Title

Green photonics overview and trends for the next decade (communications, lighting, solar): A new green direction - the use of rare earth oxides to drive "on-silicon" solutions such as GaN-on-Si and Ge-on-Si

Speaker

Michael Lebby, GM and CTO of Translucent Inc.

Abstract

Photonics technologies and products that have been based on semiconductors have experienced significant growth over the past decade, with examples from many consumer and fiber communication products that contain; lasers, displays, solar cells, and LEDs. This talk will review the status of green photonics as it relates to the photonics field, and will explore how the technologies will develop into more exciting products over the next decade.

One example of a new green photonics opportunity is figuring how to put photonics technologies onto large silicon wafers. The talk will show that compliant, lattice matched rare earth oxides (REO) for GaN-on-Si and Ge-on-Si offer a scalable solution that is cost effective and exciting.

1. Ge-on-Si using REO will enable large, low cost semiconductor platforms for multi-junction high efficiency photovoltaic, solar cells, GaAs based photonics for communications, and GaAs electronics on silicon wafers.
2. GaN-on-Si using REO will enable large, low cost semiconductor platforms for energy efficient Power FETs and high performance LEDs for solid state lighting

Green photonics technology and market philosophy has been evolving for years as a large portfolio of engineers and scientists strive for energy efficiency, cleaner solutions and improved health in their designs. Traditional photonics segments such as fiber communications, photonic lighting, solar, optical networking, photonic device integration, make up some of the green photonics segment. Data presented from OIDA based in Washington DC., will show that many classic photonic fields will become more 'green' through more efficient product design over the decade.

Biography

In April 2010, Lebby joined Translucent Inc. based in Palo Alto, California to head up the company's R&D efforts to commercialize rare earth oxides for epitaxial based materials that have been developed over the past decade. Crystalline based semiconductor rare-earth oxides exhibit a number of attractive properties for advanced substrate and device solutions that include GaN-on-Si for solid state lighting and power electronics, Ge-on-Si for CPV solar and GaAs based photonics and electronics.

Lebby lead the drive for green photonics while heading OIDA in the mid 2000s. The adoption and acceleration of this new discipline has become a significant focus for the photonics industry.

Lebby's career has spanned all aspects of the optoelectronics business ranging from research and development, operations, manufacturing, and finance, to sales, marketing, and investing. Lebby has worked at RSRE for the British Government in the UK, AT&T Bell Labs, Motorola, Tyco Electronics, Intel, Ignis Optics (VC backed start-up that was sold to Bookham - now Oclaro), OIDA, and presently, Translucent.

With more than 180 USPTO utility patents issued in the field of optoelectronics, Lebby has been cited by the USPTO to be in the most prolific 75 inventors in the country from 1988-1997. Lebby is a Fellow member of IEEE and OSA, and has testified on behalf of the optoelectronics industry while working for OIDA on Capitol Hill. Lebby has given numerous talks, speeches, panel discussions, and interviews, on the subject of optoelectronics internationally over the past two decades. Lebby has 2 doctorates and a MBA from the University of Bradford in the UK.