Lynred invests €2.8M to develop infrared detectors

05 Mar 2021

Under strategic “Made in France” industry program backed by French Government.

Lynred, a developer of infrared detectors for the aerospace, military and consumer markets, is to invest €2.8 million ($3.37M) in developing infrared (IR) detectors. The Grenoble, France-based firm will receive €900,000 ($1.08M) in R&D funding from the French government, as part of a program to “revamp the microelectronics ecosystem in France”.

In developing the next-generation of small pixel-pitch shortwave-IR (SWIR) detectors, Lynred aims to establish a new market sector in France. This national ecosystem will address demand for infrared imaging in industrial process control – such as sorting plastics –and for the spectral imaging market.

Lynred’s R&D program will also create around 20 new jobs. It is responding to the imperatives of France’s industrial renewal strategy by bringing selected development and production steps back to the nation, reinforcing the internal supply chain.

‘Sovereign infrared industry’

“We are thrilled to have been selected to receive funding under this government initiative,” said Jean-François Delepau, CEO, Lynred. “Our core mission is to supply state-of-the-art infrared detectors at the international level, while supporting an independent and sovereign infrared industry in France.

“The investment we will be making here will drive us forward in near infrared technology and support the French government’s target of strengthening the nation’s strategic infrared detector industry.”

The small pixel-pitch SWIR detectors Lynred will develop will be highly-sensitive, fast-frame-rate devices that deliver the accuracy and throughput required for industrial process control scenarios.

This R&D program showcases Lynred’s leadership and excellence in innovation at a time when the government is revamping its strategy roadmap for the electronics industry. This includes a recent amendment enacted by France’s deputy economy minister Agnès Pannier-Runnacher on Thursday, March 4, 2021, to a previous government initiative involving the Nano 2022 program.

Each underscores just how strategic the electronics industry is to the French economy and its industrial sovereignty. Lynred has played an active role in developing the nation’s electronics industry roadmap and bringing artificial intelligence into the industry’s key technologies.

Strategic investment

France’s economic stimulus package, Plan France Relance, is administered by the nation’s Ministry of the Economy and Finance. It includes financing instruments to support specific industries deemed strategic to the nation’s economic recovery and industrial sovereignty.

Microelectronics is one of these industries. This massive stimulus package aims to make France’s industrial economy more competitive by modernizing production facilities and securing the supply chain.