New strategic supply agreement for Avalanche photodiodes (APD)

Together with radar and camera systems, LiDAR is of fundamental importance for autonomous driving. In this field, Velodyne LiDAR acts as a supplier to a large number of OEMs and tech companies in the autonomous revolution space and particularly appreciates the performance of First Sensor technology for this.

This started in 2009 with an APD array that entered series production for the end customer Chrysler. In addition to the USA, this technology is now being used in Europe and Asia as well.

“Many of our development projects had reached prototype phase by the end of last year. We are confident that we will generate further business from them in the future,” said Dr. Mathias Gollwitzer, CFO of First Sensor.

First Sensor came first among producers for Avalanche photodiodes in the recently published Global APD Avalanche Photodiode Market Research Report 2016. They detect invisible flashes of light with which LiDAR scanners create a high-definition 360˚ picture of the surrounding area.

Fitted with an internal gain mechanism, they are particularly sensitive. The sensor specialist offers individual diodes as well as arrays, which are used for applications such as distance measurement or optical communication.

They are used in the growth markets of industry 4.0, medical technology and autonomous driving. These areas form the thematic focus of this year’s SPIE Photonics West, at which more than 20,000 international visitors are expected.