Polish companies PCO and Vigo Photonics have signed an agreement setting out the conditions for long-term cooperation aimed at producing cooled infrared dies utilized in modern vehicles and military systems. The estimated value of the contract is about PLN 200 million. The product is created for Polish armed forces and abroad contractors.
Member of the Polish Armed Forces Group PCO SA is the largest Polish maker of optoelectronic devices: goggles, monoculars, night vision, thermal, laser sights. In turn, Vigo Photonics SA is simply a world-renowned maker of advanced infrared and semiconductor detectors, tested under the most demanding conditions. Detectors of the Polish maker were even on board the Curiosity rover, which carried out NASA's mission on Mars.
The subject of the contract, which the companies have signed, is the launch of a fresh production line of cooled average infrared matrices (MWIR), which usage state-of-the-art semiconductor technologies based on T2SL supernetworks (Type II Super Latice). Vigo plates evidence heat radiation with utmost precision in all conditions, day and night. This allows them to be utilized to build thermal imaging cameras utilized e.g. in modern combat vehicles or anti-aircraft systems. As Vigo assures, the fresh product will be utilized in both Polish armed forces and the European defence industry.
Uncooled infrared matrix VIGO Photonics
– Our matrices are created in Poland, from thought to final product, with the engagement of our engineers and scientists. It's not just technology. This is the foundation of safety and the future," said Adam Piotrowski, president of the Management Board of Vigo Photonics. The company has been cooperating with PCO for many years, and the signed contract is the consequence of joint investigation and development. “It is an investment in stability, reliability and common security,” said Marek Adamiak, CEO of PCO SA. "Thanks to this cooperation, Poland will join an elite group of countries with its own semiconductor technologies, which can be utilized in the most modern optoelectronic devices on the modern battlefield," said the president.
Adam Piotrowski added that the agreement with PCO is not only a business success, but besides evidence that Polish engineering thought and many years of investment in investigation translate into real products that contribute to the independency and safety of the state. Chief Vigo Photonics assured that his company would proceed to make its technology so that it could be applied in both successive advanced military systems and space projects.
The first series of Vigo test plates is to deliver to PCO by the end of the year. The beginning of production is expected to be 2026.
