GigOptix Inc. is a leading fabless manufacturer of high-speed electronic devices, including polymer electro-optic modulators, modulator drivers and laser drivers. The company today announced it is offering samples of the LX8400, its 40G DPSK Mach-Zehnder modulator, created from its proprietary Electro-Optical (EO) polymer technology.
The company is targeting the fastest growing segment of the telecom modulator market, the 40G modulator segment, an area expected to grow from $13 million in 2009 to $105 million in 2014. To position itself as a competitive player in the market, the company has developed the LX8400 modulator, but stated that it anticipates producing additional products to strengthen its portfolio.
“This is just the first part that we are readying for the telecom market. The small-form factor of the LX8400 will enable our customers to create very compact 300 pin transponder designs. We are working on a number of other devices to ensure we offer a continually improving portfolio to our telecom customer base,” Padraig O’Mathuna, director of Product Marketing for GigOptix stated in the press release. “In addition to the 40G telecommunications segment, which is ramping up now, we see exciting new opportunities for this technology in other markets such as RF photonics used in radar and wireless systems.”
According to GigOptix’s, its EO polymer technology offers several advantages over other crystalline semiconductor technologies currently on the market, such as simplified manufacturing, larger bandwidth, lower weight and drive voltages, and various other significant advantages.
The company expects to launch large-scale production next year; LX8400 engineering samples are available now.
“We are delighted to release this first generation of mass producible electro-optic polymer modulators to customers,” Dr. Raluca Dinu, vice president and general manager of GigOptix-Bothell business unit stated. “We now have the product that will enable our customers to validate the operation of electro-optical polymer modulators in telecom systems and we plan to move toward mass production in 2010.”
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