First Phase: Initial Prototypes and Initial Production
We anticipate producing initial prototype devices meeting commercial requirements in sufficient quantities utilizing a third party fabrication facility. Prototype devices targeted to be used to introduce the POET platform process to the marketplace could enable the Company to gain access to potential customers and seek early commercial design wins. The Company expects that the First Phase of commercialization will generate non-recurring engineering revenue with OEMs, foundries or both with an initial prototype device anticipated to be available by the end of 2014.
Second Phase: Production
The Company’s model is to be fabless, meaning that we will not manufacture devices incorporating our technology for commercialization, but will instead work with third party semiconductor fabrication facilities to produce prototype POET integrated circuit devices, then use those prototypes to market our technology for license. Initial prototypes under development include a ring oscillator and a high speed vertical cavity laser, each of which are anticipated to be completed by the end of 2014. To the extent that POET is successfully introduced and demand dictates, the Company intends to continue to improve on its ability to promote technology by entering into licensing relationships with well known, commercial market-focused fabrication facilities worldwide. Such semiconductor manufacturers would be expected to develop certain libraries and specific design kits to incorporate our POET technology in their products marketed to their customers. By doing so, such foundries would enable their customers to assess the performance, power and space advantages projected to be offered by the utilization of POET. We anticipate receiving flow-through royalty revenue as our manufacturing licensees, if any, sell ICs incorporating POET technology to their customers.
Manufacturing
The Company has contracted with BAE for the transition phase of its POET platform development from the POET laboratory on the campus of UCONN. If successfully completed, the Company expects to negotiate with BAE for the continued and on-going manufacture of wafers to meet the Company’s initial requirements for sampling and marketing purposes.
BAE’s III-V GaAs fabrication facility is ISO 9001/14001 certified, military specification certified and can produce radiation hard devices. BAE’s state of the art facility houses two 3” wafer diameter production lines and two 6” wafer diameter production lines within 14,000 sq. ft. and a wafer test area covering 16,000 sq. ft. The facility is vibration isolated and environmentally controlled for sub-micron device development and manufacture. We believe that there is substantial capacity available to us for implementation of our development and to-market plans, and that BAE would be receptive to making such capacity available to us. Currently, a staff of over 150 engineers is devoted to design and development with another 70 devoted to foundry operations and testing. Thus the Company believes that BAE’s wafer production capabilities can be a significant resource to the Company’s marketing efforts.
Third Phase: POET Technology Sales Royalties
If our manufacturer licensees, if we are able to develop any, successfully market our POET technology in the Second Phase, we anticipate receiving revenue from royalties on their semiconductor chip sales to their customers. We are unable to forecast when such revenues, if any, would commence, but would anticipate that OEMs would test and evaluate the qualities of chips manufactured utilizing POET before incorporating such chips into new electronic devices.
We anticipate producing initial prototype devices meeting commercial requirements in sufficient quantities utilizing a third party fabrication facility. Prototype devices targeted to be used to introduce the POET platform process to the marketplace could enable the Company to gain access to potential customers and seek early commercial design wins. The Company expects that the First Phase of commercialization will generate non-recurring engineering revenue with OEMs, foundries or both with an initial prototype device anticipated to be available by the end of 2014.
Second Phase: Production
The Company’s model is to be fabless, meaning that we will not manufacture devices incorporating our technology for commercialization, but will instead work with third party semiconductor fabrication facilities to produce prototype POET integrated circuit devices, then use those prototypes to market our technology for license. Initial prototypes under development include a ring oscillator and a high speed vertical cavity laser, each of which are anticipated to be completed by the end of 2014. To the extent that POET is successfully introduced and demand dictates, the Company intends to continue to improve on its ability to promote technology by entering into licensing relationships with well known, commercial market-focused fabrication facilities worldwide. Such semiconductor manufacturers would be expected to develop certain libraries and specific design kits to incorporate our POET technology in their products marketed to their customers. By doing so, such foundries would enable their customers to assess the performance, power and space advantages projected to be offered by the utilization of POET. We anticipate receiving flow-through royalty revenue as our manufacturing licensees, if any, sell ICs incorporating POET technology to their customers.
Manufacturing
The Company has contracted with BAE for the transition phase of its POET platform development from the POET laboratory on the campus of UCONN. If successfully completed, the Company expects to negotiate with BAE for the continued and on-going manufacture of wafers to meet the Company’s initial requirements for sampling and marketing purposes.
BAE’s III-V GaAs fabrication facility is ISO 9001/14001 certified, military specification certified and can produce radiation hard devices. BAE’s state of the art facility houses two 3” wafer diameter production lines and two 6” wafer diameter production lines within 14,000 sq. ft. and a wafer test area covering 16,000 sq. ft. The facility is vibration isolated and environmentally controlled for sub-micron device development and manufacture. We believe that there is substantial capacity available to us for implementation of our development and to-market plans, and that BAE would be receptive to making such capacity available to us. Currently, a staff of over 150 engineers is devoted to design and development with another 70 devoted to foundry operations and testing. Thus the Company believes that BAE’s wafer production capabilities can be a significant resource to the Company’s marketing efforts.
Third Phase: POET Technology Sales Royalties
If our manufacturer licensees, if we are able to develop any, successfully market our POET technology in the Second Phase, we anticipate receiving revenue from royalties on their semiconductor chip sales to their customers. We are unable to forecast when such revenues, if any, would commence, but would anticipate that OEMs would test and evaluate the qualities of chips manufactured utilizing POET before incorporating such chips into new electronic devices.
