News Release

Pasadena, CA, February 17, 2005 -- Phasebridge, Inc., a specialist in advanced photonic integration technologies, devices, and system solutions announces a joint effort with University of California, San Diego (UCSD) to develop semiconductor electroabsorption modulator (EAM) technology for rugged, high-performance microwave links.  The agreement between Phasebridge, UCSD, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the U. S. Air Force Research Laboratories (AFRL), will enable the development of low cost and compact semiconductor optical modulators for high-performance fiber optic links in harsh environments.

Phasebridge designs and manufactures rugged and compact photonic hybrid chip-scale packaging and is a leading developer of optical devices and sub-systems for analog radio frequency (RF) signal processing and fiber transmission.  The UCSD research team, led by electrical engineering professors Paul Yu and William S. C. Chang at the Jacobs School of Engineering, has pioneered novel EAM structures known as Intra-Step Quantum Wells (IQWs) and Peripheral-Coupled Waveguides (PCWs) which dramatically increase optical power handling capability, a critical factor for high-linearity analog RF optical systems.  The combined research effort will advance the development of these EAMs for high performance microwave applications in extreme environments and will feature unprecedented linearity over very broad bandwidths.  These modulators have applications in analog microwave fiber optic links for expanding markets in aerospace and defense, satellite earth stations, wireless antenna fiber optic remoting, and cable television transmission.

Phasebridge Chief Technology Officer Ron Logan notes, "We are very excited by the collaboration between our company and UCSD because it combines our practical optical packaging experience and capabilites with the latest advances in semiconductor structure technology. The development and demonstration of these packaged EAM devices will enable high-linearity microwave fiber optic links that will greatly expand the capabilities of today's RF communications technology in both military and commercial applications."

Phasebridge, Inc. engineers photonic integration technologies, products, and solutions to lower the cost and size of optical systems in a variety of markets.  Leaders in rugged and compact packaging of optical devices and subsystems for analog RF (radio frequency) signal generation, Phasebridge's breakthrough hybrid photonic integration solutions deliver manufacturable and repeatable miniaturization to photonics challenges for optical networks, device remoting, weapons and aerospace guidance, automotive systems, industrial and medical sensors, and emerging markets like terahertz technology.

According to von Liebig Center managing director Steve Halpern, "Paul Yu performed his work initially under a von Liebig award working with Tim Reuth.  He later received a CCAT award and was mentored by Steve Johnson."