Mar 13 2008
Lumera Corporation, a leader in the field of photonic communications, announced today that the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) had formally awarded the company Phase III of the contract tentatively approved in July 2006. In a recent meeting, DARPA officials indicated that all milestones contingent on the award had been successfully met by Lumera. The 12 month contract amount is $2.4 million.
"The technical achievements realized to attain these milestones represent truly breakthrough efforts," said Dr. Raluca Dinu, Vice President - Electro-Optics Business Unit. "Our 1.2 V driving voltage and 7 - 8 dB insertion loss on a stable 40 GHz modulator are, to our knowledge, unmatched by anyone."
The contract involves developing materials with unprecedented electro-optic coefficients, with qualified thermal and photo-stability, and processing them into devices. The combination of reduced drive voltage and optical loss will enable defense applications that are impractical with currently available optical modulator technologies.