Here is a presentation by Dr. Larry Dalton of the University of Washington, on the topic of Optoelectronics. Dr. Dalton is also on KVH’s board of Advisors.
Message 14592383
When you hear the words “optoelectronics” and “optochip”, remember that KVH has the exact same technology capabilities – WITHOUT THE CHIP. It’s their PhotonicFiber technology, which is going to be bigger than the A5 or even the new IMU. In fact, it’s the basis for their next-gen A5 antenna, which is just one application of the technology.
The E-O chip is a complex technology, where high speed electronics and optics are brought together on a microchip. The chip it then GLUED to the end of a fiber optic fiber. It is this part that results in higher costs (compared to KVH’s technology), low yields (as low as 5% at the 40Gbps level) and much of the optical loss.
By eliminating the need for the EO chip, KVH not only realizes a major cost reduction, eliminates the need for microchip production capability, and improves the technical specs. For example, there is almost no optical loss with KVH’s approach.
One of the products we are talking about here is a high speed optical modulator, and other optical components such as In-fiber Bragg Gratings, fiber amplifiers, and optical switches, that can work at any speed from 1Gbps into the hundreds of Gbps. Yes, that is what companies like JDSU, Agere, Agilent, Agility etc do.
Between the automotive market, the commercial telecom market and military applications, everything from phased-array antennas, FOG gyros that can compete with MEMs in price and beat their performance 100-fold, smart munitions from bombs to rockets to artillery shells, the market potential here is in the BILLIONS of dollars.
This is an excellent presentation. Longs should take the time to view and understand both the general technology and KVH’s version of it.
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