ITRI and Ganvix extend GaN VCSEL venture
Next phase will focus on expanding wavelength range from blue to green, testing and packaging
ITRI has announced a continued partnership with Ganvix, a company developing GaN VCSELs on laser technology advancements. The two parties completed the development of the first blue GaN lasers and signed a phase II agreement to extend their joint venture.
GaN VCSELS operating in the blue wavelength range has been demonstrated successfully based on the close collaboration between Ganvix’s design and ITRI manufacturability. The next phase of development under the agreement will include expanding the wavelength range from blue to green; qualification testing; and packaging of discrete lasers and laser arrays.
Ganvix uses nano-porous technology to deliver compact, lightweight blue/green/UV VCSEL lasers that produce superior wavelength control, smaller spot size, and array architectures, allowing substantial innovation across a wide range of applications.
ITRI will continue to apply its substantial capability and infrastructure for the manufacture of electro-optic devices to accelerate Ganvix’s time to market. The resulting products will address the nascent opportunity for high-performance and low-cost GaN VCSELs in the billion-dollar global markets.
GaAs VCSELs that operate in the infrared spectrum are one of the fastest-growing technologies in electro-optics today. However, GaAs cannot emit light in the ultraviolet or visible (blue and green) wavelengths. For these applications, GaN is required, but there has been no commercially viable solution to form the laser cavity mirrors required until now. Ganvix has solved this problem using nano-porous technology to engineer the optical properties of GaN.
“For future metaverse application, the three-primary-colour VCSELs will play a key role,” commented Shih-Chieh Chang, general director of ITRI’s Electronic and Optoelectronic System Research Laboratories. “We are very happy to continue to deepen the cooperation with Ganvix and launch commercialised products, which can also drive Taiwan’s industries to enter the metaverse market,” he said.
“We are excited to announce the successful demonstration of blue VCSEL lasers using our proprietary nano porous GaN fabricated in collaboration with ITRI,” said John Fijol, CEO of Ganvix. “This marks a critical achievement enabling commercialisation of these new laser devices. We look forward to the next phase of our relationship working with ITRI to bring these devices to market.”
