NOBLE PEAK VISION

About NOBLE PEAK VISION

NoblePeak Vision, founded in December 2002 as Noble Device Technologies, emerged from the downturn of the telecommunications market. The company was established by Dr. Clifford King and Dr. Conor Rafferty, former engineers and managers at Bell Laboratories who had also been PhD students together at Stanford University. The founding was a strategic move by King, who negotiated the ownership of patents, technology, and equipment from Agere Systems (a spin-off from Lucent Technologies) in exchange for consulting services to transfer semiconductor processes. Rafferty joined as a co-founder shortly after.

The core of NoblePeak's technology was initially developed at Bell Labs for a single-chip photoreceiver for fiber optic communications. However, market research indicated a stronger potential in imaging applications. The firm pivoted to focus on developing and delivering camera cores to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) in the security, surveillance, transportation, automotive, and defense markets. Its business model centered on providing these camera cores for integration into standard products. The company secured an $8 million Series A funding round in March 2006 from Matrix Partners and Northbridge Venture Partners, followed by a $12 million Series B round in March 2008, which included Chart Venture Partners. It also received grants from the National Science Foundation and a loan from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.

NoblePeak's key offering was its TriWave technology, a germanium-enhanced CMOS image sensor. This technology was distinguished by its ability to integrate single-crystal germanium photodetectors with CMOS circuits, a process that had been a significant challenge in the industry. The firm developed a proprietary growth technique that solved the lattice mismatch between germanium and silicon, allowing for the creation of thick, virtually defect-free germanium layers on silicon. This monolithic Ge-on-Si approach enabled the fabrication of imagers that were sensitive across the visible, near-infrared (NIR), and short-wave infrared (SWIR) spectra (450nm to 1650nm). A significant benefit of this technology was its ability to capture the Earth's natural SWIR "night glow," enabling detailed night vision capabilities, including facial recognition, which was a substantial improvement over thermal cameras that only detect heat signatures. This innovation won the company a Prism Award for Photonics Innovation in 2008. Despite its technological advancements and initial funding success, NoblePeak Vision assigned its assets for the benefit of creditors in September 2010, and its intellectual property, fixed assets, and inventory were sold in a sealed bid sale in November 2010. The company's assets were later acquired by IR Laboratories in 2010.