It seems not all industry experts are as excited about Novalux as you are.
I think it has a ways to go before "It comes down the pike".
From Compound Semiconductor Magazine Issue 6 No. 5 (July 2000)
Novalux Has High Hopes for Mystery Laser Technology
Novalux, a 2-year old company based in Sunnyvale, California, has unveiled what it claims to be a "breakthrough in laser technology." Details of the so-called Novalux extended cavity surface emitting laser (NECSEL) are sketchy to say the least. The device is reportedly capable of achieving much higher output powers than standard VCSELs, while sharing many of their advantages such as a circular output beam for improved fiber coupling. The novelty of the device appears to be in the design of the cavity, which is much larger than in a standard VCSEL in order to scale the output power. NECSELs use conventional semiconductor materials, and are electrically pumped.
"A key feature is that the technology is highly manufacturable," says Aram Moohradian, Novalux's founder. "As surface emitters, the devices can be fabricated and tested at the wafer scale, unlike edge-emitting lasers. We are combining standard semiconductor materials with features of conventional [non-semiconductor] laser technology to achieve high output power at low cost. This is a platform technology that can be applied to many applications; pump lasers for EDFAs or Raman amplifiers, fixed and tunable wavelength sources for telecommunications, high power visible devices and more."
Novalux recently opened a new class 10 clean room that the company believes to be the only such facility for processing 4-inch GaAs wafers for photonic applications. The company has attracted a large amount of capital investment, which is being used to expand its facilities and install epitaxial capability.
The combination of high output power and low manufacturing cost is certainly very attractive, although it remains to be seen whether the technology will attain the required cost, performance and reliability levels to penetrate mainstream applications.
compoundsemiconductor.net
....there's that "barriers to entry" thing again......
:0)
D. |
