The PNSensor GmbH is an internationally acknowledged company in the field of research and development of advanced radiation detectors.

History

The company was founded in the neighborhood of the Max-Planck-Institutes for Extraterrestrial Physics and for Physics as well as the Semiconductor Laboratory of the Max-Planck-Institutes (MPI-HLL) in June 2002. PNSensor has currently 25 employees, who are all experts in their working field. At the Semiconductor Laboratory of the Max-Planck-Institut, PNSensor conducts research and development tasks on its own responsibility in the field of detectors.

Research Activities

The key competence of PNSensor is the development of detectors for space research and for middle as well as high energy physics. Employees of PNSensor are or have been part of the development, production and the qualification of radiation detectors for the following projects:

• XMM/Newton, a satellite of the European Space Agency (ESA), which was launched in 1999 and since then is sending excellent pictures of the firmament in the X-ray field down to earth. It is providing us with answers about the creation of stars. Part of the responsible focal instrument is the pn-CCD. With its area of 6x6 cm² it is the largest X-ray-CCD ever built.
• SOHO, equipped with wide high sensitive pin-diodes, is sending exciting pictures and spectra of the corona of the sun.
• XEUS, as well a project of ESA, planned for the year 2015, is dedicated to answer important questions about dark matter and energy on the International Space Station (ISS). Therefore new Active Pixel Sensors (APS) are developed. A Silicon-Drift-Detector Field (SDD) will serve as high count rate detector (XEUS Fast Timing - XTRA).
• SIDDHARTA, a successfully approved project of the 6^th Framework Programm of the European Community (EU). PNSensor is developing the design, the layout and the technology of the large areas SDDs, that are needed for the project.
• New Macropixel Fields for cancer research in cooperation with the Italian National Research Authority (INFN) and the Politecnico di Milano.
• Several research and development tasks in industry for the use of Silicon-Drift-Detectors in material analysis, quality control and art research.

Commercial Activities

In industry the demand for Silicon-Drift-Detectors (SDDs), produced at the Semiconductor Laboratory of the Max-Planck-Institutes (MPI-HLL), is increasing. The chips are mainly used for material analysis. Qualification and worldwide sales of the detectors is done by PNSensor.