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Lewrock said, Ted,I am just glad that three majors (market caps of over $500 billion) have engineering teams working directly with Lightwave’s engineering teams. Oh! You didn’t know that?
Lewrock, my best guess as to who these 3 companes are is 1) Google 2) Amazon and 3) Nvidia and these are the reasons why below
1) Google
a) only 1 of 2 companies starting to implement 800Gbs in DC's
b) showed EOP (LWLG) prominently on a Google slide presentation at OFC
2) Amazon
a) only 1 of 2 companies starting to implement 800Gbs in DC's
3) Nvidia
a) likely Nvidia is the #1 outside the box innovative company today
b) in a presentation Nvidia speaker came out and said they will NOT wait for Standards to develop, he told the audience (of techies) if you have something true Next-Gen then let's do business together
See slide 8 to understand that Lebby's perfectly ON-TIME for the leading edge of 800gbs implementation into the DC's, the chart shows in YELLOW that only Google and Amazon have any 800gbs installations currently, while Micrsoft and Meta have none to-date
https://api.mziq.com/mzfilemanager/v2/d/307dbc8b-e212-48ba-9968-8cef3f6b5188/cfe8be05-ce41-6208-b717-33e542d3eb77?origin=2
The ramp of 800gbs will begin in the 2nd half of 2024, and this is EXACTLY coincident to the TIMELINE of Lebby/LWLG has been showing these past few years in his presentations!! Everything is falling into place perfectly just as Lebby planned!!! The Tier 1' are flocking in droves to LWLG now that Lebby has the 200gb solution in hand being mass produced on 200mm Wafers at several large Foundries!!!
Investors now know that LWLG has its 200Gb/lane Polymer modulator Product ready for mass production at SEVERAL LARGE FOUNDRIES on 200mm Wafers, and as Lebby has already told investors "our technology fits really uniquely into Silicon Foundries and WE CAN SCALE INTO VOLUME QUITE EASILY AND EFFECTIVELY",
Knowing these FACTS I believe it is time to revisit what I learned from Bard about LWLG relationships with Foundries, which was subsequently scrubbed from the Databases Bard was able to access at that time!! Today I asked Bard this question
at one point you revealed the specific Foundries that were working with Lightwave Logic and what exactly they were working on in terms of specific PDK's, more recently when asked the same question you only responded with Foundries likely to be working with Lightwave Logic on PDK developments and cite NDA's saying that the specific information you gave me previously was not available due to the NDA's, why?
Bard/Gemini reply, Model Update: It's possible that the underlying data used to train my model was updated, and the information about specific foundries and PDKs is no longer included due to confidentiality agreements (NDAs). Large language models are constantly being updated and improved, and this can sometimes lead to changes in the information they have access to.
I believe that my original inquiry of Bard which I will repost here is SPOT ON so much so that the information was quickly scrubbed from the Databases Bard had access to at that time!! here,
Google's Bard_AI knows which Foundries have LWLG PDK's developed!!! here are a series of images I received back from an inquiry to Bard (Google's AI product) regarding the Foundries that LWLG is currently working with on PDK development for their Polymers, view all nine captures and learn the truth from the AI world!!
1) https://postimg.cc/KksmXXNx
2) https://postimg.cc/xXbJt59X
3) https://postimg.cc/HVXBRwYh
4) https://postimg.cc/svQJSpG2
5) https://postimg.cc/D4sK4SqY
6) https://postimg.cc/dZDLbjcZ
7) https://postimg.cc/xqQ5wkZx
8) https://postimg.cc/ftLFmVhf
9) https://postimg.cc/nXNM6D3C
And for the record I asked Google's Bard to confirm for me that NLM ("the competition") is actually just a myth and they are know where near any sort of volume commercialization with ANY Foundries!!
NLM >> https://postimg.cc/Yh1phF9c
Ok, so there you have it folks, the veil has been lifted!!!! LWLG is going to begin it's Mass Commercialization in the very Near-Term just as Lebby has told investors!!!
"It's REAL and it's HAPPENING!!!"
"When this rolls it's going to roll!!"
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=171906154&txt2find=bard%20foundries
For context, I was referring to someone who actually listened to Ted, Pumpkin, etc and sold at $4 being fearful of losing $2 in the short term. Then days or weeks later there is a trading halt before the open pending news. At that point, that individual realizes they have been conned by the short sellers and places an order to get back in at the equilibrium price after the trading halt is lifted. I just pulled $6-$10 out of the air for that first trade after the halt.
Lew- only $6-$10 with first commercialization deal? That seems awfully low IMO.
Proto, thank you for this pretty realistic scenario for 3 dollars net earnings per share. Taking OLED's Price Earning Ratio of 37 , which I believe is conservative, gets you to 37x $3 = $ 111 theoritical share price. Again for 1 customer, for 1 application. Whatever, the upside potential is huge and the downside is very limited.
All good stuff. Makes a lot of sense. Thank you.
I don't understand why you think that "bursts of Nvidia or AMD AI chips are not necessarily a good timing for LWLG." The more AI is in demand is actually better for LWLG. The servers need to keep up with any new technology that is developed and LWLG has the answer to do so.
Thanks for not mentioning Speedo, x
If they are truly being pulled along by demand as is indicated the balanced approach to exclusivity would be to say No. If they are working with multiple foundries as indicated, how can you even consider agreeing to exclusivity. I would be interested to hear thoughts on what would comprise a balanced approach?
My thoughts on exclusivity is that for some of the potential verticals outside their targeted markets they do not have the resources to focus on now, they could offer an exclusive tech transfer agreement with a company they consider to be most likely to dominate in that vertical, and provide them an exclusivity ramp-up period, such as a 1 to 2 year headstart in a vertical we cannot give resources to.
For those within their target markets they should tread very carefully in even giving consideratino to exclusivity, because an exclusivity agreement closes the door to any potential winner takes all, where you could drive a disruptive shift within the industry as a whole, because your succeeded in influencing the roadmap and everyone want to follow it to stay competitive.
Exclusivity response should be "the sooner you sign an agreement, the more of a head start you will have. Here's a pen"
Perhaps if they know that any new foundry will take a 9 month or 1 year ramp-up within the engagement and there is a natural period of time to get them enabled, then an exclusivity period could be considered to cover a natural ramp-up time to the later movers.
Hence the extremely risky advice being offered to shareholders by Ted, Pumpkin, Lurker, Reanimator, and most recently, Chart Reader. I would go as far as to call it irresponsible advice. Why would anyone give up their long term holding period for a potential savings of $2 at the risk of having to get back in at $6 to $10 after the PR announcing mass commercialization.
Nothing happens overnight..for no reason
it takes time,.....years, months etc
Then it happens overnight.
Take whats going on ,on college campus the demonstration , its been taught to them for years. You know hate this and that...Only now breaking out.overnight.
Back to lwlg..it will ,with G-ds help go up overnight..however" that overnight." Took years ,and when it does ,people will say wow ..overnight lwlg is worth $50 -$100 how did that happen?????
..answer is it took years
On volumes... what a luxury problem to have.
A huge takeover bid would eliminate the problems with "exclusivity"
Agree on this jeunke:
"These big customers want the future now, outsmart the competition,, lower cost of ownership, current organizational capabilities, no capital investments, no write offs. I think they gladly pay billions of dollars to secure the future of their enterprise and for ' peace of mind and guaranteed bonus pay outs".
They also want guarantee of product, volume of the needed product when requested as well as a cost they can accept. This is evident based on requests for second material production site for polymers and LWLG dealing with queries on exclusivity. One only has to look at the pressure that has been bought to bear on TSMC to expand facilities outside Taiwan and to Arizona. Also, consider the supply chain problems that arose from suppliers in Asia not being able to supply a component needed to complete manufacture of electronics, appliances and even cars. Having reliable product production in the U.S. and strongly aligned European sites becomes very important with lessons learned during and in the aftermath of the pandemic. Add in the growing world tensions raising supply chain uncertainties, Dr. Lebby's emphasis on keeping adequate material and semiconductor manufacturing in safe locations appears very desirable.
I always respect your knowledge on LWLG.
With that said, to be clear I did not lose any money on my other stock which is really not a stock, but a company(NB) warrants exercisable in 5 years.
As of now still holding most of # of shares I bought in 2016/2018. Only sold about 80,000 shares about a month ago to pay off what I paid for the above warrants. It is nice to know I don’t owe any money on my two stocks.
Future AI computers I think will be loaded with lots of storage capacity.
From the angle of what I see…
You made millions in profit here, moved investment dollars into another company, lost millions there, and now you said you’re looking to buy back here. Your jabs are obvious.
I respect that a 90+ year old is actively investing and hanging out on forums…but come on.
You also don’t seem to realize that the more data that is created and processed via AI growth and what you mentioned…there needs to be better technology to transmit that data across servers in/around/about data centers. It’s actually a good thing for companies like LWLG because it puts pressure on the end users to commercialize new technology.
But yes, sure, LWLG needs to wrap up some deals.
From the angle of what I see the sudden bursts of Nvidia or AMD AI chips not necessarily a good timing for LWLG, if LWLG hasn’t wrapped up deals.
Many companies bought the expensive AI chips just began to learn to see the extent the chips could help their enterprises. AI computers would soon follow if the chips become cheaper.
Hope data centers would not take wait and see approaches deciding the expansions. If the chip sanctions continue, there is possibility chips industry would split, each with own webs system.
X, yes.
CEO's of large multinationals are responsible for the strategic direction of the company, they need to secure business continuity 10 -15 years ahead, outwit their competition and to maximize shareholder value in the process.
For a trillion dollar company, a couple of billion dollars is small change. For the current shareholders in Lightwave it would be a huge windfall.
What I like about your message, it focusses on the customer, the demand side.
Too many people here get completely entangled in the complexities of the supplyside, the technology, reliability, manufacturability. Absolutely important requirements, for success. BUT the biggest challenge in any business is to offer exactly what your CUSTOMER wants and you know you are golden when the customers start to 'dragging you along'. Lightwave already showed world class performance and performance upside for years to come. That's what customers really like.
Engineers figure out the solutions if they know what is required from them. These guys love it when you give them the required specifications and you tell them when.
The days of 2 X per two years or Moore's law are behind us. Lebby tells us the industry needs 100X every two years. The internet as we have to come to know it has aged and no longer can offer the bandwidth required for the next 10 -15 years. The current internet is comparable to the first steammachine we now need to enter into a new industrial revolution. It needs a radical change and fortunately for us , the CEO's of Internet companies are pretty much aware and prepared to look for new solutions outside the current box.
These big customers want the future now, outsmart the competition,, lower cost of ownership, current organizational capabilities, no capital investments, no write offs. I think they gladly pay billions of dollars to secure the future of their enterprise and for ' peace of mind and guaranteed bonus pay outs".
Rkf, I'm not sure about the average DC, but the Hyper-scalers, the Amazons, Googles, etc have DC's which can be utilizing 1 million or more Transceivers in a single Datacenter (DC)
LD MICRO REPLAY NOW AVAILABLE!!!!
https://ldinv14.sequireevents.com/recording?session_id=7c04c9bb-df53-4ece-9dce-3d27956fe60e
In short: reliability testing is no more a concern for the tier 1´s
https://stocktwits.com/JoeriGoethuys/message/570255316
Spekkie said, When I asked whether the products were ready and if any issues were outstanding, he (Lebby) clearly said that everything was ready (stability, scaling etc) and the time line was fully intact and there were no changes to that. Tier 1’s are very interested and the number of them significantly increased after OFC demo’s.
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=174302051
The fact that the reliability testing is no longer a concern for the Tier 1's to do business with LWLG is HUGE HUGE HUGE, this has been the #1 issue that has plagued Polymer commercialization for its 40 year history!! And yes I have confirmation from multiple sources that this is truly the case now!! Investors already had known how ironclad the data had become from the recent presentations slides presented at ECOC in late 2023 and then again even more so at the OFC in March 2024!!!
Lebby LD Micro was an incredible presentation using these Slides, here were my takeaways, the replay should be available soon
1) ETH Zurich has set independent 3rd party world record performance with LWLG Polymers running at 400Gbs per lane enabling 4 lane 1600gbs!!!
2) The Customer Funnel slide is updated and now showing greater than 20 Prospects and greater than 10 Leads, where in the ASM presentation it was only greater than 12 Prospects and 5 Leads, so about DOUBLED since the ASM!!!!
3) Lebby showed the 200mm wafers and talked again how LWLG is commercial ready for mass commercialization of 800gbs, remember Lebby has LWLG implementing at SEVERAL large Foundries!!
4) Lebby showed that Perk 6 is NOW ready for Licensing !!!
5) Lebby expects much more Licensing activity in 2024 forward
6) Lebby again pounded the table on the "ease of Integration" and how you simply drop the LWLG technology into those little pluggable boxes!!
7) Lebby also said that the PULL has become so great at this point instead of being "pulled along" it feels more like we are being "dragged along"!!
The April 2024 Investor Slides are up on the LWLG website, here
https://api.mziq.com/mzfilemanager/v2/d/307dbc8b-e212-48ba-9968-8cef3f6b5188/683426d1-5a08-bc3a-6df3-ce127bd5ef17?origin=2
Replays become available around a week after the event as the videos require editing in some cases and also the uploading process takes some time.
Once available, you will see the "replay" button next to the company name in the agenda at https://ldinv14.sequireevents.com/.
Thanks,
Sequire Team
Well, if I were a company that wanted an exclusive contract to dominate the industry and I had a trillion dollar valuation, and I was told no, that is not our vision, we want to sell it to everyone. I 100% know what I'd do.
The shareholders' meeting is 1 month away. Wouldn't it be cool to do a "non-binding" vote on an "other issues as they may arise item"?
In the end, the board of directors has a fiduciary responsibility to do what is right for the shareholders.
$1,000,000,000,000 is a trillion
$1,000,000,000 is a billion or to put it another way
If you had a valuation of $100,000 and had to make a decision on a $100 investment in your business. OK, let's say 2 billion, so that is $200.
How about if we just sell off rights or JV a single vertical?
We are in the right space.
I worked for a company where 1 entity put in an offer. A few weeks later, another entity came forward with a better offer. In the end, they both bought us out. Twas fun to be part of.
There are endless possibilities of selling, partnering, etc.
Nice days are coming up, so Im off to the beach to check out the 2024 swimwear.
I hope LewisJ from NLM speaks to progress regarding the SBIR with NASA and AIM Photonics assessing the use of OEO for outer space related applications. Proving out Organic modulators for outer space and free space comms will open up a new line of opportunity for all, and increase acceptance overall. Working with AIM photonics is a big deal for polymers as well.
Proto, if one company decided to
Use LWLG for one average data center to start
How many transceivers would be needed?
What will LWLG Profitability look like now that LWLG can mass produce its 200Gb modulators on 200mm Wafers at several large Foundries that are currently implementing LWLG's technology in their PDK's?
KCC worked up these estimates based on 150mm Wafer size some time ago, LWLG is currently able to mass produce on LARGE 200mm Wafers which can produce almost 80% more chips than 150mm Wafers!!!
Note: from Bard, a 200mm wafer can hold approximately 77.8% more chips compared to a 150mm wafer, assuming the chip size remains constant.
KCC worked up the following projections here, but note these were using 150mm Wafers which produce FAR LESS chips than 200mm Wafers!!!, here
I’m going to preface this post by saying this is not my opinion on revenue guidance and it is just a demonstration to calculate potential revenue here with certain facts we know. Of course some assumptions are being made, but they are based on real world observations from industry participants and data provided by LWLG and market reports. What prompted this exercise was seeing a report that Intel had shipped over 2 million 100G silicon photonic transceivers in 2021. I asked myself what if LWLG was suppling all the modulators for those transceivers and how many wafers would need to be produced to supply the required number of modulators. Could small or medium sized foundries produce enough wafers to supply enough modulators for 2 million transceivers? (Yes!!) Could I estimate potential revenue with this information? (Yes!!)
What we know:
Modulator systems are designed on individual die/chips which are contained on a wafer.
A 150mm wafer contains 800 individual chips that are 6x3mm long. I’m using 150mm because that is more common, and I want to demonstrate the potential with a model that does not rely on 300mm. NLM Photonics is shown to be using 150mm wafers from VTT (their “first wafer”). If I counted correctly, they had 605 good die out of 800 or 76% yield.
LWLG’s initial products are targeting 800G.
800G can be reached with 8x100G NRZ or 4x200G PAM4.
LWLG’s patents show 4-8 modulators per transceiver (TxRx).
As TxRx speeds increase, the ratio of optics to electronics increases. At 100G, the optics comprise about 20% of the cost of TxRx. Other costs are test/packaging/assembly, R&D and G&A, operational margin.
Market reports and statements by LWLG say at 800G and beyond, the optics could comprise up to 80% of the cost of a TxRx. Lebby stated in the Q&A at the May 2022 meeting that because their modulator provides much of the benefit to the overall optics, they’ll be able to capture that value and it is not just a cost-plus structure.
Per PhotonicsGuy, the modulator portion of the optics should be at least 15%.
Industry goal is $1 per Gbps, however pricing right now shows up to $10 per Gbps for new 800G offerings.
Low quantity MPW runs cost between $20,000 and $100,000 per wafer depending on type and size. Economies of scale will bring the costs down in the future.
As of the end of 2021, there were 728 hyperscale data centers with half operated by Amazon, Google, and Microsoft. At that time, there were over 300 more planned. Each hyperscale DC contains upwards of 100,000 transceivers.
Assumptions:
A 6x3mm die contains a 4-modulator array with the necessary passive waveguides/splitters. Each modulator is .75mm, so size-wise this seems to fit well.
800G will be reached with 4 lanes of 200G PAM4.
Pricing for 800G estimated to be $3.5 per Gbps by 2025, the year of high volume 800G. May or may not be conservative.
Optics account for 65% of the cost of an 800G transceiver. May or may not be conservative.
A cost of $25,000 per wafer. (This is a big unknown, but may be a reasonable assumption and this cost includes design, metals, and other costs on top of a basic wafer.)
LWLG will have 50 employees and a linear growth of burn rate from today equals $3 million monthly burn at mass commercialization. Let’s bump it up to $5 million monthly to account for significant increase in R&D and a buffer.
130,000,000 shares outstanding fully diluted.
Scenario Result:
3,300 wafers are needed to produce enough modulators for two million transceivers. This assumes a 76% good die yield.
Two million 800G transceivers are valued at $5.6 billion. The optics value of those equates to $3.64 billion. The modulator portion equates to $546 million.
It costs LWLG $82,500,000 for the completed wafers. That’s about 85% gross margin (what we expect compared to OLED). We know the actual cost of material is very low and wouldn’t significantly affect COGS.
$462,500,000 in gross profit from selling enough modulators for 2 million transceivers.
$402,000,000 in net earnings from selling enough modulators for 2 million transceivers.
$3 per share in earnings.
This is just one customer and one application.
https://www.reddit.com/r/LWLG/comments/107m7fw/the_potential/
I wonder if we will hear about Lebbys work with smart photonics ??
One question I plan to ask at the ASM is about the first mover advantage vs an exclusive agreement. For example, let’s say Google orders 10 million transceivers to be shipped as soon as available, is that as close to an exclusive agreement as possible?
John, I completely agree. Actually, I read the comments on Mark's post before I shared that link and recognized the names of several people who reacted to his post. I'm not worried about Lightwave.
In Antwerp Last week
question Do the customers request exclusivity?
Answer Yes, exclusivity requests are coming in. We are trying to find a balanced and appropriate commercial approach to deal with that interest. We will not give an outright exclusivity because that runs counter to our goal of ubiquity.
Let's assume that the only hold up here is the signing of the contracts with multiple big players, as Lebby said. How long should this possibly take considering that these cy's want it before any competitor? Are we talking weeks, months or longer?
Think this is a question for @jeunke22 since he has been working decades in that sector as I understood?
Is this even applicable on a pré-revenue stock??
What is this new law going into effect in few days
Dtcc collateral law
Will it effect shorts
Please look into it
Don't understand it.
NLM seems to be in the race on the materials front, but I would be surprised to see EOP material commercialization without them crossing LWLG Intellectual Property somehow along the way. Those battles are not waged until something is commercialized, so I just need to watch it all very closely.
Yes, perhaps he is trying to lead his upcoming talk, but I would not give him the highest grade on how he is going about the execution, and setup for talking points. Is Dr. Lebby on the discussion panel? If not, it is really a poor way to approach it trying to go after someone who is not going to be in the panel discussion to respond in kind. Those types of actions can backfire.
I completely doubt his sincerity that if a Hyperscaler engineer sung the virtues of EO Polymers, and even if we land a commercial deal with a foundry that he will start cheerleading Polymers. He may well have the opportunity soon, so at that time we can see what tune he comes up with, and whether his tune changes. He perhaps set himself up more than he tore Dr. Lebby down.
Thats good to hear. Like who?
Carlin, please note that several others who commented in reply to Mark, that they fill Mark is incorrect and feel that he is not giving LWLG proper recognition. I am glad they are speaking up.
Cliché, but watch and learn!
#scam
Carlin:
Any PR with a big name would immediately cause this stock to rocket big time. Double triple quadruple.
L_R
Again…you have no clue what you’re talking about and not once have you ever said anything that indicates you have a clue.
Mark is a black sheep in the industry who is tolerated because he has a platform. Supposedly his behavior at the OFC executive forum was odd and it’s likely he has some form of autism.
He’s taken a keen interest in TFLN and has said he’ll shout from the rooftops about EOP once he sees that third party validation we all want to see.
My guess as to why he made this post today is it’s a lead-up to Tuesday’s Optica event. When that event was first published, the only speakers were Andy B, Mark L, another guy, and Lewis J from NLM Photonics. Unfortunately the panel list has doubled, but still will be worthwhile to listen to.
Vaporwave has been outmoded. Enjoy the slide into the abyss.
Where was this trading Masters weekend?
#scam
Yes, that linked in post seems to be trying to topple the king of the hill, and in a really nervous sort of way on a Saturday. Seems like LWLG Polymer's are making a pretty big ripple these days. He may get his wish soon enough, but I will take a deal announcement any day over that of the hyperscaler engineer strawman that the guy just stood up.
While I believe this is federal overreach, some states have already done this. For example Washington HB 1450 Bill did it, and unconstitutionally declared it retroactive in 2019/2020 timeframe, and several other states had already done it.
You certainly are entitled to your opinion. But I think the more STEM graduates each year the more beneficial it would be as future economy depend on them, at least that is the way I see.
Among other things both TSMC and Intel found out it costs more to make chips domestically, also difficult to recruit engineers to work for new Fabs.
Why as a taxpayer should I pay for that?
US government should reimburse universities to set up scholarships for high school students who are willing to study hard on STEM fields.
Red, I suppose my point, is that once I see noteworthy revenues on a balance sheet, combined with forward guidance, the identity of customers is less significant to me. That said though, any PR that includes big names would get my undivided attention. 8^)
If the Tier one is not a foundry, I don't think we'll care, who the foundry is.
Soon there be new 12” wafers made from different materials manufactured at less than 50% of current costs. New Fabs are being built to produce said new wafers.
TSMC targeting 12.8Tbps co-packaged silicon photonics in 2026. Nice to see TSMC moving seriously into Silicon Photonics as well.
If it was years ago that would make sense because EOP wasn’t ready then. TFLN wasn’t either though but it’s much more accessible.
I still haven’t seen evidence that Ciena is using TFLN and it doesn’t sound like Mark has seen it first hand either.
I know their latest offering uses InP EAM.
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Moderators pochemunyet prototype_101 Pro_v12001 LOVELWLG JLPTNG Lightning_Rod |
The need for Lightwave Logic’s proprietary electro-optic polymers is more evident than at any prior point in history, with internet infrastructure coming under increasing strain due to increased online activity. For example, during the recent COVID-19 pandemic, leading platforms such as YouTube prevented high-definition (HD) streaming in Europe due to data throughput issues in existing internet infrastructure.
The Company’s current focus is on the datacom and telecommunications hardware supply chain for the 100 Gbps and 400 Gbps fiber optics communications market, seeking to integrate its proprietary materials into the devices that comprise key components in today’s internet infrastructure. Lightwave Logic’s unique value proposition, including ease of manufacture relative to traditional solutions, has driven several tier-1 and tier-2 potential strategic partners in the data and telecommunications markets to enter into non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) with Lightwave Logic to evaluate its technology for use in their devices, validating the demand for the Company’s solution in the marketplace. The Company expects to introduce its technology into the commercial marketplace in the near future.
Lightwave Logic is a wholly U.S.-based company with in-house materials synthesis, device/package design, wafer fabrication and testing capabilities at its Englewood, Colorado headquarters.
Having the modulator and integrated circuit development in-house has informed the materials development direction and vice versa. This vertically integrated business model enables a superior platform by aligning the design for manufacturability from materials to complex circuits with the following benefits:
Materials are called electro-optic when they enable interactions between applied electric fields and light passing through them. Notably, they change the refractive index seen by the light with minimum loss. The result is an instantaneous and accurate conversion of an electrical signal to an optical signal. Optical signals are better for transmission over distance: an increasingly useful feature as digital signal speeds are now reaching the GHz and THz ranges and the corresponding electrical transmission distances are shrinking to meters and centimeters.
EO polymers are intrinsically superior in speed and sensitivity to electric field to traditional electro-optic materials such as Lithium Niobate, Indium Phosphide and Silicon. They are engineered materials, made by embedding a variety of specially designed electro-optic chromophore molecules into a wide range of standard host polymers.
Chromophores are complex, large molecules, on a scale akin to drug molecules. They are hyperpolarizable, meaning their electron clouds are easily pulled into a different shape by the applied electric field, changing their optical properties such as index of refraction.
The material is poled to become electro-optic by applying a strong electric field along with heat. The hot material is relatively soft, allowing the chromophore molecules suspended in the host polymer to align in the same direction (poling). Cooling the poled material after the molecules are in place traps them in their active state even after the poling field is removed.
Although the electrons in the material respond to any applied electric field, they remain tightly bound to the molecule. The response to an applied signal is almost instantaneous response and recovery– like that of a tight spring– unlike materials that involve much slower macroscopic movement of free electrons.
Another key difference from traditional crystalline materials is the performance of EO polymers continues to improve as chemists explore the almost unlimited design space. Combinations of chromophores and host polymers can be tailored for specific applications.
In addition to innovating the EO polymer materials, Lightwave Logic takes its technology platform to the next level by developing ancillary materials and processes. These elements are brought together and demonstrated in advanced high-speed optical modulators.
The polymer is spun onto silicon wafers and standard microfabrication techniques are used to deposit and pattern metal electrodes and optical waveguides.
One well-known optical modulator device is the Mach-Zehnder interferometer. The light output is changed by changing the relative phase between the two arms. One common trick to double the effect for the same available drive voltage is to drive the two arms in opposite directions (push-pull mode). Polymers have an interesting advantage over most other electro-optic materials which are crystalline. The direction of polymer’s electro-optic activity is entirely determined by the direction of the applied poling field. By poling the two arms of the Mach-Zehnder in opposite directions, the resulting device automatically has push-pull operation with a single applied signal.
Once the modulator chip is made, it is packaged for mechanical protection and also to ensure signal quality for electrical and optical connections.
Below is a polymer optical modulator with >60 GHz bandwidth packaged with high-speed electrical connectors and optical pigtails.
Inspired by the remarkable record of integrated microelectronics, the opto-electronics industry has great interest in developing photonic integrated circuits (PICS). Photonics refers to devices that manipulate photons—that is, light—rather than electrons.
Even the best individual devices can be made more functional by integrating many together. Integration has many benefits, the most notable being dramatic improvements in size and cost. Yet, photonic integration has only recently come into the spotlight. The primary applications for photonics used to require stand-alone, high performance components such as used for long-haul telecom.
Now, photonic integration has suddenly come into the spotlight as electronic interconnects struggle to keep up with speed increases of electronic chips. Photonics is being looked at to replace electronics in already highly integrated applications such as chip interconnect. Co-packaging of electronics integrated circuits (ICs) with photonic interconnect, considered unlikely a few years ago, is now viewed by many as inevitable. However, this requirement poses new challenges that are acknowledged as difficult and that new technologies will be required to meet them.
P2IC™ (Polymer Photonic Integrated Circuits) are ideally positioned to be one of these new technologies. Lightwave Logic’s devices are made using conventional wafer-scale processing such as used for microelectronics and therefore similarly capable of being integrated. In addition, the polymer microfabrication processes are compatible with other materials platforms such as Silicon Photonics and Indium Phosphide which are now starting to become more integrated. In particular, the Silicon Photonics ecosystem has recently accepted that its roadmap will include adding more and more materials, each for their specific benefits. EO polymers’ speed and voltage advantages are attractive additions to this ecosystem.
A fiber link sends data from a transmitter to a receiver through an optical fiber cable. Lightwave Logic’s technology can be used to make a data modulator, a central function of the transmitter.
Datacenters and high-performance computing (HPC) are two market segments that demand the very highest speed optical fiber communications. The datacenter fiber communications segment includes applications ranging from connections inside hyperscale datacenters to fiber links between datacenter campuses.
Optical fiber communication is the infrastructure that supports internet content through its entire lifecycle, between businesses, consumers and datacenters. Behind the scenes, massive amounts of data move between computer processors inside datacenters (or inside supercomputers) as content is generated. In addition to these intra-datacenter links, there are also significant datacenter interconnection links between big datacenters to provide flexible capacity and resilience – all of these represent significant addressable market segments for Lightwave Logic’s technology.
Modulator performance limits the speed of the transmitter, which in turn limits the data-carrying capacity of the entire fiber link. EO polymers have superior speed and sharply reduce the electrical power needed to operate the modulators.
Lightwave Logic estimates that in 2019, the total market for opto-electronic components used in the fiber optics market reached a value of ~$26 billion and is forecasted to grow to approximately $80 billion by 2030.
Above: Market forecasts for photonic (electro-optic) components and transceivers used in optical fiber communications. (Source: Oculi LLC)
The growth in the optical fiber communications market is driven by many factors, primarily:
The historic trend has been a migration from text to graphics, followed by still graphics to increasingly high-definition video. On the accessibility front, the introduction of 5G will enable low-cost mobile internet connections at the same, or higher speeds, as today’s home broadband. This trend continues today as users demand more data at all times.
Recently, particularly since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a sharp increase in reliance on video-conferencing services, often replacing in-person meetings. As video conferencing becomes more commonly used, users will continue to demand faster response times to enable no-lag, real-time communications in full HD.
The benefits of EO polymers, such as low power usage, high speed, increased throughput and lower cost make them ideally suited for markets outside of communications as well, including in consumer, media, augmented reality/virtual reality, medical and industrial applications.
Developing, protecting and commercializing intellectual property is central to Lightwave Logic’s identity as a technology company. Lightwave Logic has over 50 U.S. and international patents and applications that are issued or pending.
These patents provide freedom of manufacture for the company’s electro-optic (EO) polymer materials systems and its optical device technology.
Lightwave Logic’s patent portfolio covers the following areas:
The company continuously seeks to innovate new electro-optic chromophores, designing molecular architectures to meet application needs such as high electro-optic activity and stability. We also design ancillary materials that are useful in conjunction with the EO polymers themselves. Example patents within the materials category include:
Publication Number | Title |
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US Patent 7,902,322 | Nonlinear optical chromophores with stabilizing substituent and electro-optic devices |
US Patent 9,535,215 | Fluorinated Sol-Gel Low Refractive Index Hybrid Optical Cladding and Electro-Optic Devices Made Therefrom |
As the company demonstrates its materials in devices, such as modulators, it has engineered ways to enhance device performance by means of device design and optimized control. Example patents within the optical device category include:
Publication Number | Title |
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US Patent 10,520,673 | Protection layers for polymer modulators/waveguides |
US Patent 7,738,745 | Method of Biasing and Operating Electr-Optic Polymer Optical Modulators |
Materials innovations are followed by methods in which the Company or its partners can best work with the materials in the fabrication process. Example patents within the fabrication category include:
Publication Number | Title |
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US Patent Application 20190353843 | Fabrication process of polymer based photonic apparatus and the apparatus |
US Patent 10,591,755 | Direct-drive polymer modulator methods of fabricating and materials therefor |
Polymers can be used to add functionality to existing semiconductor devices, inclusive of making photonic integrated circuits (ICs). Areas of active innovation include how to get light from one material system into another with minimal losses. Example patents within the semiconductor integration category include:
Publication Number | Title |
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US Patent 10,527,786 | Polymer modulator and laser integrated on a common platform and method |
US Patent 10,511,146 | Guide transition device with digital grating deflectors and method |
Challenges for high-speed optical packaging includes maintaining the quality of radio-frequency electrical signals and hermetic/environmental sealing of devices for durability (while still allowing light to go through). Example patents within the packaging category include:
Publication Number | Title |
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US Patent 10,574,025 | Hermetic capsule and method for a monolithic photonic integrated circuit |
US Patent 10,162,111 | Multi-fiber/port hermetic capsule sealed by metallization and method |
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