I am with Rainer on this. The real key to POETs mobile device applications is optical integration. PET was designed to compete with FinFET on the basis that the 4 fabs that can afford to build FinFET would see PET as an alternative to avoid the costs associated with new tools and the technical issues that they face. So in my opinion the conclusion that this new management team (who are industry heavy weights in the world of new technologies) quickly came to was that competing with silicon with just PET at 40nm (without optical clock distribution) was not going to gain traction. I think the conclusion was that industry wants the step change that can be offered by the fully integrated chip with all the benefits of POET. In other words I think big customers want to go from big form factor of multiple silicon + GaAs chips to the "module on a chip". The single POET chip for a smart phone with the speed, dramatically reduced power, fast non-volatile memory and the RF that can be built to new LTE standards. They would probably be satisfied with just the optical integrated processor and maybe that would be the first chip but it is possible that total integration could occur in parallel and simultaneously?
POET is publicly stating that their focus right now is on unlocking silicon. The new whitepaper has laid out the capabilities to do this in a huge market that was never before considered in my opinion. They don't have to compete with anyone on the optical transceiver for copper replacement because the capability to do what POET does...does not exist. Short distance single mode optical links using a VCSEL at 850nm is going to dramatically change the energy efficiency of the data center network. It is a need that is completely unmet and POET does not have to compete with silicon or any other optical technology for this space. The work that is achieved in that processes clearly has major benefits to the evolution of full integration.
Now I tend to very much agree that work is being done with partners in areas such as the the mobile space and that we may hear more about this #soon as per the messages you speak of in the conference call. One would have to believe that POETs industry partners are very keen to push the development of a POET solution for their next generation of devices.
And then there is the military side. Ajit spoke of POETs ability to disrupt India's defense road map. I imagine we could hear about something associated with the military capability in the near future as well?
The thing is this new management team are driven and I think we will see results #soon.
