Sydney, Nov 28, 2005 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Translucent Inc., Silex Systems' (ASX: SLX) silicon electronics and photonics semiconductor subsidiary based in Palo Alto, California, has achieved another major milestone in its quest to develop advanced silicon-based photonics devices.
The achievement involves the demonstration of "Electroluminescence" (EL) at room temperature in a form of silicon that is compatible with today's mass-produced silicon chips, and more importantly, future silicon electronics technology nodes. "Demonstration of electroluminescence at telecommunication wavelengths and room temperature in this new class of silicon-based semiconductors is a significant achievement, and represents a materials science breakthrough for both electronic and photonic applications", said Dr Petar Atanackovic, Translucent CEO. "This is an important step forward in our optical silicon integration program. The ultimate objective is to develop optically active devices, including an electrically driven silicon laser, which can be integrated with mainstream silicon chips" he added.
The demonstration of EL is a critical pre-requisite to the integration of electronic and optical functionality in silicon, and essentially allows light to be generated from silicon by an electric current, such as would be provided by a small battery, or more importantly, an operating silicon chip itself. Previous demonstrations of EL in silicon by other groups have been reported at cryogenic temperatures, or in forms of silicon which are not compatible with today's silicon chips or future technology nodes.
Translucent is a clear leader in this highly competitive field and is building an extensive intellectual property portfolio to protect these new-to-the-world materials and applications. The EL milestone is part of the Electronics and Photonics Integrated Circuits (EPIC) Program funded by the US Defence Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA).
Under a DARPA Contract which commenced in January this year, Translucent is funded to develop proprietary silicon-based optical gain devices as part of the broader EPIC Program, details of which can be found at: www.darpa.mil/mto/epic/.
Meanwhile, Translucent is making good progress in its second project, in which a similar class of novel materials is being developed for application to the conventional silicon chip industry. These advanced electronic materials include 'Silicon-on-Insulator' (SOI) and 'High-k' substrates.
The semiconductor industry is relying on advanced materials innovation such as these to help sustain its growth, which for three decades has been based on the relentless technological progress more commonly described by Moore's Law. The Translucent team is currently focused on optimizing its SOI material in preparation for industry validation early in 2006. As previously advised, it is anticipated that Translucent's advanced SOI substrate will lead to the company's first commercial success thereafter.
Silex holds a ~70% interest in Translucent. Further information on the Group's activities can be found on the Silex website: www.silex.com.au
Contact
Dr Michael Goldsworthy, CEO
TEL: +61 2 9532 1331
Mr Chris Wilks, Director
TEL: +61 2 9855 5404
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