News: Optoelectronics
3 November 2021
Ganvix and ITRI form JV to commercialize GaN VCSELs
Early-stage startup company Ganvix Inc of Wilmington, DE, USA, which specializes in the development of gallium nitride (GaN) vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs), has signed a joint venture agreement with Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI).
Founded by Yale University’s Dr Jung Han, Dr Rami Elafandy and Dr Jin-Ho Kim, Ganvix received funding from IP Group Inc, an intellectual property commercialization company that focuses on evolving ideas from its partner universities and national labs. The firm utilizes nanoporous technology to deliver compact, lightweight blue/green/ultraviolet (UV) VCSEL lasers that produce what is claimed to be superior wavelength control, smaller spot size and array architectures, allowing innovation across a wide range of applications.
As part of the agreement, ITRI will apply its decades of experience in commercializing and manufacturing electro-optic devices to accelerate Ganvix’s technology development and time to market. The resulting products will be targeted at addressing the nascent opportunity for high-performance, low-cost GaN VCSELs in billion-dollar global markets, including consumer electronics, communications, medical and life sciences, and industrial applications.
VCSELs based on gallium arsenide (GaAs) that operate in the infrared spectrum are currently one of the fastest-growing technologies in electro-optics. However, GaAs cannot emit light in the ultraviolet or visible (blue and green) wavelengths. For these applications, GaN is required, but there has been no commercially viable solution to form the laser cavity mirrors required until now. Ganvix claims that it has solved this problem by using nanoporous technology to engineer the optical properties of GaN. The underlying nanoporous technology was developed by professor Jung Han over a period of more than a decade, is protected by more than 30 patents, and has been exclusively licensed by Ganvix.
“By forming this partnership, we take advantage of ITRI’s technical expertise and long track record of helping bring innovative technologies to market,” says Ganvix’s CEO John Fijol.
“We see immense opportunity in commercializing GaN-based VCSELs and are enthusiastic about introducing them to the global markets,” comments ITRI’s general director Dr Wu. “The nanoporous technology is uniquely suitable for manufacturing at scale.”
