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The second round investment will offer Diamond Detectors strategicsupport and a significant potential market for its production.
"We welcome on board a strategic investor that has a requirement for theproducts under development at Diamond Detectors Ltd," says Brendon Grunewald,Head of E6 Ventures. "This second round of funding will support the companyas it moves into full product commercialisation."
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Diamond Detectors Ltd was set up in 2007 with the aim of incorporatingsynthetic diamond made by chemical vapour deposition developed by Element Sixinto novel detectors for a range of markets. It is one of the first companiesto be included in the growing investment portfolio of Element Six's venturecapital fund, E6 Ventures.
The company is focusing on the development of customised detectorsolutions and will initially target four main markets: high energy physics,nuclear monitoring, radiotherapy dosimetry and deep-UV detection.
Diamond has long been recognised as a semiconductor material that candetect many types of radiation from UV and X-rays to particle detection. Theability to make diamond material of the size, quality and consistencyrequired for advanced detection applications opens up significant newpotential markets for novel detectors in a wide range of industries. It alsoenables designers to overcome the inherent problems associated with theselection of appropriate natural diamonds in existing detector applicationswhere diamond is used.
Diamond Detectors Ltd offers a range of fully packaged polycrystallineand single crystal detectors and plates as well as custom design services.The initial products under development cover applications in high energyphysics research such as the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) project at CERN, thenew Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) under development at GSIin Germany as well as the Diamond Light Source, the largest UK fundedscientific facility to be built for over 30 years.
Industrial applications include detectors for use in medical dosimetry,data logging in oil well exploration, UV applications such asphotolithography and cleaning for semiconductor manufacturing. "DiamondDetectors is already working closely with a number of industrial partners onthe future commercialisation of these potential products," says Kevin Oliver,General Manager of Diamond Detectors Ltd.
About E6 Ventures
E6 Ventures is a US$100m fund operated by Element Six open to a broadrange of investment opportunities across industry, provided they meet itsinvestment criteria. The aim is to be recognised as an active investor in newapplications, new markets, new technologies and new companies withinvestments that range from seed / early stage start-ups, to growth and latestage investments with the primary aim of bringing a strong return oninvestment.
About Element Six
Element Six is the world's leading supplier of supermaterials usedthroughout manufacturing industry for a wide range of applications. It is thefrontrunner in the development of synthetic diamond and novel engineeringmaterials that are being used in industrial applications that span, forexample optical, mechanical, thermal, electronic, automotive,telecommunications and medical industries. With a turnover approachingUS$500m and almost 4,000 employees, Element Six has established productionand processing plants in China, Germany, Ireland, Sweden, South Africa,Ukraine and the UK, supported by a global distribution network.
About BAE Systems
BAE Systems is the premier global defence and aerospace companydelivering a full range of products and services for air, land and navalforces, as well as advanced electronics, information technology solutions andcustomer support services. With approximately 100,000 employees worldwide,BAE Systems' sales exceeded GBP15.7 billion (US$ $31.4 billion) in 2007.Contact Christopher Ogilvie Thompson Element Six Ventures +44-7776-178690 +44-1344-638-229
SOURCE Element Six Ltd
