DGAP-News: First Sensor and Analog Devices Developing LiDAR Offerings to Accelerate the Future of Autonomous Driving

First Sensor and Analog Devices Developing LiDAR Offerings to Accelerate the Future of Autonomous Driving

- Customers will benefit from better receiver performance

- System manufacturers can test common evaluation board

First Sensor AG, a developer and manufacturer of standard products and customer-specific sensor solutions in the growth market of sensor technology, and Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI) today announced a collaboration to develop products aimed at speeding the launch of autonomous sensing technology serving unmanned automotive, aerial and underwater vehicles in transportation, smart agriculture, industrial manufacturing and other industries. As part of the collaboration, Analog Devices and First Sensor are developing offerings that shrink the LiDAR signal chain to enable higher system performance as well as reduce size, weight, power and cost for manufacturers designing sensing and perception technology into their autonomous safety systems. The companies also plan to develop other LiDAR products that will serve automotive and industrial manufacturing applications.

"The market for LiDAR systems is maturing with customers expecting a renewed focus on implementing economically and technically compatible solutions," said Dr. Dirk Rothweiler, CEO of First Sensor. "Adapting avalanche photodiodes and transimpedance amplifiers to each other is a logical next step in this evolution. By expanding our cooperation with Analog Devices, our customers will benefit from better LiDAR receiver performance."

For more than 25 years, Analog Devices has been developing sensor technology for transportation safety. Recent developments include multi-channel transimpedance amplifiers (TIAs) specifically designed to convert wide dynamic range photocurrent into a low-impedance voltage signal. First Sensor also has more than 25 years of experience manufacturing LIDAR avalanche photodiodes (APDs), which are highly sensitive detector arrays that convert light into photocurrent. Optimizing the interconnection between the APD and TIA is critical as it significantly influences the noise floor and bandwidth achieved. Improvements in these two parameters directly translate to LIDAR systems which can detect objects at longer range and with higher precision.

"The first step in our working together is to optimize ADI's industry leading TIAs with First Sensors APDs so we can offer our customers more powerful and efficient LIDAR solutions, and better support the mass commercial launch of LIDAR systems into the autonomous transportation market," said Stewart Sellars, general manager, LIDAR, Analog Devices.

First Sensor and Analog Devices will each offer a common evaluation board with which system manufacturers can test the combined solution. LiDAR is a growth driver for First Sensor. The company is preparing for the requirements of volume production with forward integration and an accelerated cost roadmap in line with its strategy for profitable growth.

The cooperation also marks Analog Devices' next phase in implementing its Drive360(TM) autonomous driving solutions strategy. ADI's Drive360 suite of technologies leverage ADI's core competencies in high performance MEMS, RF/mmWave, and photonics/optics technologies, allowing ADI to provide the automotive industry with holistic solutions and be a dedicated partner for highly automated and autonomous driving technology needs. Learn more about Drive360 at www.analog.com/LIDAR.

About First Sensor AG
Founded as a technology start-up in the early 1990s, today, First Sensor is a global player in sensor technology. Based on our know-how in chip design and production as well as microelectronic packaging, standard sensors and customer-specific sensor solutions are developed in the fields of photonics, pressure and advanced electronics for the ever-growing demand in key applications for the target markets of Industrial, Medical and Mobility. The strategy is aimed at profitable growth and focuses on key customers and products, forward integration and strengthening our international presence. First Sensor has been listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since 1999 [Prime Standard Ι WKN: 720190 Ι ISIN DE0007201907 Ι SIS]. Further information: www.first-sensor.com.

About Analog Devices
Analog Devices is a leading global high-performance analog technology company dedicated to solving the toughest engineering challenges. We enable our customers to interpret the world around us by intelligently bridging the physical and digital with unmatched technologies that sense, measure, power, connect and interpret. Visit http://www.analog.com.

Disclaimer
Statements in this report relating to future developments are based on a prudent estimate of future events. Actual events of the company may deviate significantly from planned events, as they depend on a large number of market and economic factors, some of which are outside of the company's control.

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