LOS ANGELES, June 13, 2002 -- A new high-performance photodetector used in fiber-optic telecommunication systems is commercially available from Spectrolab, Inc., the leading manufacturer of space and terrestrial solar cells, panels, arrays, solar simulators and searchlight systems. Spectrolab, a subsidiary of The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA], is among a small number of companies able to manufacture, package and test this optoelectronic product.
The device is a 10-gigabit/second PIN InGaAs photodetector. PIN means it is a positive-intrinsic-negative (PIN) Indium Gallium Arsenide (InGaAs) photodetector that operates at a speed of 10 gigabits per second (Gb/s). Photodetectors, which are used by subsystem manufacturers for the fiber-optic telecommunications market, are components that detect laser light in fiber-optic systems and translate that light into electrical current.
This 10 Gb/s PIN InGaAs photodetector is designed for use both in long-haul transport and metropolitan telecommunications receiver systems carrying high-speed voice and data/Internet traffic. The detector is competitively priced and offers higher performance compared to competing products available in the marketplace.
"To achieve the high speed of 10 Gb/s, other manufacturers reduce the thickness of the InGaAs layer, and this compromises the component's efficiency in converting light to electrical current," explained Dr. Nasser Karam, Spectrolab vice president for Optoelectronic Products. "Spectrolab is able to achieve high speed without compromising quantum efficiency. We also offer two unique designs to address customers' different preferences for easy fiber alignment.
"The product is now available in production quantities, and custom designs are available upon request," Dr. Karam added. "And because we are a full-service foundry, we can grow the material, process the wafer, package the device and test it using the most rigorous quality standards."
Spectrolab possesses one of the largest MOVPE (Metal Organic Vapor Phase Epitaxy) facilities in North America. This state-of-the-art production facility is used for the growth and fabrication of the device structures on which solar cells and optoelectronics components are based. Spectrolab is a leading MOVPE wafer and device fabrication foundry, providing services for optoelectronic products. Spectrolab offers optoelectronic products packaged to customer specifications, and also tests the packages and qualifies them to the fiber-optics industry's Telcordia standards.
Spectrolab, an ISO 9001-2000 certified company, was founded in 1956 and has been supplying solar cells and panels to the space industry for more than 40 years. Spectrolab is headquartered in Sylmar, Calif., a suburb of Los Angeles. Visit Spectrolab's web site at www.spectrolab.com.
Boeing Space and Communications (S&C), headquartered in Seal Beach, Calif., is the world's largest space and communications company. A unit of The Boeing Company, S&C provides integrated solutions in launch services, human space flight and exploration, missile defense, and information and communications. It is NASA's largest contractor; a leading provider of space-based communications; the primary systems integrator for U.S. missile defense; and a leading provider of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. The global enterprise has customers worldwide and manufacturing operations throughout the United States and Australia.
BOEING SATELLITE SYSTEMS, INC.
Public Relations Department
P.O. Box 92919 (S10/S323)
Los Angeles, CA 90009
www.boeing.com/satellite
(310) 364-6363