The reliability testing can be broken down into pieces. On one hand, you have reliability testing on the material itself. These material test devices are likely not fully packaged as they would be found inside a transceiver. On the other hand, you have reliability testing on packaged modulators which are designed to operate at certain specs. Having excellent material reliability is a solid precursor to high likelihood of packaged device reliability, but as I mentioned previously, there is an element of device reliability testing that may not always be discovered in just material reliability testing. For example, the interaction of laser light and oxygen.
We all need to remember the "mission critical" low-temperature ALD that LWLG acquired last fall. THIS is the Achilles heel that the company did a shit job in telling us how important it was. IMO previous ALD methods were subjecting the polymer to too high of temperatures too close to the Tg (glass transition temperature aka poling temperature), whereby stability was very likely compromised. How much and how bad...we don't know. I say "IMO", but Lebby damn near confirmed my guess at OFC. Again, the purpose of the ALD is to seal the polymer from the elements. It is effectively a packaging method.
Right now, we know that today's version of Perkinamine's thermal and photostability is excellent beyond 9,000 hours. That's far beyond industry minimums. BUT, because EOP has the reputation it has for instability, LWLG needs to prove itself far beyond the industry minimums. In my opinion, LWLG has checked that box.
Next and currently, LWLG is testing this material in complete and optimized packaged modulator PIC chips using this new low-temp ALD. This was the 350 hours shown at the May meeting. Today, I'd estimate they're around 3,000 hours. The minimum is 2,000 and 5,000 is "optional" per industry standards.
There are other tests besides thermal and photostability such as twist/shock testing, temperature cycle testing (0-85 degrees C 500 times), and humidity testing (surviving certain % humidity over X hours). These are normal for the Telcordia standards that LWLG will need to abide by. I know they are testing to these standards because job descriptions of LWLG employees/candidates had these other tests listed.
I'm hoping for a white paper at ECOC that contains details of this "reliability dataset". I am of the opinion that shareholders may not see a complete reliability dataset, but Dr. Lebby needs to be a CEO and remember that he answers to us. Show us something.
Poling, scaling, etc. is all a nothing burger. The real question is does this new ALD process F up the material?
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