IQE begins 'VSCEL' production for second major customer at Newport
IQE
27.40p
16:45 25/04/24
Semiconductor materials company IQE announced the start of initial ‘VCSEL’ production for a second major customer at the Newport Mega Foundry on Wednesday, as well as further positive qualifications.
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The AIM-traded firm said initial production had now started with a second major customer serving the Android supply chains, adding that several more were in “advanced stages of qualification”.
Performance data from the Newport Foundry jhad exceeded previously-attained performance levels, IQE said, with several new qualifications now in long-term reliability testing.
As a result, the company said it had signed a contract extension with one of its largest VCSEL customers, extending the current contract until the end of 2021.
In addition, two other existing contracts were also extended, with several other new contracts said to be in final negotiations.
Vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) were described by IQE as a “key” component in multiple current and future 3D sensor systems, using both structured light and time of flight (ToF) technologies.
Applications ranged from 3D facial identification systems and world-facing cameras on mobile handsets, to LiDAR and in-cabin sensing for autonomous drive vehicles, range-finding and 3D sensing systems for a range of industrial and commercial applications.
Production volumes were expected to ramp up in the next few years as adoption across multiple mobile platforms and other use cases proliferated.
In anticipation of such strong growth, IQE said it had invested “heavily” over the last two years in building the worlds’ largest VCSEL epi-wafer facility in Newport.
IQE said it was involved in multiple engagements across all of those applications, and was currently qualifying more than a dozen volume customers at the Newport Mega Foundry.
“The initiation of production for a second major customer at our Newport Mega Epi Foundry is another important milestone in cementing Newport as the premier location globally for large scale, state of the art, VCSEL production,” said IQE’s executive vie-president of global business development, photonics and infrared Dr Mark Furlong.
“The availability of the large-scale production capacity which has been established over the last 18 months at Newport, and consequent improvement in production efficiency and performance, is highly valued by our customers as they address mass market adoption across multiple applications.”