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Xponent has developed
a new optical component architecture
that solves a number of problems inherent
in conventional component packaging
and assembly. This technology, called
Surface Mount Photonics, enables high
volume, low cost assembly of optical
components using the same flip-chip,
pick-and-place equipment used for
building electronic products such
as cell phones and computers. It allows
the replacement of hermetic packages
with simple encapsulation and results
in products with footprints that are
up to 20 times smaller than conventional
components.
Our horizontal business model makes
the benefits of Surface Mount Photonics
broadly available across the optical
communications industry. For more
about our strategy, see our Business
Model and
Corporate Overview. |
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Surface Mount Photonics
(or SMP) is a new optical component
architecture that eliminates many of
the problems associated with free space
optics. With SMP, light travels through
optical building blocks that are connected
by Xponent's highly efficient "optical
wire" connections instead of traveling
through free space between numerous
subcomponents. The result is optical
components with reduced size, increased
performance and improved reliability
for a much lower cost. For more information
about surface mount photonics, see our
Technology
section. |
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Xponent was founded
in 2001. The founding technical team
combines
leading-edge researchers with experienced
engineers who have qualified and
delivered over 20 commercial optical
products. |
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Xponent offers lowest-cost,
highly-compact optical device products
across a broad range of applications
which are purchased by component, module
and systems vendors. In the communications
and networking sector, our customers
are primarily component and module vendors.
We supply our customers with devices
for integration into products such as
SFP (small form pluggable) transceivers,
EPON transceivers and FSAN transceivers.
Our customers can supply Xponent with
their own epitaxial product or buy devices
we engineer using merchant-supplied
epitaxial products. |
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Our core competence
is optical design-for-manufacturing.
Our patented technology portfolio of
SMP chip designs is the foundation of
our core competence. We also rely on
industry-leading optical design and
innovative waferscale processing techniques
to produce the Surface Mount Photonics
chipsets. While we enable a much lower
cost manufacturing and assembly process
for optical devices, delivering the
packaged optics (such as pigtailed or
receptacle packages) in volume is not
our core competence. Our contract manufacturing
partners and/or in-house manufacturing
customers deliver this part of the value
chain, typically alongside printed circuit
board (PCB) electronics content. |
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Contrary to the expectation
that a lower cost approach may lead
to inferior products, Xponent’s
products offer industry-leading specifications
for power consumption, optical performance,
coupling efficiency, and thermal range.
The specifications of our first products
speak for themselves. For example, our
10G PIN product has industry-leading
responsivity, low capacitance and low
dark current. Our FP TOSA for SONET
SR1 applications has significantly lower
operating power requirements and a broader
thermal range than the alternatives
on the market. |
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Surface Mount Photonics
approaches are inherently more reliable
than competing free space optics designs.
The design-for-manufacturing enhancements
that lead to lower cost also lead
to improved reliability. A couple
of specific examples include:
1) With SMP, the tightest alignment
window for a surface mounted chip
alignment is 4 microns. In contrast,
alignment tolerances for free space
optics parts are an order of magnitude
tougher at 0.2 microns. The risk
of misalignment due to aging and
temperature cycling are higher for
the tighter-tolerance free space
optics assemblies.
2) SMP products are inherently
more mechanically stable for the
following reasons: a) fewer part
counts than free space optics assemblies
– no clips, lenses, submounts
or hermetic packages; b) the bonded
surfaces of SMP chipsets are more
stable than axially-aligned, laser-welded
parts; c) the devices are lighter-
weight and more compact, making
them less subject to distortions
from vibrations or thermal cycles.
Our products are qualified in accordance
with the toughest Telcordia standards
(GR1221 and GR468). In addition to
these standards, we conduct highly
accelerated stress tests (HAST) and
highly accelerated life tests (HALT).
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Our customers can
work with SMP products in the same way
that they work with other packaged optics.
Our fiber-aligned packaged products
are designed to drop into existing module
designs to enable customers to most
easily benefit from SMP. For instance,
our TOSA products are form-factor and
PIN compatible with standard TO-can
packages for easy integration into SFF/SFP
designs. Customers who are interested
in taking a higher portion of the manufacturing
in house by purchasing our products
at a FROA
or chip level will be supported with
reference designs and assembly process
technology transfer. |
