At this year’s OFC, Mirrorcle Technologies, Inc. celebrates “21 Years of Brilliance,” and announced renewed production orders from Taara, a spinout from X, Google’s Moonshot Factory. The long-term trusted supplier relationship is based on the decade-long collaborative effort between these organizations. Taara has established a successful commercial product for terrestrial (ground-to-ground) laser-based communication, capable of wirelessly transmitting 20 Gbps of data over 20 km distances — Taara Lightbridge. The Mirrorcle mirrors involved in this successful product went through a few different iterations in terms of MEMS design and packaging, resulting in a robust and reliable design that has transitioned to volume production. The innovative and visionary approach of the Taara team to move beyond traditional mechanical steering mechanisms, and the collaborative efforts with Mirrorcle during the R&D phases over the past decade, have enabled the breakthrough in the communication market. "This ongoing partnership highlights the enduring success of the Taara Lightbridge product line and the essential role Mirrorcle's innovative MEMS technology plays in achieving these communication breakthroughs," said John Cooper, Director, Operations & Sales North America, Taara.

Wireless optical communications, or next-generation FSOC, systems transmit data wirelessly over short to long distances using light. A critical component to achieve robust communication is a Fine Steering Mirror (FSM) responsible for pointing the light beam onto their designated targets. FSMs are used to maintain an optimal link, correct for atmospheric aberrations, accommodate changing weather conditions or minimize issues caused by turbulence. For terrestrial links, the employment of Mirrorcle’s unique MEMS devices also aids to stabilize the laser beam aiming against movements and vibrations of the terminal mounting. It is obvious that such a critical component must operate with extreme reliability over 10000s of hours and in a variety of challenging deployment environments. This is an area where Mirrorcle’s products have always excelled, having a proven track record of successfully supplying many OEMs for space or terrestrial laser communication and even in data center use cases. Director of Engineering at Mirrorcle Technologies, Abhishek Kasturi noted: “We are seeing demand even in underwater use cases — which tells you how widely demanded our technology is in this segment. We are excited to know that our gimbal-less MEMS scanners enable ground (and water)-breaking innovations in a variety of commercial, healthcare and defense sectors.”

With Taara Lightbridge gaining popularity and seeing an increase in commercial demand across more than 20 countries around the world, Mirrorcle has also ramped up production of its MEMS devices, increasing production line capacity at its Richmond, Calif., facility. There is also an ongoing effort to expand the assembly capacity of FSOC FSMs in partnership with major overseas contract manufacturers with an expected related announcement in the near future. The Mirrorcle team of experts is excited for the opportunity to continue supplying MEMS devices to Taara and is looking forward to continued close relationship to further improve its wireless optical communication products.