Applicaiton and development of InP based device
- Optical fiber communication
- global cable laying = earth/moon distance x 8; 15 % increase/year (ref. Corning)
- urban development of FTTx; by Verizon/AT&T; @ Level 3
- long haul DWDM by fiber communication increasing: 10 Gbs →40 Gbs→160 Gbs
- Optoelectronic integration circuit
- For a faster transmission and enhanced system function, Optical-to-Optical (OEO) conversion costs of the data transmission can not be ignored as the increased of discrete components.
- cost considerations force the fiber communications components shift from a discrete component to a photonic integrated circuits (PIC)
- InP photonic integrated circuits, in recent years, getting breakthrough in the optical communications as the electronic integrated circuit technology development of Si.
- Millimeter wave in military communication
- Technology for frequency agile digitally synthesized transmitters program (DARPA, 2003), demanding the development of transistors with cut-off frequencies of up 500 GHz。
- Sub-millimeter wave imaging focal plane technology (DARPA, 2006), building an imaging system operating at 340 GHz。
- Terahertz electronics program (DARPA, 2009); Phase I: 670 GHz, Phase II: 850 GHz, Phase III: 1030 GHz。
InP based optoelectronic device industry
Table. Turnover of InP device industry in USA, 2009’ (U$)
Company |
Epitaxy |
Device |
Total Sales Revenue (U$ M) |
InP Chip Sales Revenue Related Among Total (U$ M) |
JDS Uniphase |
Yes |
Yes |
1,200 |
480 |
Finisar |
Yes |
Yes |
550 |
250 |
Infinera |
Yes |
Yes |
308 |
280 |
CyOptics |
Yes |
Yes |
280 |
250 |
Oclaro |
Yes |
Yes |
286 |
115 |
Avago |
Yes |
Yes |
1,570 |
390 |
Opnex |
Yes |
Yes |
326 |
130 |
|
|
|
total U$ 4,520 M |
total U$ 1,895 M |
|
Ps.
- Turnover from the number of public information
- Optical communication company chosen in USA
InP based optoelectronic device industry
- More than 150 InP based optoelectronic components manufacturers and research institutes
- InP based optoelectronic device market status
- sales of InP based laser and photodetectors > US$2.0 B
- market size of InP based optoelectronic device > US$5.0 B
- Similar to the GaAs, InP based optoelectronic device has grown and being mature for decades study.
- Production cost
- most important factor: lack of cheap/good InP wafer
InP wafer industry status
Only 5 global manufacturers of InP wafers
USA |
AXT Inc., Crystacomm Inc. |
Japan |
Nikko Materials, Sumitomo Electric |
France |
InPact |
|
Nearly 80 % of the wafer supplied by Japan, and the price is expensive.
Total market opportunity