OPEL Technologies Inc. Announces New Laser by ODIS Subsidiary as Key Achievement in POET Monolithic Optoelectronic Platform

OPEL Technologies Inc. (TSX VENTURE:OPL)(OTCQX:OPELF) ("OPEL" or "the Company")
today announced that its U.S. affiliate, ODIS Inc. has successfully produced an
integrated laser device, thereby achieving a key milestone in its Planar
Optoelectronic Technology ("POET") process, that enables high-performance
devices fusing optical and electronic devices together on a single chip. 


By allowing the production of components with increased speed, density,
reliability, and lower costs, POET offers the semiconductor industry the ability
to push Moore's Law to the next cadence level, overcoming current silicon-based
bottlenecks, and potentially changing the roadmap for a broad range of
applications, such as smartphones, tablet and wearable computers.


After years of increasingly successful development, the fabrication of the first
Vertical Cavity Laser (VCL) utilizing ODIS's patented POET GaAs III-V technology
is a significant success. Incremental progress over the years has led to what
many consider to be the next phase of semiconductor development which is to
surpass the capabilities of complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS)
technology for the next generation of high speed low power applications. It is
now widely believed that CMOS technology advances have reached a saturation
point. 


The new laser serves as the basis for chip-to-chip interconnection, and
complements numerous other optoelectronic devices already demonstrated by ODIS -
including heterostructure field effect transistors (HFETs), optical thyristors,
pulsed lasers, and super-radiant light emitting devices - all able to be
monolithically fabricated via the POET process. 


"Rarely can one be part of a development that truly has the potential to change
the way the things work on so many different levels and platforms. We believe
that this is 'the key milestone' and indeed this is one of those moments. Dr.
Taylor and the ODIS team have chosen to achieve the most difficult laser first
and have done so under extreme duress. This is not just an endorsement of the
ODIS Team but also of the POET process itself," summarized Peter Copetti,
Executive Director of the Board of OPEL.


Copetti further added, "The reset of our milestone timelines by approximately 8
weeks because of equipment repair caused by Hurricane Sandy is obviously a
disappointment to everyone involved, but we believe it is merely a bump in the
road. In the long run, it should have no material impact on monetizing POET and
continuing to deliver shareholder value."


Led by Chief Scientist Dr. Geoffrey Taylor, the team of scientists and
technologists at ODIS see the latest achievement as one of the most significant
milestones of a decades-long effort. 


Dr. Taylor noted, "I'm extremely proud of the team who overcame equipment
setbacks triggered by Hurricane Sandy that reset our timelines. I'm confident
POET remains on track with its vision of full monolithic integration and its
applications in microprocessing."


The essence of the POET advantage is the merging of optical devices into the
growth and fabrication that supports complementary HFET analog and digital
functions. The n-channel and p-channel FETs take advantage of the high
mobilities inherent to strained quantum wells. Simultaneously, the quantum wells
provide the active emitter for lasers and amplifiers and the active absorber for
detectors and modulators. 


The intimate connections between diverse device types enables novel gate designs
which dramatically reduce the power consumed in the opto-electronic (OE) and
electro-optic (EO) conversions. The VCL has the small footprint required for
dense circuit layout and enables vertical connections from anywhere in the
circuit plane to fiber or to other stacked chips. Further, the same VCL
structure enables in-plane and edge emitting operation based upon proprietary OE
designs. The availability of the integrated VCL will change the architecture and
design for future complementary integrated circuits.


Going forward, technology development will lower the threshold current, increase
the output power and optimize the in-plane version of the VCL. In addition, the
complementary transistor circuit capability will be enhanced by reducing the
feature size to the 100-nm scale incorporating ODIS' new self-aligned contact
technology. With transistor cutoff frequencies around 38-GHz for a 0.7-um gate,
the scaling is expected to produce 260-GHz transistors with commensurate
improvements in circuit speed. 


POET's short-term industry solution is expected to include an optical interface
as a single chip to connect existing CMOS processors. The optical interface chip
integrates the laser, modulator, modulator driver, detector, receiver
amplifiers, serializer/deserializer, clock and data recovery, and
phase-locked-loop circuits monolithically.


The longer-term solution would look to replacing CMOS gates with POET
complementary HFET gates. POET processors would provide their own optical output
and also perform the optical receive function and therefore the need for a
separate interface chip would no longer be required.


"This is a key milestone in our acceleration of POET for commercial
application," noted Leon M. Pierhal, CEO of OPEL. "OPEL now has all components
in place for on-chip integration of photonic circuits in the same semiconductor
framework as electronic circuits."


Pierhal continued: "Hurricane Sandy's effect was felt at ODIS's R&D facility at
the University of Connecticut. Sandy's devastation affected all members of the
ODIS staff and the ODIS facility itself. Equipment damage within the facility
caused by Sandy made the recovery from the storm and the completion of the VCL
extremely difficult. It took a herculean effort to complete the VCL."


He further stated, "The damage inflicted on the delicate equipment must now be
effectively and permanently addressed in order to continue with POET's milestone
achievements. A rebuild and retrofitting period of six to eight week is being
planned for December and January which will delay the rollout planning process."


The POET platform is currently the basis for a number of key ODIS commercial and
military projects, including optical code division multiple access (OCDMA)
devices for avionics systems, combined RF/optical phased arrays, optoelectronic
directional couplers, and ultra-low-power random access memory (RAM). 


About OPEL Technologies Inc. and ODIS Inc.

With head office in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and operations in Storrs, CT, the
Company, through ODIS Inc., a U.S. company, designs III-V semiconductor devices
for military, industrial and commercial applications, including infrared sensor
arrays and ultra-low-power random access memory; and through OPEL Solar, Inc.,
provided systems for energy applications. The Company has 35 patents issued and
9 patents pending, primarily for its semiconductor POET process, which enables
the monolithic fabrication of integrated circuits containing both electronic and
optical elements, with potential high-speed and power-efficient applications in
devices such as servers, tablet computers and smartphones. OPEL's common shares
trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "OPL". For more information
please visit our websites at www.opeltechinc.com and for ODIS at
www.odisinc.com.


ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Michel Lafrance, Secretary

This news release contains "forward-looking information" (within the meaning of
applicable Canadian securities laws) and "forward-looking statements" (within
the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). Such
statements or information are identified with words such as "anticipate",
"believe", "expect", "plan", "intend", "potential", "estimate", "propose",
"project", "outlook", "foresee" or similar words suggesting future outcomes or
statements regarding an outlook. Such statements include, among others, those
concerning OPEL's anticipated operational plans and activities. Specifically,
they include OPEL's statement that "POET's short-term industry solution is
expected to include an optical interface as a single chip to connect existing
complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) processors; the longer-term
solution would look to replacing CMOS gates with POET complementary HFET gates;
POET processors would provide their own optical output and also perform the
optical receive function therefore a separate interface chip would no longer be
required "


Such forward-looking information or statements are based on a number of risks,
uncertainties and assumptions which may cause actual results or other
expectations to differ materially from those anticipated and which may prove to
be incorrect. Assumptions have been made regarding, among other things,
management's expectations regarding future growth, availability of capital, and
the necessity to incur capital and other expenditures. Actual results could
differ materially due to a number of factors, including, without limitation,
operational risks in the completion of OPEL's anticipated projects, risks
affecting OPEL's ability to sell its solar division, the ability to attract key
personnel, and the inability to raise additional capital. Additional assumptions
and risks are set out in detail in OPEL's Management's Discussion and Analysis,
available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.


Although OPEL believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking
information or statements are reasonable, prospective investors in OPEL's
securities should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements because
OPEL can provide no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct.
Forward-looking information and statements contained in this news release are as
of the date of this news release and OPEL assumes no obligation to update or
revise this forward-looking information and statements except as required by
law.


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: 
OPEL Technologies Inc.
Patricia Venneri Agudow
Vice President, Public Relations
[phone] Ext. 2612
[e-mail]
www.opeltechinc.com