Importance of the Technology

The Technology in Brief

• Laser Diodes
• Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers
• Quantum-Dot Lasers
• Silicon Waferboard
• Plastic Optical Fiber
• Low-Cost Lasers
• Modulators
• Fiber Amplifiers
• Optical Switching
• Optoelectronic Integrated Circuits
• Optical Polymers
• Blue Laser Diodes
• White Light-Emitting Diodes
  • Wavelength Conversion
  • Color Mixing
  • Homoepitaxial Growth
  • Quantum-Dot Coatings

Commercial Development Parameters

• Demand Factors
• General Constraints
  • Economics of Optical Systems
  • Installed Base of Copper Wire
  • Limited Skills Base
• Competing Technologies
• Regulatory Factors
  • Deregulation of the Telecommunications Industry
  • Cable-Television Regulations
  • Government Research Consortia
• Required Resources
• Synergistic Technologies
  • Fiber Optics
  • Crystal-Growth Methodology
  • Polymer Materials
  • Holographic and Binary Optical Elements

Areas to Monitor

• China's Growth and Potential
• Progress in WDM/DWDM/CWDM
• Low-Cost Packaging
• Progress in Optoelectronic Integrated Circuits
• Alternative Optical Materials
• High-Brightness LEDs
• Optical Backplanes
• Chip-to-Chip Interconnects
• All-Optical Networks/Slow Light
• Micromachining
• High-Power Laser Diodes
• Thin-Film Solar Cells

Implications of Commercialization

• Upscale LEDs
• Optical Backplanes: The First Step in Optical Interconnection
• High-Power Laser-Diode Arrays

Opportunities

• Communications
  • FTTx
  • Backhaul
• Optical Data-Processing
  • Optical Buses
  • Backplane and Chip-to-Chip Interconnect
  • Optical Computing
  • Quantum Cryptography
  • Optical Data Storage
• LED-Based Solid-State Lighting
  • General Illumination
  • Automotive Illumination
  • Displays
• Biomedical Applications
  • Eye Surgery
  • Bionic Eye
  • Skin Treatment
• Industrial and Military Applications
  • Laser Cutting
  • Laser Cladding
  • Micromachining
  • Directed-Energy Weapons

Players

Updates

Viewpoints Features

Abbreviations