Company Milestones

We’ve Come a Long Way
Grating light valve technology was born in the research labs of Stanford University. The idea became a company. And over the years that company, Silicon Light Machines, has matured from one that licenses intellectual property to one that develops and markets a range of diverse optical-electrical imaging products. Read about the important milestones in our development below.

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1994
In research labs at Stanford University, California, Professor David Bloom develops the revolutionary grating light valve (GLV) technology to address the need for higher-resolution displays in emerging markets.

1994
David Bloom founds Echelle Inc. to develop a range of products based on GLV. The company closes four rounds of venture capital financing from two top tier VC funds, Mayfield and IVP, as well as placements from private investors.

1995
Echelle fabricates its first GLV device, a 2D array capable of producing high-resolution, high-contrast images in a simple passive matrix display. The design concept behind this new structure is the first in what is to become a long series of patented inventions beyond the original Stanford work

1996
Echelle changes its name to Silicon Light Machines to better highlight the company’s unique concepts. Silicon reflects the reliable silicon basis of the GLV technology. Light refers to the principle of light diffraction used by GLV, and machines alludes to the microscopic moving parts inside the GLV MEMS.

1998
Silicon Light Machines enters into the first of two development agreements to use GLV technology in next-generation commercial printer systems.

Silicon Light Machines receives honors for presenting the most significant paper to the Society for Information Display symposium in Anaheim, California. The paper introduces a unique scanned linear GLV architecture for use in high performance, low-cost display systems.

1999
(6/99) Silicon Light Machines ships its first display system.

2000
(6/00) Silicon Light Machines exclusively licenses its GLV technology to Sony for use in display applications.

(6/00) The telecom market is booming. Silicon Light Machines announces a major shift in strategy to develop GLV devices for optical communication applications, such as fast switches and optical attenuators.

(8/00) Cypress Semiconductor acquires Silicon Light Machines, culminating a two-year manufacturing relationship. Cypress sees an opportunity for using GLV technology in optoelectronic products for the networking and telecommunications industries.

2001
(7/01) Tom Werner joins Silicon Light Machines as CEO to lead the company in networking and telecommunications.

2002
(3/02) Silicon Light Machines launches its flagship product for telecom, the 2200 Dynamic Gain Equalizer for dense wave multiplexing communication systems. The system offers enhanced control of optical amplifiers, leading to improved OSNR, longer transmission distance, and lower system cost.

(4/02) Agfa and Dainippon Screen introduce the first GLV-based computer-to-plate solutions, revolutionizing the commercial print market with prepress solutions offering unequalled speed and image quality.

2003
(5/03) Silicon Light Machines licenses its PyroFree™ technology to Koike Corporation, a leading manufacturer of Lithium Tantalate wafers. PyroFree dramatically improves the manufacturability of lithium tantalite surface acoustic wave devices by eliminating the electrical arcing problems that have historically plagued the material.

(6/03) Hal Zarem is promoted to CEO, with a goal to expand growth into new markets and lead in developing innovative new optical solutions for print, display, maskless lithography and optical sensing. Tom Werner leaves Silcon Light Machines to assume role as the CEO of SunPower Corporation.

2005
(5/05) Silicon Light Machines files its first patent for Opticheck,™ a highly accurate laser navigation sensor for optical mice and other tracking devices.

(5/05) Silicon Light Machines begins developing the OvationONS™ Optical Navigation Sensor for wireless mice, gaming controls, and other tracking devices. The device, based on Silicon Light Machine’s OptiCheck technology, offers superior surface tracking performance and extremely low-power consumption.

http://www.cypress.com/products/

(11/05) Silicon Light Machines begins work on a new GLV device with integrated drive circuits that will enable high pixel count for direct-write lithography and other imaging applications.

2006
(09/06) Cypress Semiconductor introduces Ovation/ONS.

2007
(12/07) Silicon Light Machines transfers all OvationONS development to Cypress.

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