarrica.

DRS Technologies and Cypress expect to have qualified product by early 2014.

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-- Dave Wilson, Senior Editor, Vision Systems Design