In 2017, iPhoneX was released, depth cameras became popular, and VCSEL, a component that is not well known to the general public, began to attract attention.
VCSEL (VerticalCavitySurfaceEmittingLaser), the full name of the vertical cavity surface emitting laser, began to be gradually applied when the technology matured in the 1990s. With the current optical-related technology shifting from two-dimensional to three-dimensional, infrared light sources based on LEDs (light-emitting diodes) are no longer applicable, and the importance of VCSELs has become increasingly prominent.
But for a long time, the core technologies of VCSEL, such as tunable VCSEL technology, VCSEL array technology and current limiting technology, have been controlled by a few international manufacturers in the United States and Japan. Only Broadcom (Avago), Sumitomo Electric, Finisar and Lumentum have achieved high-end Commercialized mass production of products. There has never been a mass-produced VCSEL product with high yield and high reliability in China.
The Ruixi Technology we have recently contacted was founded by a number of technical talents with more than 20 years of experience in VCSEL design, epitaxial growth, key process development, and sales. They are mainly engaged in the research and development and mass production of VCSEL chips and derivative products.
The team stated that the company has now completed the third-generation chips for consumer electronics such as mobile phones. It will be mass-produced in 2018, reaching the level of major international manufacturers, and has become the only domestic VCSEL chip recommended by Sunny Optical; at the same time, the company is developing applicable 4×25Gbps (100Gbps) VCSEL chips used in data centers and 5G communications are expected to be sampled and mass produced in 2019.
Globally, only Avago, Sumitomo Electric, Finisar, Lumentum, Princeton Optronics, Heptagon, â…¡-VI can mass produce VCSEL manufacturers. There has been a lack of high-end VCSEL products in China. An important reason is the high technology threshold.
In a nutshell, VCSEL integrates disciplines such as semiconductor materials, laser physics, semiconductor manufacturing technology, high-speed radio frequency electronics, and optical technology. Not only is the chip structure complex, but it also needs to meet the high performance and high reliability requirements when using gallium arsenide materials that are fragile and have higher intrinsic defects than silicon materials.
From the structural point of view, the VCSEL chip has a complex structure. Generally, tens of layers of mirrors, oxide layers and other structural layers with thicknesses ranging from tens to hundreds of nanometers are formed by epitaxial growth of crystals above and below the active layer, and then manufactured by dozens of semiconductors. The process can be completed. The VCSEL chip is made of gallium arsenide material. Compared with the mature silicon material used in mainstream electronic chips, its intrinsic defect rate is two orders of magnitude higher. During the preparation process, the probability of crystal defects caused by stress and the manufacturing process is also much higher than that of ordinary electric chips based on silicon materials. In the working state of the chip, once the crystal defect is stimulated by high temperature and high current, the crack growth exceeds a certain value or reaches the active area, the chip will fail.
Excellent VCSEL chip design needs to meet the requirements of high performance and high reliability, involving the optimization of materials and structures related to active layer materials, structural stress, and structural heat dissipation. It also depends on the optimization of epitaxial growth and key manufacturing processes. For example, VCSEL chips often work in a strong electric state, and the power density per unit volume is much higher than that of silicon chips. This means that VCSELs have to withstand more photons and current densities, and must be able to guarantee The long-term reliability of the product.
On the other hand, there are not many III-V material foundries with VCSEL chip production process capabilities around the world. Ruixi uses 6-inch chips that are more cost-effective and more suitable for consumer electronics usage scenarios, and have high-quality production. There are currently only two capable mainstream manufacturers. Currently, Ruixi has reached cooperation with the two companies.
In addition, mature VCSEL products often require years of accumulation and countless error correction experiments in terms of reliability technology to achieve low-cost, high-performance, high-yield, and high-reliability mass industrialization. It requires practitioners to have accumulated over the years in the industry. Rich experience and ability to solve problems quickly. The Ruixi Technology team has many years of experience in the VCSEL industry. The team said that the founding team of Ruixi includes the industry’s top VCSEL experts, the head of the world’s top 500 VCSEL fabs, and the technical leader and chief laser expert of the world’s top 500 global supply chain technology quality department; the founder is engaged in VCSEL design, epitaxial growth, The key manufacturing process has been developed for more than 20 years, with experience covering the entire chain from R&D and manufacturing to market sales.
In terms of the market, there are two main application scenarios for the current VCSEL: optical communication systems and 3D imaging modules. Although the team has a background in optical communications, Ruixi Technology chose to start with the 3D imaging module of consumer electronics in the early stage. The team analyzed that the mobile phone 3D imaging module market has a limited time window for VCSEL manufacturers. The industry may ship in large quantities next year. It is a good breakthrough point to cut in from this direction; in addition, the data communication industry industry chain is relatively stable and closed. The certification cycle is relatively long, requiring one year to one and a half years.
At present, the company has completed the third-generation chip suitable for mobile phones and other consumer electronics, and mass-produced in 2018, reaching the level of major international manufacturers, and has become the only domestic VCSEL chip recommended by Sunny Optical. At this stage, it is discussing cooperation intentions with mobile phone manufacturers .
At the same time, the team is also developing 4×25Gbps (100Gbps) VCSEL chips suitable for data centers and 5G communications. 25G high-speed VCSELs and PDs have launched high-performance samples in 2018 and are preparing for mass production. It is expected that samples will be delivered in 2019. Mass production. Currently, it is also in contact with manufacturers such as Hisense, InnoLight, and Ali.
As mentioned above, for a long time, VCSEL chips have been controlled by a few international manufacturers in the United States and Japan, such as Broadcom (Avago), Sumitomo Electric, Finisar, and Lumentum. After mass production of products, the competition between Ruixi Technology and these manufacturers is inevitable. To this end, Ruixi Technology has formulated the corresponding four-stage strategy: â‘ performance leveling; â‘¡ quality control; â‘¢ ensuring mass production capacity; â‘£ reducing costs. The team said that relying on the improvement of the yield, the cost of the chip will be controlled within a very competitive price range.
The development of chip companies often depends on the market size of the industry. According to the statistics of Max Consulting, the global VCSEL market size was 950 million US dollars in 2015, accounting for 21% of the total infrared light source market size. With the gradual reduction of VCSEL costs and the gradual penetration in the consumer electronics field, VCSELs will become more expensive by 2022. The market share will surge to 45%, and the market size is expected to reach 3.12 billion US dollars, with a compound annual growth rate of 17.3%. In addition, the rapid development of the Internet of Things, especially products involving 3D perception, may also provide new markets.
At this stage, Ruixi Technology has established wholly-owned holding subsidiaries in the United States and Hangzhou. The company received angel round financing from Sunny V Fund in September 2017, and PreA round financing from Dachen and Tianchuang in August 2018. The two rounds of financing totaled 100 million yuan and will be mainly used for chip mass production.
Judging from the investment logic of VCSEL chips, in addition to the possibility of independent listing, data centers have expanded rapidly in recent years, but there are not many reliable VCSEL supply resources. System vendors such as Cisco, Huawei, and network service providers Google, Facebook, Amazon, etc. The need to reduce costs may also become a strategic investor or acquirer.
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