News Article
Opel appoints new directors to pioneer GaAs POET technology
The two appointments have vast experience in both III-V and silicon technology
Opel Technologies Inc. has appointed Adam Chowaniec and Geoff Taylor to its Board of Directors ; this brings an increase in the number of directors from 6 to 8.
Adam Chowaniec was previously the founding Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chairman of Tundra Semiconductor (acquired by Integrated Device Technology), Chairman of Zarlink (acquired by Microsemi), and Chairman of Bel Air Networks (acquired by Ericsson).
Prior to that he was President and CEO of Calmos Systems, acquired by Newbridge Networks and renamed Newbridge Microsystems, where he served as President and as a Vice President of Newbridge Networks. He has also served on the boards of SiberCore Technologies, Liquid Computing, Microbridge, GEAC and Amiga. He currently serves on the boards of Solantro Semiconductor.
Chowaniec holds an M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from Queen's University and a B.Sc. and Ph.D. from the University of Sheffield. In 2010, he was recognised by the California Computer Museum as one of the founding fathers of the personal computer.
“We are extremely pleased to have Chowaniec onside,” notes Peter Copetti, Executive Director of Opel. “His reputation and industry standing enhance the Board’s strategy to magnify the value of Opel’s semiconductor technology.” Copetti adds, “The Board is also pleased to align itself with the vision of Dr. Taylor, recognising his role as the primary architect of our technology platform.”
Geoff Taylor is Chief Scientist at Opel and has led development of the Planar Optoelectronic Technology (POET) platform over the past two decades, directing a team at the Odis subsidiary of Opel.
Taylor possesses an extraordinary technical background made-up of 30 years of design and development experience in electronic and optical device physics, circuit design, opto-electronic technology, materials and applications.
He is also a Professor of Electrical Engineering and Photonics at the University of Connecticut and is responsible for Odis’ development efforts at the GaAs growth and fabrication facility.
With over 150 papers and dozens of patents, Taylor is widely regarded as an authority on GaAs solid-state physics, III-V opto-technology, as well as one of the pioneers in the development of monolithic integrated opto-electronic circuits.
Previously, Taylor served as a Distinguished Member of the technical staff at AT&T Bell Labs, developing inversion channel technology for III-V materials. At Honeywell and Texas Instruments he helped to develop critical optical technology for the Jupiter Orbital Probe as well as the development of key circuits and devices for very-large-scale integrated (VLSI) chips.
He also holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and an M.A.Sc. in Electrical Engineering
from the University of Toronto and a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from Queen’s University.
A core component of Opel’s forward strategy is to continue optimisation of the POET platform, which enables monolithic fabrication of integrated circuit GaAs devices containing both electronic and optical elements on a single wafer.
By enabling increased speed, density, reliability, power efficiency, and much lower bill-of-materials and assembly costs, POET provides a new technology direction and opportunity for the semiconductor industry.
POET will allow continued advances of semiconductor device performance and capabilities for many years, overcoming the current power and speed bottlenecks of silicon-based circuits, and will change the future development roadmaps of a broad range of semiconductor applications including mobile devices, computer servers, storage arrays, imaging equipment, networking equipment, transportation systems, and test and measurement instruments.
Chowaniec and Taylor were each granted stock options to purchase 500,000 shares, at an exercise price of $0.51 per share, expiring on April 2nd, 2018. The price was determined as the closing trading price on the TSX Venture Exchange on the previous trading day being April 1st, 2013. The options vest 25 percent immediately and 25 percent every six months thereafter, and are dependent on the approval of the amended Stock Option Plan by the TSX Venture Exchange.
Adam Chowaniec was previously the founding Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chairman of Tundra Semiconductor (acquired by Integrated Device Technology), Chairman of Zarlink (acquired by Microsemi), and Chairman of Bel Air Networks (acquired by Ericsson).
Prior to that he was President and CEO of Calmos Systems, acquired by Newbridge Networks and renamed Newbridge Microsystems, where he served as President and as a Vice President of Newbridge Networks. He has also served on the boards of SiberCore Technologies, Liquid Computing, Microbridge, GEAC and Amiga. He currently serves on the boards of Solantro Semiconductor.
Chowaniec holds an M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from Queen's University and a B.Sc. and Ph.D. from the University of Sheffield. In 2010, he was recognised by the California Computer Museum as one of the founding fathers of the personal computer.
“We are extremely pleased to have Chowaniec onside,” notes Peter Copetti, Executive Director of Opel. “His reputation and industry standing enhance the Board’s strategy to magnify the value of Opel’s semiconductor technology.” Copetti adds, “The Board is also pleased to align itself with the vision of Dr. Taylor, recognising his role as the primary architect of our technology platform.”
Geoff Taylor is Chief Scientist at Opel and has led development of the Planar Optoelectronic Technology (POET) platform over the past two decades, directing a team at the Odis subsidiary of Opel.
Taylor possesses an extraordinary technical background made-up of 30 years of design and development experience in electronic and optical device physics, circuit design, opto-electronic technology, materials and applications.
He is also a Professor of Electrical Engineering and Photonics at the University of Connecticut and is responsible for Odis’ development efforts at the GaAs growth and fabrication facility.
With over 150 papers and dozens of patents, Taylor is widely regarded as an authority on GaAs solid-state physics, III-V opto-technology, as well as one of the pioneers in the development of monolithic integrated opto-electronic circuits.
Previously, Taylor served as a Distinguished Member of the technical staff at AT&T Bell Labs, developing inversion channel technology for III-V materials. At Honeywell and Texas Instruments he helped to develop critical optical technology for the Jupiter Orbital Probe as well as the development of key circuits and devices for very-large-scale integrated (VLSI) chips.
He also holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and an M.A.Sc. in Electrical Engineering
from the University of Toronto and a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from Queen’s University.
A core component of Opel’s forward strategy is to continue optimisation of the POET platform, which enables monolithic fabrication of integrated circuit GaAs devices containing both electronic and optical elements on a single wafer.
By enabling increased speed, density, reliability, power efficiency, and much lower bill-of-materials and assembly costs, POET provides a new technology direction and opportunity for the semiconductor industry.
POET will allow continued advances of semiconductor device performance and capabilities for many years, overcoming the current power and speed bottlenecks of silicon-based circuits, and will change the future development roadmaps of a broad range of semiconductor applications including mobile devices, computer servers, storage arrays, imaging equipment, networking equipment, transportation systems, and test and measurement instruments.
Chowaniec and Taylor were each granted stock options to purchase 500,000 shares, at an exercise price of $0.51 per share, expiring on April 2nd, 2018. The price was determined as the closing trading price on the TSX Venture Exchange on the previous trading day being April 1st, 2013. The options vest 25 percent immediately and 25 percent every six months thereafter, and are dependent on the approval of the amended Stock Option Plan by the TSX Venture Exchange.
