I recently received an interesting e-mail from Brete Martin, Lightwave Microsystems Corp., San Jose. Brete wrote that Lightwave Microsystems [lightwavemicro.com] was omitted from an article in a recent issue of Chip Scale Review-although companies in a similar business were included. I was glad to respond to Brete's e-mail with an answer that I hope will be of general interest. I pointed out to her that I did not mention the company because it wasn't listed where electronics people typically look. We're Omniscient Despite reading the industry literature extensively, attending many trade shows, scanning proceedings from the major conferences, and watching Tech TV, we sometimes miss things. This, of course, goes against the conventional thinking that trade journal editors, myself included, are expected to be omniscient. It's true that most of the time we do know everything. And when we don't, we pretend to know everything, anyway. But sometimes we slip, due to the enormous quantity of information that's on the bandwidth. Additionally, when we know everything, it tends to be part of a two-month time warp. For example, we start working on this, the July issue, in May. So why isn't it warmer?
Also, most of the conferences, shows and publications about photonics/optoelectronics cover photonic physics or clever, one-of-a-kind applications. They fail to include actual device manufacturing. (See Back to Manufacturing Basics, below). However, we now have the beginnings of a dialog to correct the oversight vis-à-vis Lightwave. The fact that I did not find any mention of Lightwave Microsystems in my research brings me to why we printed what we printed in the issue of Chip Scale Review that Brete cited. Both my columns, "The Once & Future Powers in Opto Packaging Comprise a Growing List" and "Optoelectronic Package Testing: Another Futile Exercise in Rube Goldberg Physics?" were intended to draw attention to the fact that those in the semiconductor and greater electronics industry have not yet established a thorough (and productive) dialog with those in photonics. Website Visit I have now visited Brete's web site and found the following: "AWGs (Arrayed Waveguide Gratings) can perform complex filtering functions in a highly integrated and efficient way. They can replace hundreds of piece parts in conventional discrete technology." I found the "replace hundreds of piece parts in conventional discrete technology" to be particularly intriguing. It's no secret that photonics/optoelectronics/MEMS and MOEMS will have to be fabricated and packaged with economies of scale that eventually approach what IC companies routinely accomplish. Integrating Opto As you probably realize, many opto components today are expensive because they are assembled by hand. Many of our readers are just beginning to get customer requests for integrating optoelectronic/ MEMS/MOEMS components into their packages-and many are not familiar with the technologies involved. In future issues, I told Brete, we will carry some basic tutorials on common optoelectronic/MEMS/MOEMS components, explaining how they work and how they can be used with conventional electronics. We also will address specific manufacturing techniques for assembling and packaging such devices alone or with microelectronic devices. Back to Manufacturing Basics The recent 2002 MicroSystems Conference presented by the Rochester Institute of Technology Center for Electronic Manu-facturing & Assembly, was useful and informative. I also learned that even in April, it pays to bring your snowshoes to Rochester, N.Y. (Well, the snow really did not accumulate, but I hate seeing snow flakes while the plane is taxiing to the gate!) From the back row of the conference, it was interesting to see who was/was not taking notes. The split was not surprising. Attendees from the photonic components side were by far the busiest, especially when it came to some arcane cost of ownership (COO) examples that described just how much component scrap really costs. COO certainly is not new to the semiconductor industry, but it is a recent concept for many photonic companies. In all fairness, opto devices and modules have not really been assembled and packaged with semiautomated let alone highly automated systems, so costs and scrap rates will naturally be greater. A Failure to Communicate As Paul Newman said in Cool Hand Luke, "What we have here is a failure to communicate." He could have been speaking about the turf wars raging between electronics and photonics companies.
To date, only a handful of conferences and workshops have encouraged the mingling of semiconductor, electronics and photonics/telecom individuals. The 2002 MicroSystems Conference was one such event and deserves plaudits for meeting this challenge. Electronics companies can add functionality with these new opto devices, which may well permit them to expand business areas served. And photonics and MEMS companies would certainly welcome some of the profit margins that the semiconductor and electronics companies have enjoyed (at least in the good years). 'Synergy' The vintage-and often overused-term "synergy" seems appropriate here. The sum value to end users from closer working relationships between opto and the IC types could be a substantial benefit for everyone, worth far more than the individual parts. Where is the opto market going? Your e-mailed thoughts are always welcome.
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