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Monolithic Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs)
OneChip Photonics develops and manufactures low-cost, high-performance optical transceivers – based on breakthrough, monolithic Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC) technology – for access networks and other mass-market broadband applications. The company's new approach and technology will remove the cost and performance barriers that have been impeding the ubiquitous deployment of Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) and enable new business and consumer broadband applications.
Most current FTTH transceiver providers base their transceivers on either Discrete Optics or Planar Lightwave Circuit (PLC) designs. These designs offer low levels of integration and require assembly from multiple parts. There is little technical differentiation among them. Rather, vendors must compete on the basis of who can assemble the parts in a slightly cheaper fashion. And there is little opportunity to further reduce such costs.
OneChip is monolithically integrating all the functions required for an optical transceiver onto a single, Indium Phosphide (InP)-based chip. All active and passive components of the chip – including the Distributed-Feedback (DFB) laser, Optically Pre-Amplified Detector (OPAD), Wavelength Splitter (WS), Spot-Size Converter (SSC), and various elements of passive waveguide circuitry – are, uniquely, integrated in one epitaxial growth step, without re-growth or post-growth modification of the epitaxial material.
With respect to transmit performance, OneChip's single-frequency DFB lasers will offer a superior performance – much more suitable for longer-reach and higher bit-rate applications – than competing Fabry-Perot (FP) lasers. With respect to receive performance, OneChip's Optically Pre-Amplified Detector (OPAD) design is a higher gain-bandwidth solution than competing Avalanche Photodiode (APD) solutions. It also is a lower-cost solution, as it does not require a high-voltage power source.
OneChip's breakthrough monolithic Photonic Integrated Circuits have the smallest footprint on the market, the optical parts are aligned for life, and the parts are highly robust (resistant to vibration and other outside elements). Further, OneChip's PICs are designed for automated mounting on a silicon optical bench, without requiring active alignment, using industry-standard, automated assembly processes – resulting in high yields of good devices.
Utilizing automated production processes, OneChip can maintain the highest production scalability (easily ramping up and down) in the industry and respond rapidly to customer needs. Standard production processes also mean reliable supplies to customers, at the lowest prices on the market.
OneChip also recognizes that optical communications is becoming economically and technologically mandatory in areas outside of traditional telecommunications. OneChip is poised to introduce photonics integration into other high-volume business and consumer markets, where its breakthrough PIC technology can reduce costs and improve performance.
