Umicore realizes breakthrough in the development of Germanium wafers for VCSELs

Umicore Electro-Optic Materials (EOM), the leading global supplier of Germanium products and materials solutions, announces the successful development of 6” Germanium wafers for Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers in collaboration with leading commercial and academic partners.

Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers (VCSELs) are a key component in telecom and 3D sensor systems. Applications range from datacenters to Face Recognition systems and LiDAR Time of flight sensors on mobile handsets and in cabin sensing of autonomous vehicles. To increase the working distance of these sensors, VCSEL array sizes and costs are growing which is one of the drivers to transition from GaAs to Germanium wafers.

Bendix De Meulemeester, Director Marketing & Business Development: “For very demanding applications such as VCSELs, defect free 6” Germanium wafers show clear performance and process cost benefits in comparison with GaAs wafers. Umicore has invested years of research in the development of defect free low-resistivity 6” Germanium wafers which are currently in the process of qualification. Production volumes are expected to ramp over the next few years as adoption across the VCSEL supply chain accelerates.”