Model RIP1-NJAC 1-GHz Receivers Provide High Linear-Mode NIR Responsivity, Large Area, and Low Excess Noise

March 15, 2010 — Beaverton, Ore. — Voxtel has announced the release of an avalanche photodiode (APD) receiver with 1-gigahertz bandwidth and a large 200-μm-diameter optical area. The company believes it to be the highest-bandwidth large-area NIR APD receiver, which makes it optimal for a broad range of laser rangefinders and laser designators, and for applications in free-space optical communications, optical instrumentation, and LADAR/LIDAR.

The model RIP1-NJAC APD photoreceiver is the latest entry in Voxtel’s Siletz™ line of single-carrier multiplication avalanche photodiode (SCM-APD) products. The receiver integrates the low-excess-noise SCM-APD with a low-noise transimpedance amplifier (TIA). Voxtel’s Siletz™ SCM-APDs are the lowest-excess-noise NIR–SWIR APDs available (with an equivalent ionization coefficient k_eff < 0.02), and allow for the receiver to operate at high avalanche gain, boosting the optical signal over the amplifier noise level without the degrading effects of avalanche-induced excess noise. The ultra-low excess noise and high gain make the RIP1-NJAC the most sensitive photoreceiver available on the market, offering a maximum responsivity over 50 A/W at 1550 nm, with operating gain up to 50.

A single-stage thermoelectric (TE) cooler is included to eliminate temperature-induced gain variation and allow optimal performance over the range of application environments. The receiver is available with an optional fiber pigtail.

The product is immediately available for sale.

About Voxtel

Voxtel, Inc. of Beaverton, Ore. is a provider of optoelectronic devices using novel semiconductor architectures and engineered nanostructured materials, and a leading developer of sophisticated detectors and electro-optical imaging systems for a wide range of government, industrial, and scientific markets. Voxtel’s product technologies include near-infrared laser radar (LADAR) receivers, radiation-hardened imagers for space applications, highly sensitive avalanche photodiodes for fiber and free-space telecommunications, and nanotechnology-engineered materials. For more information, visit Voxtel’s homepage.

Model VFC-1000 APDs of the Deschutes BSI™ series provide high responsivity and low capacitance

February 15, 2010 — Beaverton, Ore. — Voxtel has announced the release of its latest product line, the Deschutes BSI™ series of back-side-illuminated APDs.

The Deschutes BSI™ APDs are available on ceramic submounts, with a co-mounted temperature sensor. Compared to front-side-illuminated APDs, they offer superior responsivity and lower capacitance. Deschutes BSI™ APDs offer typical responsivity greater than 1.0 A/W at 1550 nm and 0.73 A/W at 1064 nm, and operating gain from 3 to 20. These InGaAs/InAlAs APDs have been custom-designed for low excess noise, with a design exploiting the non-local behavior of impact ionization. The resulting APDs, which are characterized by an equivalent ionization coefficient of k_eff < 0.2, have 40% less excess noise than conventional telecom InGaAs/InP APDs, which makes them ideal for optical communications, laser radar (LADAR) and LIDAR, and laser rangefinding/designating applications. Configured for low capacitance, the parts are well suited for high-bandwidth applications. The Deschutes BSI™ model series VFC-1000 is available in 30-, 75-, and 200-μm-diameter versions; it is available on submounts, in hermetic packages with optional thermoelectric cooling, and packaged into photoreceivers. All packaged versions are available with optional fiber pigtails.

The product is immediately available for sale.

About Voxtel

Voxtel, Inc. of Beaverton, Ore. is a provider of optoelectronic devices using novel semiconductor architectures and engineered nanostructured materials, and a leading developer of sophisticated detectors and electro-optical imaging systems for a wide range of government, industrial, and scientific markets. Voxtel’s product technologies include near-infrared laser radar (LADAR) receivers, radiation-hardened imagers for space applications, highly sensitive avalanche photodiodes for fiber and free-space telecommunications, and nanotechnology-engineered materials. For more information, visit Voxtel’s homepage.

June 11, 2009 — A recent article in Nature News notes that the market for quantum dots and nanocrystal material is poised for a boom in the coming four years. Key to this expansion will be reductions in price, made possible by improved manufacturing techniques. Voxtel is at the forefront in this area:

“Voxtel, based in Beaverton, Oregon, has begun trialing a continuous production process, which can manufacture kilogram quantities a week of most quantum dots for less than $10 per gram, according to chief executive George Williams.”

Just as important as Voxtel’s cost leadership is our product quality: Voxtel’s process is not only much more cost-effective than past synthesis methods, but also makes a higher-quality product with less size dispersity. Combined with our ability to provide most of our products using environmentally friendly materials, Voxtel has a clear advantage in quality, price, and ease of use.

Model REP-1XJ0A Siletz Receivers are the Most Sensitive High-Speed NIR Optical Receiver Available

May 11, 2009 – Beaverton, Oregon – Voxtel has announced the release of its ‘Siletz’ series of APD receivers, responding to the demand for eye-safe and highly sensitive optical communications, LIDAR, and LADAR in the near infrared (NIR) spectrum. Voxtel’s Siletz APD receiver optical subassembly provides sensitivity 2 to 4 dBm improved over any other APD receiver currently available on the market covering the 950–1700 nm spectral range, and operates at frequencies up to 2.7 GHz.

Voxtel’s Siletz receiver series is based on its patented single carrier multiplication InGaAs APD (SCM-APD). The SCM-APD provides higher gain (M > 50) and lower excess noise (F(M) ~ 2) than conventional APDs. The higher gain and lower avalanche noise of the SCM-APD provides amplification of the NIR optical signal over the amplifier noise floor, providing better than –44 dBm noise equivalent power (NEP) and superior bit error rate (BER) performance over the entire frequency range. The SCM-APDs provide 2x better temperature stability compared to conventional APDs, reducing demands on bias stabilization and temperature compensation.

The REP-1XJ0A model Siletz receiver is packaged in a hermetic TO-8 package with a thermoelectric cooler (TEC). The TEC provides the ability to stabilize the APD temperature, easing the system integration effort. The APD receiver is available with the option for single- and multi-mode fiber tails.

Voxtel’s SCM-APD receiver is a high-performance product not yet available from any other manufacturer.

About Voxtel

Voxtel, Inc. of Beaverton, Ore. is a provider of devices using novel semiconductor architectures and engineered nanostructured materials, and a leading developer of sophisticated detectors and electro-optical imaging systems for a wide range of government, industrial, and scientific markets. Their product technologies include near-infrared laser radar (LADAR) receivers, radiation-hardened imagers for space applications, highly sensitive avalanche photodiodes for fiber and free-space telecommunications, and nanotechnology-engineered materials. For more information, visit Voxtel’s homepage.

Single-carrier multiplication APDs offer higher gain and lower noise than conventional avalanche photodiodes

February 16, 2009 – Beaverton, Oregon – Voxtel Incorporated announces a new class of near-infrared photodetectors: single carrier multiplication APDs (SCM-APDs). SCM-APDs are nanostructured indium gallium arsenide/indium aluminum arsenide (InGaAs/ InAlAs) devices that have been designed to over­come the limitations of conventional avalanche photodiodes (APDs) in the 0.9 to 1.6 micron spectral region, including the eye-safe range beyond 1.3 microns. These new photodetectors exceed the capabilities of APDs in both gain and noise performance. With their high gain and low noise, combined with high quantum efficiency, Voxtel’s SCM-APDs are ideal for low-light-level detection, or any other applications that call for industry-leading sensitivity in the near-infrared spectral band. Coupling the SCM-APD to a low-noise amplifier produces a receiver with high gain, superior noise equivalent power, and better overall sensitivity. The SCM-APD operating bias has low temperature sensitivity compared to APDs, making it easier and more cost-effective to integrate SCM-APDs into systems and laboratory instrumentation.

In the past, APDs have been used by designers of LIDAR, telecommunications, and other active optical systems to boost the photosignal above downstream electronics noise. However, the benefits of conventional APDs are restricted by their limited useful amplification — typically less than 15x — and the noise that the avalanche gain process adds to the signal. Voxtel’s SCM-APDs are engineered for operation at high gain with low noise, allowing for active optical systems with better sensitivity, longer range, and lower laser power.

Featuring ultra-low-noise analog optical detection up to approximately 1 GHz, Voxtel’s new Siletz series of SCM-APDs have very low effective ionization coefficients (k ~ 0.02), and can be operated with low excess noise: F(M) ~ 2 up to gain M = 50. The maximum linear-mode gain of Siletz SCM-APDs is typically above M = 100. By contrast, standard telecom NIR APDs are generally not useful above M = 15, and carry a much greater noise penalty (k = 0.4; F(M) > 7 at M = 15).

Other applications for the new near-infrared SCM-APD include quantum cryptography, optical time domain reflectometry, near-infrared Raman spectroscopy, biomedical NIR spectroscopy, time-resolved emission detection for failure analysis, and singlet oxygen detection.

Voxtel is a global supplier of optoelectronic and nanophotonic products for industrial, commercial, military, agricultural and biomedical markets. For additional information on SCM-APD detectors, photon counting detectors, and laser radar sub-systems, visit Voxtel’s homepage at www.voxtel-inc.com.

October 30, 2008 – Durham, N.C. – Nextreme Thermal Solutions, the leader in microscale thermal and power management products for the electronics industry, today announced that Voxtel, Inc., a leading developer of sophisticated detectors and electrooptical imaging systems, has integrated Nextreme’s OptoCooler UPF4 thermoelectric cooler into Voxtel’s VDHAX line of hermetically packaged avalanche photodiode (APD) receivers.

Read more… (Nextreme press release)

May 6, 2008 – Eugene, Ore. – Today, Voxtel, Inc. announces it has completed the negotiation of a long-term lease to occupy private development laboratories at the ONAMI (Orgeon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute) Lorry Lokey Laboratories located at the University of Oregon (UO) Eugene campus.The Integrative Science Center at the Lorry Lokey Laboratories represents world-class facilities and infrastructure for scientific research. It provides Voxtel access to one of the world’s largest and deepest collections of state-of-the-art equipment and technologies and provides Voxtel with a significant time and infrastructure advantage in the global race for innovation. George Williams, Voxtel’s President and CEO states, “As a small business, locating our nanotechnology development operations in the Lorry Lokey Laboratories provides Voxtel with a compelling competitive edge that would otherwise only be available to the largest of corporate research laboratories. The unique combination of resources available at the Integrative Science Center allows Voxtel to conduct world-class research, to innovate, and to rapidly develop and market new technology so that we can successfully compete on a global scale.”

For Immediate Release

March 6, 2008 – Beaverton, Ore. – Voxtel, Inc. plans to announce its entry into the business of manufacturing “green” semiconductor and metal-oxide nanocrystals for a wide variety customer applications, including: photovoltaic solar cells, electro-luminescent lighting, anti-counterfeiting taggants, and security inks. Voxtel’s focus is on the synthesis and scaling-to-manufacture of “green”, environmentally friendly semiconductors and semiconductor core-shell nanocrystals.

George Williams, Voxtel’s CEO, states, “The benefits of Voxtel’s new business entry are significant. There has been tremendous research in the area of nanocrystal quantum dots, a majority of which have contained toxic elements such as lead and cadmium.” Williams expressed interest in extending the benefit of the green technology on a global scale, stating, “One of our corporate goals is to allow economical development through efficient solar cell distribution to the billions of people living in the most remote regions of the world, who are off of the power grid, giving them the power necessary to thrive. Such a goal cannot be realized without the refinement of environmentally friendly materials.”

Voxtel currently offers approximately twenty nanoparticles of various sizes. Voxtel’s primary expertise lies not only in the ability to synthesize the nanoparticles themselves, but also, more importantly, to customize the nanoparticle by functionalizing the material through special polymeric coverings that allow them unique properties beyond those of the nanoparticles themselves.

ABOUT VOXTEL, INC.
Voxtel, Inc., of Beaverton, OR, is a provider of optoelectronic devices using novel semiconductor architectures and nanotechnology-engineered materials, and a leading developer of sophisticated detectors and electro-optical imaging systems for a wide range of government, industrial, and scientific markets. Their product technologies include near-infrared laser radar (LADAR) receivers, radiation hardened imagers for space applications, highly sensitive avalanche photodiodes for fiber and freespace telecommunications, and nanotechnology-engineered materials. For more information, visit Voxtel’s website at www.voxtel-inc.com.

CONTACT
Katie Omweg
Voxtel, Inc.
T. 971.223.5646 x 131
F. 971.327.7241
katieo@voxtel-inc.com
www.voxtel-inc.com

February 27, 2008 – Beaverton, Ore. – Voxtel, a leader in innovative low-light detectors and instruments, announces today the release of its newest product family of Solid-State Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs).

The performance of these VIC-series SiPMs is superior to that of conventional photomultiplier tubes (PMTs), with the compactness and added benefits of semiconductor detectors, and high gain (~10⁶) allowing the detection of single photons.

The VIC series SiPMs are optimal for a wide range of new applications from fluorescence-lifetime imaging to positron-emission tomography, nuclear medicine (medical imaging), high energy physics (calorimetry), radiation detection, laser range finding (lidar), particle sizing, and laser-induced fluorescence detection applications, including DNA-sequencing.

The SiPM operates by amplifying weak optical signals using multiple single-pixel photon-counting detectors, fabricated in an array, and with all of the outputs connected together to produce a large-area high-gain avalanche photodiode (APD) detector. Each pixel operates in Geiger mode with a gain of 10⁶. In this parallel configuration, each pixel has an integrated quench resistor and behaves as a photon counting sensor, contributing a pulse of charge to the common output on detection of a photon. The device has an output proportional to the number of photons arriving at any particular time, in effect, as a high-gain linear photodiode. The VIC series SiPM devices can be tuned to detect photon fluxes ranging from single photons to millions of photons per second.

Voxtel has designed the SiPM for its series of photon counting, time of-flight (TOF), and DNA sequencing instruments.

ABOUT VOXTEL, INC.

Voxtel, Inc., of Beaverton, OR, is a provider of optoelectronic devices using novel semiconductor architectures and nanotechnology-engineered materials, and a leading developer of sophisticated detectors and electro-optical imaging systems for a wide range of government, industrial, and scientific markets. Their product technologies include near-infrared laser radar (LADAR) receivers, radiation hardened imagers for space applications, highly sensitive avalanche photodiodes for fiber and freespace telecommunications, and nanotechnology-engineered materials. For more information, visit Voxtel’s website at www.voxtel-inc.com.

CONTACT

Katie Omweg

Voxtel, Inc.

T. 971.223.5646 x 131

F. 971.327.7241

katieo@voxtel-inc.com

www.voxtel-inc.com

December 3, 2007 – Beaverton, Ore. –  Voxtel, Inc., in conjunction with Oregon Nanotechnology and Materials Institute (ONAMI), announces today that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), under its Solar Energy Technologies Program, has awarded Voxtel a $0.8 million program to advance a fundamentally new class of composite nanocrystal (quantum dot) photovoltaic (PV) solar cells using environmentally friendly materials.

June 3, 2007 – Beaverton, Ore. – Voxtel, Inc. announces today that the Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded Voxtel four Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program contracts to develop high-performance, optical detectors that will help pave the way for nanotechnology innovations. The combined $400k contract values have options that could extend their value to $3M. The research leading to Voxtel’s awards was enabled by its collaboration with the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute (ONAMI) in Eugene, Oregon.

George Williams, Voxtel’s founder and Chief Executive Officer, elaborates: “Under ONAMI’s leadership, Oregon has positioned itself at the forefront of establishing the tools and infrastructure necessary for nanotechnology to emerge from its promises of innovation into a driving force for U.S. economic growth. The detectors we are developing for DOE are being designed for implementation into the latest X-ray synchrotron and electron beam lines that make the necessary measurements of nanotechnology.” These detectors will see applications ranging from high-energy physics experiments to astronomy, and potentially to automobile safety instruments.

Voxtel will be conducting this work in part at the collaborative research space at the Lorry Lokey laboratories, the new ONAMI signature research facility, of the Integrative Science Center at the University of Oregon.

ABOUT VOXTEL, INC.
Voxtel, Inc., of Beaverton, Ore., is a provider of optoelectronic devices using novel semiconductor architectures and nanotechnology-engineered materials, and a leading developer of sophisticated detectors and electro-optical imaging systems for a wide range of government, industrial, and scientific markets. Their product technologies include near-infrared laser radar (LADAR) receivers, radiation hardened imagers for space applications, highly sensitive avalanche photodiodes for fiber and freespace telecommunications, and nanotechnology-engineered materials. For more information, visit Voxtel’s website at www.voxtel-inc.com.

CONTACT
George Williams
Voxtel, Inc.
T. 971.223.5646 x 112
F. 971.327.7241
georgew@voxtel-inc.com
www.voxtel-inc.com

May 15, 2007 – Beaverton, Ore. – Voxtel has demonstrated a new linear-mode APD design that combines the noise characteristics of silicon with the near-infrared sensitivity of InGaAs. Unlike approaches in which a silicon multiplier is fused to a III-V absorber, Voxtel’s monolithic APD wafers are grown epitaxially on InP substrates, using only lattice-matched III-V alloys. Conventional III-V APDs that use InGaAs absorbers typically have bulk InP multiplication layers, characterized by an ionization coefficient ratio of k~0.4.

Voxtel and others sell advanced low-noise APDs that have thinner InAlAs multiplication layers, characterized by k~0.2. Voxtel has applied the same engineering principles to achieve k=0.02 at a gain of M=20 in its latest design. By way of comparison, a conventional InP APD has an excess noise factor of F~9.2 at M=20 and Voxtel’s k~0.2 design has F~5.6; Voxtel’s new design is characterized by F=2.3 at the same gain. This noise performance was found to be independent of temperature, and was measured for multiple samples between 77 and 295 K.

About Voxtel, Inc.
Voxtel, Inc., Beaverton, Ore., is a leading developer of sophisticated detectors and electro-optical imaging systems for a wide range of government, industrial, and scientific markets. Their product technologies include near-infrared laser radar (LADAR) receivers, radiation-hardened imagers for space applications, highly sensitive avalanche photodiodes for fiber and freespace telecommunications, and nanotechnology-engineered materials. For more information, visit Voxtel’s website at www.voxtel-inc.com.

Voxtel, Inc.
12725 SW Millikan Way, Suite 230
Beaverton, OR 97005
p. 971.223.5646
f. 971.327.7241
info@voxtel-inc.com
www.voxtel-inc.com

May 15, 2006 – Beaverton, Ore. –  Voxtel, Inc., provider of optoelectronic devices using novel semiconductor architectures and nanotechnology-engineered materials, has introduced a suite of avalanche photodiodes (APDs) delivering the best possible sensitivity for high-bandwidth applications — reducing the excess avalanche noise by more than a factor of three over contemporary APDs, and thus enabling longer detection ranges and higher sensitivity for a variety of military, medical, and scientific applications.

April 13, 2005 – Beaverton, Ore. – Voxtel, Inc., a leading developer of high-performance electro-optical imaging solutions, today announced that it has received a U.S. Air Force contract for the first phase of a 36-month program to develop a high-bandwidth, low-noise, single-photon-sensitive detector array and camera for near-infrared (NIR) laser detection and ranging (ladar). Ladar systems are used to detect the fine detail of remote objects that are needed for distance, shape, and pattern perception at very long distances. Voxtel’s proposed approach is unique in that, for the first time, it allows range resolution of better than six inches for objects over several thousand miles away with only the information available from a single photon, the smallest quantum of light. These objectives will be accomplished with a unique avalanche photodiode (APD) detector array and a camera custom designed by Voxtel. The Department of Defense Missile Defense Agency is providing the funding under a contract managed by the Air Force.

“For the first time, detection of single NIR photons separated by less than one nanosecond will be possible,” said George Williams, Voxtel’s president. The pioneering detector is made possible by Voxtel’s unique, low-noise APD designs and highly sensitive amplification and signal detection integrated circuits. These detectors, when fully developed, will have a broad range of commercial application including deep space communications, telecommunications, brain imaging, high-speed semiconductor test, and analytical sciences. The Phase I contract is for a 12-month period, during which Voxtel will demonstrate its technical approaches for the Ultra Sensitive Detector. If fully executed through Phase III of the program, the Voxtel contract will total $3.3M and will culminate in the delivery of prototype cameras to the Air Force.

ABOUT VOXTEL, INC.
Voxtel, Inc., founded in 2000 in Portland, Ore., is a leading developer of sophisticated detectors and electro-optical imaging systems for a wide range of government, industrial, and scientific markets. Their product technologies include near infrared laser radar (ladar) receivers, radiation-hardened imagers for space applications, and highly sensitive avalanche photodiodes (APDs) for fiber and freespace telecommunications.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
George Williams
Voxtel, Inc.
T.971.223.5646 x 112
F.971.327.7241
georgew@voxtel-inc.com
http://www.voxtel-inc.com

July 3, 2003 – Portland, Ore. – Voxtel, Inc. today announced that it has received seven Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) contracts totaling $490,000. The contract awards are to pursue research and development of highly sensitive infrared, laser radar (ladar), and electro-optical systems. The contract is sponsored by the Missile Defense Agency’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program and managed by the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command (Huntsville, Ala.) and the Air Force Research Laboratory (Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio).

The purpose of SBIR programs is to harness the innovative talents of small U.S. companies for increased U.S. economic strength. These seven new contract awards were among 424 awarded nationwide and the only contracts awarded in Oregon. Over the last year, Voxtel has been awarded $1.2M through the SBIR program.

The Phase 1 contract is a six-month period during which Voxtel will demonstrate its technical approaches. If fully executed through Phase 2 of the program, the contract values will total $5.74M.

The funded research to be performed by Voxtel supports the company’s ongoing development of sophisticated infrared detector and high-speed integrated circuit and sensor technologies. “We are pleased with the government’s overwhelming support of our core technologies,” said Mr. George Williams, Voxtel’s founder. “In this tough economic climate, we have chosen to focus on expanding on our technology base, and the US government financial and technical support of our research has Voxtel well positioned to expand rapidly into a number of important commercial, government and military markets.” The research will include the development of Voxtel’s infrared avalanche photodiode (APD) detectors, which are high-speed detectors capable of detecting single photons, the primary particles of light, and are used for a broad range of applications including DNA sequencing, biomedical imaging, cancer screening, telecommunications, laser radar and astronomy.

ABOUT VOXTEL, INC.
Voxtel, Inc. is developing revolutionary electro-optical imaging products that  address potentially large commercial, government, and military markets. Voxtel’s products include high-speed, infrared devices that detect light with extraordinary sensitivity. The Company’s proprietary technology makes possible products such as breast cancer detection, quantum cryptology (secure telecommunications encryption), night vision, autonomous navigation, optical computing, 3D laser radar imaging and telecommunications.

Will Develop High-Resolution Laser Ranging Camera
July 13, 2003 – Portland, Ore. – Voxtel Inc., a leading provider of advanced infrared and low-light-level imaging technology, today announced that it has received a U.S. Air Force contract for the first phase of a 36-month program to develop a high-bandwidth, low-noise focal plane array and camera for laser ranging.

Voxtel’s approach, unique in its sensitivity and range resolution, will be accomplished with a high-performance near-infrared (NIR) avalanche photodiode (APD) focal plane array and camera. The Department of Defense Missile Defense Agency is providing the funding under a contract managed by the Air Force. “By leveraging Voxtel’s expertise and investment in high-speed, low-noise integrated circuits and sensors, for the first time, range imaging will be possible with a resolution of better than 20 cm at distances of several thousand kilometers,” said Mr. George Williams, President, Voxtel Inc. During the contract, Voxtel will be manufacturing APD cameras capable of sensing fewer than 10 photons within one billionth of a second.

The Phase 1 contract spans a six-month period during which Voxtel will demonstrate its technical approaches for the Advanced Detector. If fully executed through Phase 3 of the program, the Voxtel contract will total $5.5M and will culminate in the delivery of an advanced laser ranging camera to the Air Force.

The research funding will support the development of Voxtel’s commercial product development of infrared avalanche photodiode products, which are high-speed detectors capable of detecting single photons, the primary particles of light, and are used for a broad range of applications including DNA sequencing, biomedical imaging, cancer screening, telecommunications, laser radar and astronomy.

ABOUT VOXTEL, INC.
Voxtel Inc. is developing revolutionary imaging products that address potentially large commercial and military markets. Voxtel’s imaging products include high-speed electro-optical devices that detect light with extraordinary sensitivity and at high speeds. The company’s proprietary technology makes possible products such as breast cancer detection, quantum cryptology (secure telecommunications encryption), night vision, autonomous navigation, optical computing, 3D laser radar imaging and telecommunications.

Model RIP1-NJAC 1-GHz Receivers Provide High Linear-Mode NIR Responsivity, Large Area, and Low Excess Noise

March 15, 2010 — Beaverton, Ore. — Voxtel has announced the release of an avalanche photodiode (APD) receiver with 1-gigahertz bandwidth and a large 200-μm-diameter optical area. The company believes it to be the highest-bandwidth large-area NIR APD receiver, which makes it optimal for a broad range of laser rangefinders and laser designators, and for applications in free-space optical communications, optical instrumentation, and LADAR/LIDAR.

The model RIP1-NJAC APD photoreceiver is the latest entry in Voxtel’s Siletz™ line of single-carrier multiplication avalanche photodiode (SCM-APD) products. The receiver integrates the low-excess-noise SCM-APD with a low-noise transimpedance amplifier (TIA). Voxtel’s Siletz™ SCM-APDs are the lowest-excess-noise NIR–SWIR APDs available (with an equivalent ionization coefficient k_eff < 0.02), and allow for the receiver to operate at high avalanche gain, boosting the optical signal over the amplifier noise level without the degrading effects of avalanche-induced excess noise. The ultra-low excess noise and high gain make the RIP1-NJAC the most sensitive photoreceiver available on the market, offering a maximum responsivity over 50 A/W at 1550 nm, with operating gain up to 50.

A single-stage thermoelectric (TE) cooler is included to eliminate temperature-induced gain variation and allow optimal performance over the range of application environments. The receiver is available with an optional fiber pigtail.

The product is immediately available for sale.

About Voxtel

Voxtel, Inc. of Beaverton, Ore. is a provider of optoelectronic devices using novel semiconductor architectures and engineered nanostructured materials, and a leading developer of sophisticated detectors and electro-optical imaging systems for a wide range of government, industrial, and scientific markets. Voxtel’s product technologies include near-infrared laser radar (LADAR) receivers, radiation-hardened imagers for space applications, highly sensitive avalanche photodiodes for fiber and free-space telecommunications, and nanotechnology-engineered materials. For more information, visit Voxtel’s homepage.

Model VFC-1000 APDs of the Deschutes BSI™ series provide high responsivity and low capacitance

February 15, 2010 — Beaverton, Ore. — Voxtel has announced the release of its latest product line, the Deschutes BSI™ series of back-side-illuminated APDs.

The Deschutes BSI™ APDs are available on ceramic submounts, with a co-mounted temperature sensor. Compared to front-side-illuminated APDs, they offer superior responsivity and lower capacitance. Deschutes BSI™ APDs offer typical responsivity greater than 1.0 A/W at 1550 nm and 0.73 A/W at 1064 nm, and operating gain from 3 to 20. These InGaAs/InAlAs APDs have been custom-designed for low excess noise, with a design exploiting the non-local behavior of impact ionization. The resulting APDs, which are characterized by an equivalent ionization coefficient of k_eff < 0.2, have 40% less excess noise than conventional telecom InGaAs/InP APDs, which makes them ideal for optical communications, laser radar (LADAR) and LIDAR, and laser rangefinding/designating applications. Configured for low capacitance, the parts are well suited for high-bandwidth applications. The Deschutes BSI™ model series VFC-1000 is available in 30-, 75-, and 200-μm-diameter versions; it is available on submounts, in hermetic packages with optional thermoelectric cooling, and packaged into photoreceivers. All packaged versions are available with optional fiber pigtails.

The product is immediately available for sale.

About Voxtel

Voxtel, Inc. of Beaverton, Ore. is a provider of optoelectronic devices using novel semiconductor architectures and engineered nanostructured materials, and a leading developer of sophisticated detectors and electro-optical imaging systems for a wide range of government, industrial, and scientific markets. Voxtel’s product technologies include near-infrared laser radar (LADAR) receivers, radiation-hardened imagers for space applications, highly sensitive avalanche photodiodes for fiber and free-space telecommunications, and nanotechnology-engineered materials. For more information, visit Voxtel’s homepage.

Model REP-1XJ0A Siletz Receivers are the Most Sensitive High-Speed NIR Optical Receiver Available

May 11, 2009 – Beaverton, Oregon – Voxtel has announced the release of its ‘Siletz’ series of APD receivers, responding to the demand for eye-safe and highly sensitive optical communications, LIDAR, and LADAR in the near infrared (NIR) spectrum. Voxtel’s Siletz APD receiver optical subassembly provides sensitivity 2 to 4 dBm improved over any other APD receiver currently available on the market covering the 950–1700 nm spectral range, and operates at frequencies up to 2.7 GHz.

Voxtel’s Siletz receiver series is based on its patented single carrier multiplication InGaAs APD (SCM-APD). The SCM-APD provides higher gain (M > 50) and lower excess noise (F(M) ~ 2) than conventional APDs. The higher gain and lower avalanche noise of the SCM-APD provides amplification of the NIR optical signal over the amplifier noise floor, providing better than –44 dBm noise equivalent power (NEP) and superior bit error rate (BER) performance over the entire frequency range. The SCM-APDs provide 2x better temperature stability compared to conventional APDs, reducing demands on bias stabilization and temperature compensation.

The REP-1XJ0A model Siletz receiver is packaged in a hermetic TO-8 package with a thermoelectric cooler (TEC). The TEC provides the ability to stabilize the APD temperature, easing the system integration effort. The APD receiver is available with the option for single- and multi-mode fiber tails.

Voxtel’s SCM-APD receiver is a high-performance product not yet available from any other manufacturer.

About Voxtel

Voxtel, Inc. of Beaverton, Ore. is a provider of devices using novel semiconductor architectures and engineered nanostructured materials, and a leading developer of sophisticated detectors and electro-optical imaging systems for a wide range of government, industrial, and scientific markets. Their product technologies include near-infrared laser radar (LADAR) receivers, radiation-hardened imagers for space applications, highly sensitive avalanche photodiodes for fiber and free-space telecommunications, and nanotechnology-engineered materials. For more information, visit Voxtel’s homepage.

Single-carrier multiplication APDs offer higher gain and lower noise than conventional avalanche photodiodes

February 16, 2009 – Beaverton, Oregon – Voxtel Incorporated announces a new class of near-infrared photodetectors: single carrier multiplication APDs (SCM-APDs). SCM-APDs are nanostructured indium gallium arsenide/indium aluminum arsenide (InGaAs/ InAlAs) devices that have been designed to over­come the limitations of conventional avalanche photodiodes (APDs) in the 0.9 to 1.6 micron spectral region, including the eye-safe range beyond 1.3 microns. These new photodetectors exceed the capabilities of APDs in both gain and noise performance. With their high gain and low noise, combined with high quantum efficiency, Voxtel’s SCM-APDs are ideal for low-light-level detection, or any other applications that call for industry-leading sensitivity in the near-infrared spectral band. Coupling the SCM-APD to a low-noise amplifier produces a receiver with high gain, superior noise equivalent power, and better overall sensitivity. The SCM-APD operating bias has low temperature sensitivity compared to APDs, making it easier and more cost-effective to integrate SCM-APDs into systems and laboratory instrumentation.

In the past, APDs have been used by designers of LIDAR, telecommunications, and other active optical systems to boost the photosignal above downstream electronics noise. However, the benefits of conventional APDs are restricted by their limited useful amplification — typically less than 15x — and the noise that the avalanche gain process adds to the signal. Voxtel’s SCM-APDs are engineered for operation at high gain with low noise, allowing for active optical systems with better sensitivity, longer range, and lower laser power.

Featuring ultra-low-noise analog optical detection up to approximately 1 GHz, Voxtel’s new Siletz series of SCM-APDs have very low effective ionization coefficients (k ~ 0.02), and can be operated with low excess noise: F(M) ~ 2 up to gain M = 50. The maximum linear-mode gain of Siletz SCM-APDs is typically above M = 100. By contrast, standard telecom NIR APDs are generally not useful above M = 15, and carry a much greater noise penalty (k = 0.4; F(M) > 7 at M = 15).

Other applications for the new near-infrared SCM-APD include quantum cryptography, optical time domain reflectometry, near-infrared Raman spectroscopy, biomedical NIR spectroscopy, time-resolved emission detection for failure analysis, and singlet oxygen detection.

Voxtel is a global supplier of optoelectronic and nanophotonic products for industrial, commercial, military, agricultural and biomedical markets. For additional information on SCM-APD detectors, photon counting detectors, and laser radar sub-systems, visit Voxtel’s homepage at www.voxtel-inc.com.

October 30, 2008 – Durham, N.C. – Nextreme Thermal Solutions, the leader in microscale thermal and power management products for the electronics industry, today announced that Voxtel, Inc., a leading developer of sophisticated detectors and electrooptical imaging systems, has integrated Nextreme’s OptoCooler UPF4 thermoelectric cooler into Voxtel’s VDHAX line of hermetically packaged avalanche photodiode (APD) receivers.

Read more… (Nextreme press release)

May 6, 2008 – Eugene, Ore. – Today, Voxtel, Inc. announces it has completed the negotiation of a long-term lease to occupy private development laboratories at the ONAMI (Orgeon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute) Lorry Lokey Laboratories located at the University of Oregon (UO) Eugene campus.The Integrative Science Center at the Lorry Lokey Laboratories represents world-class facilities and infrastructure for scientific research. It provides Voxtel access to one of the world’s largest and deepest collections of state-of-the-art equipment and technologies and provides Voxtel with a significant time and infrastructure advantage in the global race for innovation. George Williams, Voxtel’s President and CEO states, “As a small business, locating our nanotechnology development operations in the Lorry Lokey Laboratories provides Voxtel with a compelling competitive edge that would otherwise only be available to the largest of corporate research laboratories. The unique combination of resources available at the Integrative Science Center allows Voxtel to conduct world-class research, to innovate, and to rapidly develop and market new technology so that we can successfully compete on a global scale.”

For Immediate Release

March 6, 2008 – Beaverton, Ore. – Voxtel, Inc. plans to announce its entry into the business of manufacturing “green” semiconductor and metal-oxide nanocrystals for a wide variety customer applications, including: photovoltaic solar cells, electro-luminescent lighting, anti-counterfeiting taggants, and security inks. Voxtel’s focus is on the synthesis and scaling-to-manufacture of “green”, environmentally friendly semiconductors and semiconductor core-shell nanocrystals.

George Williams, Voxtel’s CEO, states, “The benefits of Voxtel’s new business entry are significant. There has been tremendous research in the area of nanocrystal quantum dots, a majority of which have contained toxic elements such as lead and cadmium.” Williams expressed interest in extending the benefit of the green technology on a global scale, stating, “One of our corporate goals is to allow economical development through efficient solar cell distribution to the billions of people living in the most remote regions of the world, who are off of the power grid, giving them the power necessary to thrive. Such a goal cannot be realized without the refinement of environmentally friendly materials.”

Voxtel currently offers approximately twenty nanoparticles of various sizes. Voxtel’s primary expertise lies not only in the ability to synthesize the nanoparticles themselves, but also, more importantly, to customize the nanoparticle by functionalizing the material through special polymeric coverings that allow them unique properties beyond those of the nanoparticles themselves.

ABOUT VOXTEL, INC.
Voxtel, Inc., of Beaverton, OR, is a provider of optoelectronic devices using novel semiconductor architectures and nanotechnology-engineered materials, and a leading developer of sophisticated detectors and electro-optical imaging systems for a wide range of government, industrial, and scientific markets. Their product technologies include near-infrared laser radar (LADAR) receivers, radiation hardened imagers for space applications, highly sensitive avalanche photodiodes for fiber and freespace telecommunications, and nanotechnology-engineered materials. For more information, visit Voxtel’s website at www.voxtel-inc.com.

CONTACT
Katie Omweg
Voxtel, Inc.
T. 971.223.5646 x 131
F. 971.327.7241
katieo@voxtel-inc.com
www.voxtel-inc.com

February 27, 2008 – Beaverton, Ore. – Voxtel, a leader in innovative low-light detectors and instruments, announces today the release of its newest product family of Solid-State Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs).

The performance of these VIC-series SiPMs is superior to that of conventional photomultiplier tubes (PMTs), with the compactness and added benefits of semiconductor detectors, and high gain (~10⁶) allowing the detection of single photons.

The VIC series SiPMs are optimal for a wide range of new applications from fluorescence-lifetime imaging to positron-emission tomography, nuclear medicine (medical imaging), high energy physics (calorimetry), radiation detection, laser range finding (lidar), particle sizing, and laser-induced fluorescence detection applications, including DNA-sequencing.

The SiPM operates by amplifying weak optical signals using multiple single-pixel photon-counting detectors, fabricated in an array, and with all of the outputs connected together to produce a large-area high-gain avalanche photodiode (APD) detector. Each pixel operates in Geiger mode with a gain of 10⁶. In this parallel configuration, each pixel has an integrated quench resistor and behaves as a photon counting sensor, contributing a pulse of charge to the common output on detection of a photon. The device has an output proportional to the number of photons arriving at any particular time, in effect, as a high-gain linear photodiode. The VIC series SiPM devices can be tuned to detect photon fluxes ranging from single photons to millions of photons per second.

Voxtel has designed the SiPM for its series of photon counting, time of-flight (TOF), and DNA sequencing instruments.

ABOUT VOXTEL, INC.

Voxtel, Inc., of Beaverton, OR, is a provider of optoelectronic devices using novel semiconductor architectures and nanotechnology-engineered materials, and a leading developer of sophisticated detectors and electro-optical imaging systems for a wide range of government, industrial, and scientific markets. Their product technologies include near-infrared laser radar (LADAR) receivers, radiation hardened imagers for space applications, highly sensitive avalanche photodiodes for fiber and freespace telecommunications, and nanotechnology-engineered materials. For more information, visit Voxtel’s website at www.voxtel-inc.com.

CONTACT

Katie Omweg

Voxtel, Inc.

T. 971.223.5646 x 131

F. 971.327.7241

katieo@voxtel-inc.com

www.voxtel-inc.com

June 3, 2007 – Beaverton, Ore. – Voxtel, Inc. announces today that the Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded Voxtel four Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program contracts to develop high-performance, optical detectors that will help pave the way for nanotechnology innovations. The combined $400k contract values have options that could extend their value to $3M. The research leading to Voxtel’s awards was enabled by its collaboration with the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute (ONAMI) in Eugene, Oregon.

George Williams, Voxtel’s founder and Chief Executive Officer, elaborates: “Under ONAMI’s leadership, Oregon has positioned itself at the forefront of establishing the tools and infrastructure necessary for nanotechnology to emerge from its promises of innovation into a driving force for U.S. economic growth. The detectors we are developing for DOE are being designed for implementation into the latest X-ray synchrotron and electron beam lines that make the necessary measurements of nanotechnology.” These detectors will see applications ranging from high-energy physics experiments to astronomy, and potentially to automobile safety instruments.

Voxtel will be conducting this work in part at the collaborative research space at the Lorry Lokey laboratories, the new ONAMI signature research facility, of the Integrative Science Center at the University of Oregon.

ABOUT VOXTEL, INC.
Voxtel, Inc., of Beaverton, Ore., is a provider of optoelectronic devices using novel semiconductor architectures and nanotechnology-engineered materials, and a leading developer of sophisticated detectors and electro-optical imaging systems for a wide range of government, industrial, and scientific markets. Their product technologies include near-infrared laser radar (LADAR) receivers, radiation hardened imagers for space applications, highly sensitive avalanche photodiodes for fiber and freespace telecommunications, and nanotechnology-engineered materials. For more information, visit Voxtel’s website at www.voxtel-inc.com.

CONTACT
George Williams
Voxtel, Inc.
T. 971.223.5646 x 112
F. 971.327.7241
georgew@voxtel-inc.com
www.voxtel-inc.com

May 15, 2007 – Beaverton, Ore. – Voxtel has demonstrated a new linear-mode APD design that combines the noise characteristics of silicon with the near-infrared sensitivity of InGaAs. Unlike approaches in which a silicon multiplier is fused to a III-V absorber, Voxtel’s monolithic APD wafers are grown epitaxially on InP substrates, using only lattice-matched III-V alloys. Conventional III-V APDs that use InGaAs absorbers typically have bulk InP multiplication layers, characterized by an ionization coefficient ratio of k~0.4.

Voxtel and others sell advanced low-noise APDs that have thinner InAlAs multiplication layers, characterized by k~0.2. Voxtel has applied the same engineering principles to achieve k=0.02 at a gain of M=20 in its latest design. By way of comparison, a conventional InP APD has an excess noise factor of F~9.2 at M=20 and Voxtel’s k~0.2 design has F~5.6; Voxtel’s new design is characterized by F=2.3 at the same gain. This noise performance was found to be independent of temperature, and was measured for multiple samples between 77 and 295 K.

About Voxtel, Inc.
Voxtel, Inc., Beaverton, Ore., is a leading developer of sophisticated detectors and electro-optical imaging systems for a wide range of government, industrial, and scientific markets. Their product technologies include near-infrared laser radar (LADAR) receivers, radiation-hardened imagers for space applications, highly sensitive avalanche photodiodes for fiber and freespace telecommunications, and nanotechnology-engineered materials. For more information, visit Voxtel’s website at www.voxtel-inc.com.

Voxtel, Inc.
12725 SW Millikan Way, Suite 230
Beaverton, OR 97005
p. 971.223.5646
f. 971.327.7241
info@voxtel-inc.com
www.voxtel-inc.com

April 13, 2005 – Beaverton, Ore. – Voxtel, Inc., a leading developer of high-performance electro-optical imaging solutions, today announced that it has received a U.S. Air Force contract for the first phase of a 36-month program to develop a high-bandwidth, low-noise, single-photon-sensitive detector array and camera for near-infrared (NIR) laser detection and ranging (ladar). Ladar systems are used to detect the fine detail of remote objects that are needed for distance, shape, and pattern perception at very long distances. Voxtel’s proposed approach is unique in that, for the first time, it allows range resolution of better than six inches for objects over several thousand miles away with only the information available from a single photon, the smallest quantum of light. These objectives will be accomplished with a unique avalanche photodiode (APD) detector array and a camera custom designed by Voxtel. The Department of Defense Missile Defense Agency is providing the funding under a contract managed by the Air Force.

“For the first time, detection of single NIR photons separated by less than one nanosecond will be possible,” said George Williams, Voxtel’s president. The pioneering detector is made possible by Voxtel’s unique, low-noise APD designs and highly sensitive amplification and signal detection integrated circuits. These detectors, when fully developed, will have a broad range of commercial application including deep space communications, telecommunications, brain imaging, high-speed semiconductor test, and analytical sciences. The Phase I contract is for a 12-month period, during which Voxtel will demonstrate its technical approaches for the Ultra Sensitive Detector. If fully executed through Phase III of the program, the Voxtel contract will total $3.3M and will culminate in the delivery of prototype cameras to the Air Force.

ABOUT VOXTEL, INC.
Voxtel, Inc., founded in 2000 in Portland, Ore., is a leading developer of sophisticated detectors and electro-optical imaging systems for a wide range of government, industrial, and scientific markets. Their product technologies include near infrared laser radar (ladar) receivers, radiation-hardened imagers for space applications, and highly sensitive avalanche photodiodes (APDs) for fiber and freespace telecommunications.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
George Williams
Voxtel, Inc.
T.971.223.5646 x 112
F.971.327.7241
georgew@voxtel-inc.com
http://www.voxtel-inc.com

Will Develop High-Resolution Laser Ranging Camera
July 13, 2003 – Portland, Ore. – Voxtel Inc., a leading provider of advanced infrared and low-light-level imaging technology, today announced that it has received a U.S. Air Force contract for the first phase of a 36-month program to develop a high-bandwidth, low-noise focal plane array and camera for laser ranging.

Voxtel’s approach, unique in its sensitivity and range resolution, will be accomplished with a high-performance near-infrared (NIR) avalanche photodiode (APD) focal plane array and camera. The Department of Defense Missile Defense Agency is providing the funding under a contract managed by the Air Force. “By leveraging Voxtel’s expertise and investment in high-speed, low-noise integrated circuits and sensors, for the first time, range imaging will be possible with a resolution of better than 20 cm at distances of several thousand kilometers,” said Mr. George Williams, President, Voxtel Inc. During the contract, Voxtel will be manufacturing APD cameras capable of sensing fewer than 10 photons within one billionth of a second.

The Phase 1 contract spans a six-month period during which Voxtel will demonstrate its technical approaches for the Advanced Detector. If fully executed through Phase 3 of the program, the Voxtel contract will total $5.5M and will culminate in the delivery of an advanced laser ranging camera to the Air Force.

The research funding will support the development of Voxtel’s commercial product development of infrared avalanche photodiode products, which are high-speed detectors capable of detecting single photons, the primary particles of light, and are used for a broad range of applications including DNA sequencing, biomedical imaging, cancer screening, telecommunications, laser radar and astronomy.

ABOUT VOXTEL, INC.
Voxtel Inc. is developing revolutionary imaging products that address potentially large commercial and military markets. Voxtel’s imaging products include high-speed electro-optical devices that detect light with extraordinary sensitivity and at high speeds. The company’s proprietary technology makes possible products such as breast cancer detection, quantum cryptology (secure telecommunications encryption), night vision, autonomous navigation, optical computing, 3D laser radar imaging and telecommunications.