The Optical Fiber and Communication Conference & Exhibition 2018 held at San Diego on 11 to 15 March, 2018 brought together over 700 exhibits showcasing the entire continuum of the supply chain from communications systems and equipment to network design and integration tools to components and devices. Of course, there was much interest in a growing segment and widely regarded as a disruptive technology – Silicon Photonics.

Silicon photonics has come a long way. For the uninitiated, it is the guiding of light in silicon-based material as the optical medium. The silicon is usually fabricated with very precise micro-photonics components. It operates in the infrared, typically at 1.31 and 1.55 micrometer wavelengths which is used by most fiber optic telecommunication systems. Silicon photonics enables the next generation of optical interconnects for data center and cloud applications.

CompoundTek comes at a time where the players are consolidating and strategizing how to break into and take full advantage of the silicon photonics market. Among the companies that visited our booth, more than 50 of them are excited and have strong interest in what we have to offer. What they found interesting was that CompoundTek can offer silicon photonics fabrication with a turn-around time of less than 2 months and technological capabilities that are comparable and at some points, superior to the research institutes and other commercial foundries.

In conjunction with OFC, we also published press releases about our strategic partnership with SilTerra as our world-class 200mm foundry partner and about Prof. Graham Reed joining our board of advisors. Prof. Graham Reed is a widely known as one of the pioneers and guru in silicon photonics.

CompoundTek will continue to offer the best and the latest technologies in silicon photonics fab. With strong partnership with leading research institutes, CompoundTek promises to bring unconventional solutions, continuous innovations, and robust support for the next generation silicon photonics fab process.