VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 03, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zecotek Photonics Inc. (“ Zecotek ” or the “ Company ”) (TSX-V: ZMS ) (Frankfurt: W1I ) (OTCPK:ZMSPF), a developer of leading-edge photonics technologies for healthcare, industrial and scientific markets, is pleased to announce that its has initiated the production of the first batch of its patented lutetium fine silicate (LFS) scintillation crystals at its wholly owned and operated LFS Crystal Production Facility in Shanghai, China. On Monday, July 2, 2018 Zecotek’s technicians prepared the newly installed industrial ovens and started the process of large boule crystal growth. An official opening ceremony of the facility is scheduled for July 30, 2018 where local officials, customers and employees will inspect the new state-of-the-art facilities and initial crystal products.
“This is a strategic milestone for Zecotek as we begin inhouse production of our patented scintillation crystals at our LFS Crystal Production Facility in Shanghai,” said Dr. A.F. Zerrouk, Chairman, President, and CEO of Zecotek Photonics Inc. “I would like to thank our business development and technical teams for their tireless hard work with the renovation, installation and setup of the production facility. By establishing our own crystal factory, we control the quality and costs of our crystals, and the security of our intellectual property which provides security, stability of supply and continuity to our customers and builds value for our shareholders. Over the next 30 days we are hosting existing and new customers, to inspect the facility and witnessing the growth of our LFS crystals.”
The ISO certified LFS Crystal Production Facility has sufficient capacity to meet the delivery schedule of our Tier 1 clients and will be expanded to meet growing demand in late 2018.
Zecotek's patented LFS scintillation crystals are grown using the Czochralski method with internal modifications. The proprietary crystal growing process begins with lutetium fine silicate in a specialized industrial crystal growing oven. Dopant impurity atoms are added in precise measurements to create the base for the growing the large boules. By controlling the temperature gradients of the oven, and the rate of pulling and speed of rotation of the rod-mounted seed crystals, technicians extract a large, single crystal, cylindrical ingot from the oven approximately 14 days later.
Using the Czochralski growing method Zecotek’s technicians produce very large-diameter boules with uniform properties and without cracking (a problem with many competing scintillation materials). This method is highly efficient and produces a larger number of high-quality elements from each boule.
The LFS Crystal Production Facility also includes a laboratory for cutting, polishing and array assembly. The lab is ready to receive the first LFS crystal boules schedule for completion in mid-July.
About Zecotek Zecotek Photonics Inc. (TSX-V: ZMS ) (Frankfurt: W1I ) (OTCPK:ZMSPF) is a photonics technology company developing high-performance scintillation crystals, photo detectors/sensors, positron emission tomography technologies, 3D auto-stereoscopic displays, 3D metal printing, and lasers for applications in medical, high-tech and industrial sectors. Founded in 2004, Zecotek operates three divisions: Imaging Systems, Optronics Systems and AutoTronics Systems with labs located in Canada, Korea, Russia, Singapore and U.S.A. The management team is focused on building shareholder value by commercializing over 50 patented and patent pending novel photonic technologies directly and through strategic alliances with Hamamatsu Photonics (Japan), the European Organization for Nuclear Research (Switzerland), Shanghai EBO Optoelectronics Technology Co. (China), NuCare Medical Systems (South Korea), the University of Washington (United States), and National NanoFab Center (South Korea), the Malaysian Institute of Micro-electronics. For more information visit www.zecotek.com and follow @zecotek on Twitter.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements that are based on management’s expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks and uncertainties, which are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual future results and trends may differ materially from what may have been stated.
For Additional Information Please Contact: Zecotek Photonics Inc. Michael Minder T: (604) 783-8291 ir@zecotek.com
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this news release. If you would like to receive news from Zecotek in the future please visit the corporate website at www.zecotek.com
