Advanced Photonix, Inc. Announces Entry Into the Field of Art Conservation and Documentation of Antiquities

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Sept. 25  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Advanced Photonix, Inc. (NYSE Amex: API) announced today that Picometrix, LLC, an API company, through its representative Spectra Design, has received a purchase order for a T-Ray 4000  terahertz imaging system from the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) in Tokyo, Japan.

The T-Ray 4000 has established itself as the leader in portable terahertz imaging systems.  Introduced in 2007, it provides the capability to inspect, evaluate and image, multilayer objects.  Within the field of art conservation, the T-Ray 4000 has already been used to evaluate the age of various pigments, look for drawings and frescoes under paint or plaster, study ancient texts without opening them, and examine the age of wood on which artwork has been painted.  Using the T-Ray 4000, large objects can be scanned easily to generate an image.  The system is modular, allowing for multiple configurations to be implemented without excessive cost.  Whether the measurement is made in transmission or reflection, single point or imaging, the system can be reconfigured due to its patented, optical fiber-coupled terahertz sensors.

Dr. Kaori Fukunaga at NICT has used the T-Ray 4000 to image and analyze Giotto's masterpiece, "Polittico di Badia" (c.a. 1300). This tempera polyptych is known as one of the most important works from the dawn of the Renaissance era, and restoration has just been completed by Stefano Scarpelli in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy.

Dr. Fukunaga commented on the T-Ray 4000, saying, "THz technologies are progressing very rapidly, and the number of research papers is continuously increasing, but by specialists in optics. This system can convince people that you can use THz imaging off of the optical bench, without struggling to adjust the optical alignment.  It's transportable and robust, so that we can bring it to measure precious cultural heritage objects.  We would like to welcome potential THz users to 'Try THz imaging.'  The words of the conservator, in front of Giotto's masterpiece, says it all: 'That's the thing I wanted to see, and no other technique can show so far.'  At NICT, my work is to increase users, both spectroscopy by Fourier Transform-THz and imaging with time-domain THz [like the T-Ray 4000]."

The T-Ray 4000 is designed to meet the requirements of a wide range of markets including: online process control, security, pharmaceutical, medical, aerospace and spectroscopic research.

About Advanced Photonix, Inc.

Advanced Photonix, Inc.  (NYSE Amex: API) is a leading vertically integrated optoelectronic semiconductor manufacturer of optoelectronic solutions, high-speed optical receivers and terahertz instrumentation to a global OEM customer base. Products include patented silicon (Si), indium phosphide (InP) and gallium arsinide (GaAs) based APD, PIN, and FILTRODE  photodetectors; high-speed optical receivers; and the T-Ray 4000  THz product platform. More information on Advanced Photonix can be found at http://www.advancedphotonix.com/.

Forward-looking Statements:

The information contained herein includes forward looking statements that are based on assumptions that management believes to be reasonable but are subject to inherent uncertainties and risks including, but not limited to, risks associated with the move of our wafer fabrication facilities, technological obsolescence of existing product lines and technological obstacles which may prevent or slow the development and/or manufacture of new products, limited (or slower than anticipated) customer acceptance of new products which have been and are being developed by the Company and a decline in the general demand for optoelectronic products.

  Contact:
  Richard Kurtz, Advanced Photonix, Inc. [phone]
  Cameron Donahue, Hayden IR [phone]
  http://www.advancedphotonix.com/

DATASOURCE: Advanced Photonix, Inc.



CONTACT:  Richard Kurtz of Advanced Photonix, Inc., [phone]; or

Cameron Donahue of Hayden IR, [phone], for Advanced Photonix, Inc.



Web Site:  http://www.advancedphotonix.com/ 

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