DRS Technologies (Arlington, VA, USA) is to transfer its microbolometer production process for uncooled infrared detectors to Cypress Semiconductor (San Jose, CA, USA) for high-volume manufacturing.

The process, developed by the Network and Imaging Systems (NIS) division of DRS, will be transferred to Cypress’s 65nm Class 10 8-inch wafer fabrication facility in Bloomington, Minnesota.

At its Bloomington facility, Cypress has been accredited as a so-called Category 1A Trusted Fab for fabrication, design, and testing of US DoD microelectronic circuitry.

"With our proprietary microbolometer production process and Cypress’s  manufacturing expertise, we can achieve the high-volume, high yield and low-cost capabilities that have become requirements of both the commercial and military markets," said NIS President Mike Sarrica.

DRS Technologies and Cypress expect to have qualified product by early 2014.

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-- Dave Wilson, Senior Editor, Vision Systems Design