TORONTO, ONTARIO and STORRS, CONNECTICUT--(Marketwired - Sept. 2, 2014) - POET Technologies Inc. (TSX VENTURE:PTK)(OTCQX:POETF) ("the Company") - developer of the planar opto-electronic technology (POET) platform for monolithic fabrication of integrated circuit devices containing both electronic and optical elements on a single semiconductor wafer - today announced an agreement with a "3rd party foundry" to reproduce and enhance repeatability of the 100-nm scale results obtained at the Company's labs (the "POET labs") located at the University of Connecticut (UCONN). The "3rd party foundry" will also assist the POET team in shrinking the 100-nm PET devices and process to a 40-nm feature size.
Having developed a structure suitable for scaling POET transistors to the 100nm scale, POET has actively engaged a third party foundry to replicate the POET results with greater precision and larger scale using advanced ebeam writing tools. Definition and repeatability of 100-nm has been difficult in the POET labs due to the limitations of available lithography tools and other equipment. The collaboration gives the POET team access to superior capability and diagnostics, allowing the POET approach to start to scale to both 3" and 6" wafers with much larger device count and across wafer alignment. The fine features will then be merged with optical lithography and other procedures necessary to transition to a manufacturing environment. In addition, the effort will target line width reductions from 100-nm down to 40-nm which should enable POET performance parameters to compete with present state-of-the-art processes. The reduction will be parallel to our efforts with our Synopsys TCAD collaboration.
Dr. Geoff Taylor, Chief Scientist and Board member noted: "Developing the 100-nm feature size technology in the current POET labs has proven to be challenging. With the collaboration of our "3rd party foundry", we now have access to state of the art equipment highlighted by a state of the art ebeam writing tool. This will help us make the process more stable and predictable and help prove our process in a true manufacturing environment."
This announcement follows another announcement today from the Company regarding collaboration with Synopsys and the creation of the Company's first Process Design Kit (PDK). This collaboration will see the development of an advanced model of the Company's PET devices targeting a technology node of 40-nm, a significant production node of highly integrated systems-on-chip (SoC) silicon CMOS device. The results of the physical devices at 40-nm developed at the "3rd party foundry" can then be correlated to the models of the PET technology developed using TCAD tools from Synopsys and vice-versa.
Mr. Peter Copetti, Executive Chairman Interim CEO concluded: "We now believe we have the right collaboration in place with Synopsys and our "3rd party foundry" to model our technology down to 40-nm and correlate our process to real physical device measurements. This should provide us with results needed to showcase our technology to potential customers at the optimum node for our platform. We expect synergistic benefits from having parallel operations with the same end target."
About POET Technologies Inc.
POET Technologies is the developer of the POET platform for monolithic fabrication of integrated circuit devices containing both electronic and optical elements on a single semiconductor wafer. With head office in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and operations in Storrs, CT, the Company, through ODIS Inc., a U.S. company, designs III-V semiconductor devices for military, industrial and commercial applications, including infrared sensor arrays and ultra-low-power random access memory. The Company has several issued and pending patents for the POET process, with potential high speed and power-efficient applications in devices such as servers, tablet computers and smartphones. The Company's common shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "PTK" and on the OTCQX under the symbol "POETF". For more information please visit our websites at www.poet-technologies.com.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Michel Lafrance, Secretary
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This news release contains "forward-looking information" (within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws) and "forward -looking statements" (within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). Such statements or information are identified with words such as "anticipate", "believe", "expect", "plan", "intend", "potential", "estimate", "propose", "project", "outlook", "foresee" or similar words suggesting future outcomes or statements regarding an outlook. Such statements include the Company's expectations regarding its ability to compete with present state of the art processes, its ability to make the process more stable and predictable and the development of an advanced model of the Company's PET devices targeting a technology node of 40nm.
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