News: Optoelectronics
28 January 2021
Seoul Viosys begins mass production of 25G VCSELs for 5G
Ultraviolet LED product maker Seoul Viosys Co Ltd (a subsidiary of South Korean LED maker Seoul Semiconductor Co Ltd) says that, for the first time in Korea, it has succeeded in developing vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) technology, a near-field-only 25Gbps laser diode compatible with 5G wired networks for transmitting and receiving. The firm has started mass production to supply these products to three initial customers.
As a light-based communication technology, VCSELs can achieve ultra-high-speed data communication in 5G environments. They are also necessary for augmented reality (AR)/virtual reality (VR), 3D sensing and the camera-applied ToF (time of flight) for smartphones, as well as automotive light detection & ranging (LiDAR). Seoul Viosys’ VCSELs for sensor applications have already received customers’ approval and will be mass-produced in first-quarter 2021, and the LiDAR technology is also undergoing the approval process to be supplied to an automotive system provider. According to the market research firm Yole Développement, the VCSEL market is expected to grow 18.4% annually from $1.1bn in 2020 to $2.7bn in 2025.
The 25Gbps VCSEL market has seen three large US-based companies – II-VI, Lumentum and Broadcom – involved in a power struggle for these high-value-added products (which have a selling price more than 10 times larger than that of an LED). Seoul Viosys’ VCSEL can be implemented in single-channel or four-channel configurations, depending on the intended use, with the four-channel implementation providing 100Gbps (4x) data reception and transmission. Although VCSEL technology involves a high degree of difficulty in implementation, it is expected to span a wide range of applications in the future, as it is price competitive compared with horizontal-type laser diodes that emit light from the sides.
Picture: Seoul Viosys’ 25Gbps VCSEL (left) and 100Gbps 4-channel VCSEL (right).
“As the paradigm shift has progressed in the recent non-contact era, interest in VCSEL technology is growing, since it is a critical technology for implementing the Internet of Things (IoT) environment,” says Seoul Viosys. “Seoul Viosys will continue to research and develop the VCSEL technology to expand and apply our differentiated VCSELs to 5G communication-based smart cities, autonomous driving applications, AR/VR, and industrial IoT markets.”
