TORONTO, ONTARIO and STORRS, CONNECTICUT--(Marketwired - Apr 14, 2014) - POET Technologies Inc. (TSX VENTURE:PTK)(POETF) ("the Company") - developer of the planar opto-electronic technology (POET) platform for monolithic fabrication of integrated circuit devices containing both electronic and optical elements on a single semiconductor wafer - is announcing that its Chief Scientist, Dr. Geoffrey W. Taylor, is an invited speaker at the Empire Club of Canada's Spirit of a Pioneer series on April 28, 2014.
Semiconductor Pioneers
Dr. Taylor will spotlight the Company's semiconductor solution in the industry's race to sustain Moore's Law beyond the constraints of traditional silicon.
Dr. Taylor's original vision drove a dedicated team, over the past two decades, towards the development of a semiconductor process that integrates both optical and electronic capability on a single chip, building up an arsenal of patents that cover the proprietary POET process. Dr. Taylor is also a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Connecticut, which is the nexus for POET's research and development team.
Dr. Taylor will be introduced by Mr. Peter Copetti, Executive Chairman and interim CEO, who will also provide the context to the 'perfect storm' of POET's debut in the semiconductor industry. Other key members of the POET team will also be in attendance at the meeting.
Mr. Copetti noted, "POET is a ground-breaking platform for manufacturers to build faster, more efficient semiconductor devices of any kind, beyond just electronics, beyond just optics, beyond silicon. Dr. Taylor exemplifies our vision, and we are very pleased to have this culmination of his life's work showcased at the Empire Club."
Pioneering Moore's Law to the Next Level
For nearly 50 years, Moore's Law has dictated the pace of technological change. As the number of transistors on a chip doubles approximately every 1.5 to 2 years, this increases the performance capabilities of computing devices and the many functions they make possible.
Unfortunately, with present silicon-based integrated circuits and manufacturing processes, performance and cost improvements under Moore's Law are increasingly unsustainable, and will soon come to an end. These physical limitations will increasingly impede electronics manufacturers from continuing to build smarter, faster, more efficient and cheaper devices.
POET believes that its approach - building on the performance advantages of gallium arsenide over silicon and, in parallel, integrating optics and electronics onto one monolithic chip - is a foundation for the next great leap forward in technology. The POET platform is expected to provide potential customers - including semiconductor foundries and device designers - with a rebirth of Moore's Law, and usher in a new wave of innovation in integrated circuits with massive improvements in size, power, speed and cost.
Spirit of a Pioneer
Established in 1903, the Empire Club of Canada is recognized as one of Canada's oldest, largest, and more important forums. Its membership and speakers are comprised of some of Canada's most influential leaders from various sectors including business, government, industry, and science.
The Spirit of a Pioneer series hosts Canadian and international thought leaders - women and men who have distinguished themselves in many fields of endeavor. The addresses are broadcast across Canada on Rogers Cable and on occasion via live webcast. Each year, the Empire Club Foundation publishes each speech that season in "The Red Book" - a yearbook distributed free of charge to 4,000 university, secondary, and elementary school libraries in Canada, as well as Canadian embassies and consulates worldwide.
The Spirit of a Pioneer series has included among it speakers Winston Churchill, Pierre Elliot Trudeau, Ronald Reagan, Indira Gandhi, Michael Bloomberg, and science and technology luminaries such as Margaret Mead, James Lovell, Roberta Bondar, David Suzuki, Thorsten Heins, Michael Dell, Vinton Cerf, Bertram Brockhouse, John Polanyi, and Bill Gates.