A new integrated laser device that serves as the basis for chip-to-chip interconnection could surpass the capabilities of CMOS technology, according to Odis Inc., a US affiliate of OPEL Technologies Inc. The vertical cavity laser (VCL) by Odis fuses optical and electronic devices on a single chip. The new device, which helped the company to achieve a milestone in its planar optoelectronic technology (POET), offers the semiconductor industry the ability to push Moore’s Law to the next level by overcoming current silicon-based bottlenecks. It also has the potential to change the roadmap for smartphone, tablet and wearable computer applications. Incremental progress over the years has led to what many consider to be the next phase of semiconductor development, which could surpass the capabilities of CMOS technology for the next generation of high-speed, low-power applications. CMOS technology is believed to have reached a saturation point. The VCL utilizes patented POET GaAs III-V technology and complements a number of other Odis optoelectronic devices, such as heterostructure field effect transistors, optical thyristors, pulsed lasers and superradiant LEDs. It has the small footprint required for dense circuit layout and enables vertical connections from anywhere in the circuit plane to fiber or other stacked chips. Further technology development will lower the threshold current, increase the output power and optimize the in-plane version of the VCL, the company said. Through Odis, its US subsidiary, Opel Technologies of Toronto designs III-V semiconductor devices for military, industrial and commercial applications, including infrared sensor arrays and ultralow-power random access memory. For more information, visit: www.odisinc.com or www.opeltechinc.com