So what do we expect to learn from the ring oscillator and the VCSEL built at the third party fab.
I spent a little time over the weekend looking at ring oscillator data and POET should be able to get a lot of information very quickly on the characteristics. Normally they will run the circuit through a range of voltages from minimum voltage to the highest voltage where the circuit speed tops out. This will give them a speed versus power consumption result. The lower the voltage the slower the speed and lower the power requirement with the opposite being true at high voltage. Silicon produces variable results as it goes through a range of operating temperatures. The performance drops as the temperature of the silicon rises. The temperature rises as a result of leakage and due to the fact that it is has much lower electron mobility (much poorer conductor). This should not be a factor for the POET ring oscillator with much lower operating temperatures as a result of much higher efficiencies. Not long to wait now ladies and gentlemen.