POET Technologies Inc of Toronto, Canada – which, through subsidiary OPEL Defense Integrated Systems (ODIS Inc) of Storrs, CT, USA, has developed the proprietary planar-optoelectronic technology (POET) platform for monolithic fabrication of integrated III-V-based electronic and optical devices on a single semiconductor wafer – has announced updates regarding its near-term strategic plan and technical milestones.
The firm says it remains on track to deliver to industry (and specifically to its development partners) by mid-2014 a fully integrated monolithic optoelectronic semiconductor chip based on its POET platform. The chip will be capable of providing significant energy savings and increased performance over current silicon technology, the firm reckons.
POET Development Alliance (PDA, announced in August) – The firm says that, to date, it has met with several large-scale technology firms that have expressed interest in jointly adapting the POET process to commercial-scale implementation. Some potential alliance partners have already provided input into POET's alignment of resources, notably with respect to the firm's technical roadmap. Specific instances include the moving forward of milestone 6 in the firm's corporate presentation, achieved in second-quarter 2013; and the current 100nm initiative, which is proceeding as planned. Incubating such relationships is an ongoing task of the Special Strategic Committee (SSC), as a key aspect of finalizing licensing relationships towards a 'Powered by POET' device ecosystem.
Shareholder Rights Plan (SRP) - As announced on 16 August, the board of directors has adopted a shareholder rights plan designed to encourage the fair and equal treatment of shareholders in connection with any take-over bid for the outstanding securities of the company. The rights plan provides the board with additional time to assess the advantages and disadvantages to any particular offer and to seek out alternative proposals in the best interests of all shareholders. The rights plan is subject to approval of the TSX Venture Exchange and the shareholders. The firm is required to seek shareholder approval to re-approve the rights plan every three years. It notes that it has not adopted the rights plan in response to any specific proposal to acquire control of its outstanding shares.
Milestone 5 - Switching Laser Demonstration at POET's R&D Labs. Milestone 5 (nearing completion) demonstrates a fast-signal controllable laser for standard optical fiber telecommunications. While the integrated POET switchable laser transmitter is a key differentiator to silicon technology, it is considered to demand less priority on resources, because of its low-risk for achievability, over milestones in the firm's technical roadmap that have been deemed more important to potential partners.
Milestone 7 - Optical Thyristor-Based Infrared Detector Array Fabrication and Validation. Milestone 7 is proceeding with no technical issues, according to POET''s third-party fab partner. While the POET team is in continuous communication with the fab, a publicly available update may fall well into fourth-quarter reporting, as control of the fabrication and validation process remains with the firm's partner.
POET Technologies notes that the technical roadmap in its company presentation provides best approximations based on current progress at its R&D labs and partner fabs; timing differences will arise and have arisen not only due to technical resource needs but also due to input from potential PDA partners. Due to these interactions, it has become impractical to document the numerous changes to the roadmap, but the firm has decided to keep the current presentation as indicative, rather than provide no information. Despite all this, the firm expects to complete and present its monolithic solution on time.
"This is the critical period approaching the last phases of development, towards the introduction to the semiconductor industry of a revolutionary, and validated, process to produce integrated monolithic optoelectronic chips," executive director Peter Copetti, chairman of the SSC. "The company continues to target a liquidity event for investors, which has remained a primary objective throughout our discussions," he adds. "The work of [chief scientist] Geoff Taylor's team is finally bearing fruit - securing POET Technologies as a leader in its space as the semiconductor industry works towards extending Moore's Law into the next millennium."
