Lightwave Logic expands photonic device development with new design platform

Wednesday July 13, 2016 Tags: Longmont, Lightwave Logic, Polymer Photonics Integrated Circuit, Tom Zeibor

LONGMONT -- Lightwave Logic, Inc. (OTCQB: LWLG), a technology company focused on the development of Next Generation Photonic Devices and Non-Linear Optical Polymer Materials Systems for applications in high-speed fiber-optic data communications and optical computing, announced it has broadened its photonic device development to include its new P²IC™ (Polymer Photonics Integrated Circuit) design platform. 

The P²IC™ design platform utilizes high-speed ridge waveguide and slot waveguide modulator designs that scale up in performance as well as down in cost structure, Lightwave said. 

The new Lightwave Logic P²IC™ design platform combines the best of polymer photonics with the best of silicon photonics (SiP) to create a powerful, yet scalable platform that addresses the desires of both the telecom and datacom industries, the company said. 

LIghtwave said going beyond exascale (10¹⁸ = quintillion calculations per second) to zettascale (10²¹ = sextillion calculations per second) data rates using its new platform technology will drive new performance metrics in transmission speeds by sending photonic signals at data rates of 200 Gbps and beyond at costs levels much lower than the industry can deliver today.

In the future, P²ICs™ will allow the miniaturization of high-performance photonics components that will be needed to achieve industry-leading zettascale computations needed by large computing processing and graphics systems. 

Lightwave Logic's slot waveguides are being designed onto silicon platforms.  With the addition of other waveguide-based silicon photonic devices such as multiplexers and demultiplexers, Lightwave said the combined polymer photonics platform using SiP becomes a powerful technological solution to challenge multi-billion dollar markets for a cost-effective and scalable alternative to inorganic crystalline-based photonic devices.

While the photonics industry has applied the term silicon photonics to the integration of silicon-based photonics components with CMOS electronics, silicon photonics on its own is limited in versatility and scalability.

The addition of polymer photonics components to a silicon platform enables P²IC™ to achieve the demands (both in performance and low cost) of a fast-growing datacom and telecom industry.

Lightwave said P²IC™ is expected to be highly competitive with both lithium niobate as well as indium phosphide and silicon as it enters the marketplace.

The concept of integrated photonics has been the subject of first-generation device deployments and much recent discussion in the photonics industry. The term relates to the powerful and ongoing trend to miniaturize and integrate multiple photonics functions on a single silicon or indium phosphide chip and is commonly referred to as a photonics integrated circuit (PIC). 

P²IC™ is a PIC platform designed to include the advantages of polymer photonics on a silicon photonics platform.

"Over the last two years we have been extending the capabilities of our P²IC™ design platform,” said Tom Zeibor, Lightwave’s CEO and chairman.

“We began with groundbreaking discoveries in polymer synthesis that are currently being implemented in our new device designs.  We intend to boost performance and drive down cost similar to what was seen in the computer integrated circuit business over the last 60 years.

"During the next several months, we will unveil our first ridge waveguide modulator to address the requirements of the OC-48 (2.5 Gbps) and OC-192 (10 Gbps) carrier market.  Given the amount of industry interest we have previously received, this initial effort is designed to prove that our P²IC™ platform can meet commercial requirements. 

“However, the ultimate goal remains to demonstrate that our technology is scalable to 200 Gbps and beyond.  We expect to meet that demand."