I think that once the Optical Engines become accepted as reliable by the initial customers then each generation or new configuration becomes easier for future customers to accept as they begin to see the level of reliability based on experience. And I also expect that the first optical engines in production will likely be overbuilt to ensure a margin of reliability. We touched on the subject of design redundancy with SV such that failures can be tolerated.

There is still much to learn but the strength of the design and the use of highly reliable active devices with a proven track record in my opinion will not be difficult for customers to recognize.  When compared to what some leading companies are trying to achieve in silicon photonics the Optical Interposer based platform is not subject to the same stress and thermal control complexities. 

This point has had me scratching my head a little:

Athermal waveguide dielectric allows multi-channel scalability.

I believe this statement is supported by several factors:

The waveguides (and PICs) are physically located on top of the electrical silicon interposer and as such the amount of heat that they are exposed to is limited and efficiently dissipated. This combined with athermal waveguides that perform mux demux functions allows for wavelength stability through self-correcting refractive index adjustment which are inherent in the design of the material set. No free space optics are required to manage thermal expansion and contraction of the waveguides. Cross-talk between the waveguides are limited. What happens in silicon waveguides that are in close thermal communication with the processing electronics is that the temperature must be controlled very accurately and not all parallel waveguides will be at the same temperature making it really difficult to  closely pack multiple waveguides for high density applications while controlling the temperature of each one. Thus the statement re multi-channel scalability.

In other words it is a platform with what should be a very big future.  Once designs hit the market acceptance will grow as POET pushes through the existing density limits of competing technologies with the ultimate motivation of a significantly lower cost solution.

From 2018 q3 conference call transcript:

The advantage of the POET Interposer platform is that such customization can be done with minimal incremental development. This allows us to leverage our Optical Interposer solutions by increasing the level of integration for our customers’ existing or planned data communication products. We have already aligned with our customers on their production volumes and pricing requirements, so that once we successfully demonstrate the platform capabilities and it is qualified, we expect to receive production volume orders for Optical Interposer-based components and subassemblies for inclusion in customers’ products beginning in the second half of 2019. A few words about the qualification process. All new devices or components in data and telecommunications must demonstrate adherence to both customer specifications and industry standards. Parts of the qualification process are done by both the supplier and by its individual customers. The time period over which device testing occurs varies, but often extends three to six months or longer depending on the device or the subassembly, the qualification test required and the particular customer. We have estimated that the qualification of active devices or light producing or detecting subassemblies such as our lasers, modulators and detectors on the Interposer platform should average approximately six months. However, with any particular device, tests or customer the qualification period may be shorter or longer. Some testing continues even after devices are shipped, so that data on device reliability can be measured and potentially used as a selling point with other customers. Fortunately, the qualification process often runs parallel to the customer's engineering activities to design-in the device and to work through changes that may be required for the manufacturing process, so that these devices can ultimately be incorporated into products quickly thereafter.