Start-up tackles quantum electronic design
"The three people involved in this consultancy have a broad range of backgrounds," QEDI pioneer Paul Harrison told Compound Semiconductor. "We want to design devices for companies across the whole range [of materials] and we re prepared to tackle any device that uses quantum principles."
The team has already worked with IV-IV, III-V and II-VI materials including GaAs-, GaN- and AlAs-based materials as well as SiGe and ZnS systems. Past studies cover devices that function across the entire optical spectrum from UV to far-infrared wavelengths including QW laser diodes, QCLs, and quantum dot photodetectors.
According to Harrison, the company plans to target its services at small- and medium-sized manufacturing firms. "[These companies] may not be big enough to sustain a full-time, in-house design team," he explained. "But they can hire us on, say, a 3- to 6-month contract and tap into our long-term experience. This will be more efficient than hiring their own people."
The start-up has no plans to manufacture its own devices, but instead, will license its patented technology to chip manufacturers. QEDI has several blue-skies projects that are centered around the applications of quantum semiconductor structures to optoelectronics and computing.
"I don t think there is going to be a huge demand [for our services] right now, but we hope to be in this business for a number of years and grow as demand grows," said Harrison. "Right now we want to get some kind of presence in the industry. I m not saying we are the first [quantum device consultancy], but we want to be one of the first."
The company is now on the look out for funding so it can expand the consultancy team.