Dalsa

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Contents

Introduction

Dalsa is an Waterloo-based company specializing in high performance semiconductors and electronics as well sa the design and manufacture of specialized digital imaging products. Dalsa designs sensors, cameras, and systems as well as CCD and CMOS sensors, the most fundamental components of digital imaging. The company was founded in 1980 in Waterloo by imaging pioneer Dr. Savvas Chamberlain, a former Professor in Electrical Engineering at the University of Waterloo and current CEO.

The company was capitalised in November 1984 and went public on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: DSA) in May 1996. Headquarters remain in Waterloo, but Dalsa has expanded operations into Colorado, Massachusetts, California, Montreal and The Netherlands, in addition to sales offices in Germany and Japan. In that time, the company has grown into an industry leader in digital imaging and semiconductor technology, employing approximately 1000 people worldwide with sales revenue of more than $168 Million. Sales offices across North America as well as in Germany and Japan support an international distribution network serving more than 40 countries.

Business Solutions

An 111 megapixel (10560 x 10560) astronomy CCD, fabricated by DALSA Semiconductor, is the first imager to pass the 100 megapixel mark.

Originally the company concentrated in developing and generating technology in the area of charge coupled device (CCD) image sensors. A charge-coupled device (CCD) is a light-sensitive circuit that stores and displays the data for an image in such a way that each pixel in the image is converted into an electical charge, the intensity of that charge is related to a color in the color spectrum.

Today, Dalsa has two main business areas: digital imaging solutions and semiconductor wafer fabrication solutions. Dalsa's digital imaging solutions products capture images by turning light energy into electronic signals—electronic information that allows people and machines to capture scenes.

Their digital imaging groups offer a wide range of products for an even wider range of applications, but they can be grouped into three main types: CCD and CMOS sensors, cameras and vision systems.

Dalsa's best known achievement is their work with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The image sensor chips aboard the “Spirit” and “Opportunity” Rovers were manufactured at Dalsa’s semiconductor fab in Bromont, Quebec. These chips continue to capture images from the surface of Mars.

Dalsa is also one of the only digital camera producers that has a vertically integrated supply chain. Dalsa owns the wafer forge where its imaging sensors are manufactured and boasts to be one of the few companies that uses both CCD and CMOS sensors depending upon the application. Dalsa's semiconductor wafer foundry fabricates a wide range of specialty semiconductors, including image sensors, micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) for optical networking and inkjet printing, and microchips for use in cell phones, caller ID modules, smoke detectors, and industrial and automotive controls.

Dalsa has most recently entered the field of digital cinema, having designed and built the Origin camera system—the first camera designed and built by Dalsa Corporation to be used specifically for digital cinematography.

On June 19, 2006, Dalsa announced the fabrication of 111 million pixels CCD, the first ever to break 100 million pixel barrier.


Philanthropy

  • Dalsa sponsors a research chair at the University of Waterloo.
  • Dalsa is an active supporter of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony and Opera.
  • Dalsa is the donor of a $100,000 leadership gift to the Grand River Hospital Oncology Unit.
  • With the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), DALSA sponsors the DALSA/NSERC Industrial Research Chair in Sensor Technology in the department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Waterloo. The chair is currently held by Dr. Arokia Nathan.

Awards and accolades

  • 2007 Dalsa is named one of Canada's Top 100 Employers by Maclean's magazine
  • 2005 Dalsa is named One of Canada’s Fastest Growing Technology Companies in 2005 Deloitte Canadian Technology Fast 50 Program
  • 2003 Dalsa's Digital Cinematography Camera Receives Two Major Industry Awards at NAB 2003, Digital Cinema Magazine’s “Premiere Product Award” and the “2003 Mario Award” from TV Technology Magazine
  • 2002 Dalsa's Semiconductor Earns the Motorola Gold Performance Award

References

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