A World Where Unusual Materials Improve the Quality of Life

The Turnov Crytur Company is one of the few purely Czech technology companies with a large share of their own development and innovation. The company follows a long tradition of crystal growing and processing and today has a unique combined know-how and state-of-the-art technological background for the development and production of opto-electronic units for applications that remain hidden from what we see in everyday life.

Single crystals, which are grown here in precisely defined environment, are the key component of a large part of the company’s production. These crystals serve either as a source of laser radiation, as scintillators or as an optical/structural element. While lasers are quite imaginable nowadays, what exactly is a scintillator? Simply put, scintillation crystals convert invisible ionising radiation into visible light – so, for example, if we direct X-rays into the scintillator, then such a crystal will start shining. Light generated by the crystal can then be detected by light-sensitive sensors such as a photodiode or a photomultiplier which provide the electronically processed signal necessary for data or image output. It is the scintillators that form the heart of modern optoelectronic units. These products are also mounted in the clean-room environment in Crytur, and in addition to crystals, very precise mechanical (metal, ceramic or plastic), parts and electronic components are also needed for their proper functioning. Crytur does not buy these parts outside, but manufactures them so that the final product is as efficient as possible. This creates top-of-the-line small series products, through which we, for example, obtain images in electron microscopy or receive detailed information on mineral deposits during geological exploration. Crystal-based detectors contribute to faster and more accurate quality control in the food industry or provide data for evaluating the quality of microchips in the semiconductor industry. Scintillation crystals are also used in scientific research. Some detectors used for particle research at CERN’s research facilities are partly made of rings composed of scintillation crystals, and other detectors being built will not be able to provide scientists with the necessary data without a large number of precisely machined crystals. One can state without exaggeration that the crystalline materials and detection units that leave Crytur, in a hidden and unobtrusive way contribute to improving the quality of life around us. The market in which Crytur operates provides a constant space for innovation, not only in the field of detection, but also in a much more civilian field – in lighting technology. Light sources and modules that use a single crystal as an element to change the colour of light will possibly represent a fundamental innovation in the development of light sources. They make it possible to create smaller and more compact light sources based on LEDs and laser diodes, thus pushing the boundaries, for example, in high power spotlights or projectors.