MEMX will play a critical role in achieving this objective. Paul McWhorter, one of the company founders who has been deputy director of the Microsystems Science, Technology and Components Center, anticipates considerable interest in the optical switches due largely to the explosion in demand for bandwidth created by the Internet. We believe Sandia's SUMMiT V technology is ideal for meeting not only today's need for high-performance optical switches, but for the needs of next generation higher performance systems. McWhorter predicts growth in demand for e-commerce and multimedia applications over the Internet will continue for at least 20 years. Companies such as Lucent, Nortel, Cisco, Marconi and Corning are racing to achieve optical routers and other optical switch systems to meet this demand.
Optical switches present the 'speed bumps' on the information superhighway.
Switching this data is traditionally done by converting the optical signals to electrical signals, switching them electronically, and then converting them back to optical signals. Optical switches eliminate this problem. Using MEMS technology, you can put 1,000 mirrors on one chip, which can be built for just a few dollars. MEMX has licensed Sandia's unique intellectual property, and company founders plan to advance the technology aggressively. While the initial focus of the company will be on optical switching, McWhorter says the company will broaden its product line later.