+44 (0)24 7671 8970
More publications     •     Advertise with us     •     Contact us
 
News Article

Start-up OEpic to offer complete optoelectronic front-end ICs for high-speed communications

OEpic, a start-up company located in Sunnyvale, CA, has announced its first product, a highly integrated front-end optoelectronic receiver and transmitter chipset for very short range (VSR) applications. The company has optoelectronic integrated circuit (OEIC) design capabilities, in-house InP device fabrication facilities and both MOCVD and gas-source MBE growth systems.

OEpic Inc. (pronounced "epic") is focused on designing, manufacturing and selling OEICs for next generation high-speed optical communications systems with greater performance and cost effectiveness. The company was formed by a very experienced team with extensive backgrounds in optoelectronic and microwave technologies, and has received more than $30 million from top tier venture capitalists and corporations.

Founded in Sunnyvale, California, in July 2000, OEpic has developed world-class OEIC design and InP device technologies in its own manufacturing facility, permitting the integration of optical and electronic devices for speeds up to 40 Gbit/s. According to Yi-Ching Pao, co-founder, President and CEO, "We ve assembled a world class team of talents, and secured the backing of some of the most experienced investors, to be the vendor of choice for front-end solutions in next generation optical communications systems. We re generating revenue within 18 months of our founding, and have contracts with strategic partners."

In addition to offering complete chipset solutions ranging from 10 to 40 Gbit/s, OEpic also supports specific customer applications where custom designs permit more effective solutions for specific markets. The company has secured two custom design wins with development partners. The company s in-house InP wafer fab has gas-source MBE and MOCVD epitaxial growth and sub 0.1-micron E-beam processing capabilities, along with a full range of optical design and test capabilities. In addition to in-house InP technology, OEpic leverages external foundries for complementary wafer fab capacity.

According to Allan Armstrong, Director of Optical Transport Semiconductors at market research firm RHK, Inc., "With strong funding and vertically integrated manufacturing, OEpic s entry into InP OEICs positions the company well to capitalize on the market s need for higher levels of integration and performance."

Management team
Yi-Ching Pao, co-founder, President and CEO, has over 18 years experience in developing and manufacturing compound semiconductor devices, MMICs and OEICs. He has held executive management positions at Varian, Litton and Filtronic Solid State.
Leonard Riaziat, Co-founder, CTO and VP of Optoelectronic Engineering, has over 17 years experience in technology acquisition and development, and an in-depth knowledge of high-speed optoelectronics. Previously, he was Director of Varian s Central Research Lab.
Cindy Yuen, co-founder and VP of High Speed Electronics, has over 20 years experience in developing compound semiconductor devices, MMICs, OEICs and related products. She has held engineering and management positions in Varian Central Research, Litton Solid State Division and Space Systems/Loral.
Yu-Min (Denny) Houng, co-founder and Chief Scientist, has over 25 years experience in compound semiconductor epitaxy. Prior to OEpic, he held senior technical positions at Agilent Laboratories.
George Bechtel, Director of Marketing, has 30 years experience in bringing compound semiconductor technologies to market. He has held management positions at Fairchild Semiconductor and executive management positions at Litton Solid State. Prior to joining OEpic, he was Director of Strategies Unlimited, a market research firm.
Darryl Quan, VP of Finance, has over 20 years experience in financial and accounting management. Before joining OEpic he was Corporate Controller at Watkins Johnson Company.

Advisory board
Young-Kai Chen, Director of the High Speed Electronics Research Department at Bell Labs, Lucent Technologies.
Alfred Cho, Adjunct VP of Bell Labs, Lucent Technologies.
James Harris, Professor of Electrical Engineering at Stanford University.
Anis Husain, Operating Director, iNCUBiC.
Ching-Kung Tzuang, Professor of Electrical Engineering at National Chiao-Tung University in Taiwan.
Albert Yu, Senior VP, Intel Corporation.

Venture capital investors in OEpic include INCUBiC, InveStar Capital, Inc., DynaFund Ventures, VenGlobal Capital Fund and CDIB Ventures. OEpic s major corporate and other investors include Acorn, AXT Inc., New Focus, Supertex, UMEC and WSGR Investment Fund.

Highly integrated front-end solution for optical communications modules

A highly integrated front-end optoelectronic receiver and transmitter chipset for Very Short Range (VSR) applications that breaks the $100 price point was introduced today by OEpic, Inc. The newly announced company designs, manufactures and sells OEICs for next generation, high-speed optical communications systems. The 10 Gbit/s chipset, designed for datacom applications such as 10 G Ethernet, Storage Area Networks (SAN) and Fiber Channel, will be presented at the OFC Conference in Anaheim, CA, March 17-22.

The 850nm VSR chipset consists of an integrated PIN/TIA receiver, operating at 10 Gbit/s that converts 850 nm wavelength optical signals to electrical data, and a VCSEL transmitter. A limiting amplifier and a laser driver amplifier complete the four-device chipset, designed for small form-factor transceivers.

"This first product will provide optical module manufacturers with highly integrated optical-to-electrical conversion, enabling lower-cost transceiver manufacturing and faster time to market," said Yi-Ching Pao.

"This first integrated product is for short range applications operating at 10Gbit/s, and will be followed soon by our longer reach products fabricated in our own state-of-the-art InP manufacturing facility in Sunnyvale, CA," said George Bechtel. "And we will put more emphasis on our 40 Gbit/s speeds when that market is ready."

- The PT1001 Receiver is a GaAs PIN photo detector, integrated with an InGaP-HBT transimpedance amplifier (TIA). The device has a low power consumption of only 60 mW. It is available as a bare die (PT1001-A) and in internally matched 10 Gbit/s TO-46 packages (PT1001-TO).

- The L1001 Limiting Amplifier provides wideband, high gain, low noise amplification of signals up to 10 Gbit/s. It features differential inputs and outputs and interfaces with typical SERDES chips. The device is fabricated using advanced InGaP-HBT process, and is supplied in bare die (L1001-A) and in 3 mm QFN surface mount packages (L1001-QF).

- The LV1001 VCSEL Transmitter is a high radiance 850 nm VCSEL. The device provides a typical optical output power of 2.5 mW at 8 mA with a high differential efficiency of 60 percent. It is available as a bare die (LV1001-A) and in internally matched 10G TO-46 packages (LV1001-TO) which include a monitor photodiode.

- The DV1001 VCSEL Driver Amplifier is an InGaP-HBT amplifier, designed to provide bias and modulation currents to the LV1001 VCSEL. The device features differential inputs and outputs and consumes less than 100 mW. It includes pulse width, depth-of-modulation and feedback control. It is available as a bare die (DV1001-A) and in 3 mm QFN surface mount package (DV1001-QF).

The chipset is available for immediate sampling with volume available in Q3 of 2002, at $99 for the bare die in high volume or for $199 as packaged parts (TO and QFN) for inserting in sub-assemblies. George Bechtel
Director of Marketing, OEpic Inc.
Tel. +1 408 752-9149
Tom Mahon
Thomas Mahon Associates
Tel. +1 925 937-4921
Email: tmahon3@earthlink.net
E-mail: gbechtel@oepic.com
Web site: http://www.oepic.com

×
Search the news archive

To close this popup you can press escape or click the close icon.
×
Logo
×
Register - Step 1

You may choose to subscribe to the Compound Semiconductor Magazine, the Compound Semiconductor Newsletter, or both. You may also request additional information if required, before submitting your application.


Please subscribe me to:

 

You chose the industry type of "Other"

Please enter the industry that you work in:
Please enter the industry that you work in: