Danish start-up grabs Infineon's dilute nitrides
by Michael Hatcher in Glasgow
Alight Technologies, a university spin-out company based in Copenhagen, Denmark, has agreed to take over the dilute nitride VCSEL technology platform belonging to Infineon Technologies.
The German chip manufacturer sold off much of its fiber-optic business to Finisar earlier this year in what turned out to be a protracted transaction (see related story), although that deal did not include its GaInNAs technology.
According to a statement from Alight, the Danish firm will acquire manufacturing equipment, intellectual property rights and 1300 nm wafers.
"We are addressing a growing need in the market for high-power and high-speed singlemode VCSELs at 1300 nm," said Alight CEO Steen Gundersen.
"The combination of a qualified material platform and our add-on technology creates a unique opportunity for Alight and our partners and we are on track to make it happen."
By "add-on" technology, Alight is referring to its proprietary photonic bandgap structures that are said to enable singlemode, high-power VCSELs.
The Danish company says that the acquisition will allow it to transform promising prototypes still under development into full-blown products.
Spun out of the Technical University of Denmark in 2002, Alight already has VCSEL design expertise, as well as ultraviolet and electron beam lithography capability.
As well as targeting fiber-to-the-home market with its products, Alight is hoping that its technology will also be applied in non-telecom applications such as medicine and printing.
