Lucent Explores Optical Fiber AlternativesMarch 15, 2001...Lucent Technologies (NYSE: LU) has publicly
stated that it is pursuing
a variety of strategic alternatives for its Atlanta-based Optical Fiber
Solutions business. The OFS unit employs 6,300 people, with headquarters and
the unit's largest manufacturing facility located in Norcross, Georgia USA,
a suburb of Atlanta. It also has wholly owned and joint-venture facilities in
Carrollton, Ga., Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, Connecticut, Denmark,
China, Japan, Russia, Germany and Brazil. Among the alternatives under consideration
is the option of either selling the business or forming it into a joint venture.
"Over the next few months we will determine which approach will provide
the most benefits for our customers, our shareholders and our employees,''
said Bill O'Shea, executive vice president, corporate strategy and business
development. "We are taking this bold move so we can better focus our
resources and investments on the areas critical to our markets, while making
it easier for the fiber team to expand its customer base and make the capital
investments necessary to meet the increasing global demand for fiber and fiber
cable.'' The Optical Fiber Solutions business has been in the midst of a
$1 billion expansion program, which includes a significant expansion at its
fiber manufacturing facility in Norcross. It recently opened a fiber cable manufacturing
facility in Campinas, Brazil, designed to serve all of Latin America and the
Caribbean. JDSU & Alcatel Extend 980nm Supply AgreementMarch 15, 2001...Undersea broadband communication networks are becoming increasingly important
as the components and systems reliability prove cost effective. JDS
Uniphase Corporation (Nasdaq: JDSU) and Alcatel's (Nasdaq: ALAO) Alcatel
Optronics announced the extension of a key
supply agreement for 980nm laser chips and pump stabilizers for use in undersea
fiberoptic networks, which were manufactured by SDL prior to SDL being acquired
by JDS Uniphase. The extension goes through 2003. The decision to extend the
agreement follows the successful joint qualification and production of the new
laser diode, which is the latest generation of SDL high power 980nm pump chips.
When packaged in Alcatel Optronics' Submarine Qualified Pump Module package,
the laser diodes provides 200 mw of reliable power in the harsh undersea environment.
Alcatel Optronics' 980nm pumps are designed to operate with extremely low failure
rates over a service lifetime of more than 25 years. Readers desiring a more
indepth look at this important field are directed to the Alcatel
Optronics website which carries uniquely strong technical background on
the subject.
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Infineon & Sanyo Sign UHF Device Production AllianceMarch 15, 2001...Infineon Technologies AG (NYSE: IFX)
and Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. have
announced that they will cooperate
on the production of ultra high-frequency (RF) devices. Infineon will supply
high end SIEGET RF transistor chips to Sanyo, and Sanyo will use the Infineon
chips to start production of leadless "Environmentally-considered Chip
Scale Packages" (ECSP) for Infineon. At the same time, Infineon and Sanyo
will commence marketing Infineon RF transistor chips in ECSP packages under
their own brands. The agreement combines the strengths of Infineon and Sanyo
on RF chip design, manufacturing and packaging. March 15, 2001...GELcore recently announced their new high
efficiency InGaN blue spectrum high brightness (HB) LEDs. The additions of these
new bright blue, green, and blue-green HB-LEDs, GELcore now has the capability
of offering discrete HB LED products across the entire broad visible spectrum.
Applications for the new InGaN blue spectrum HB LEDs include variable messaging,
traffic signals, exit signage, and specialty applications. "This introduction
is the first of several InGaN product families by GELcore at dominant wavelengths
of 470, 505 and 525 nanometers. These high brightness through hole LEDs are
robust in manufacturing assembly processes and are rated ESD Class II,"
stated Bob Karlicek, GELcore's Manager of LED Materials Engineering. CyOptics Expands InP Fab & Packaging in IsraelMarch 15, 2001...If you're keeping score of who's who in Indium Phosphide (InP) development,
add CyOptics which is expanding
its InP manufacturing facilities in Yokneam, Israel (near both Tel Aviv
and Haifa) by over 30,000 square feet as a means of providing CyOptics with
added manufacturing capacity for the company's rollout of 40 Gig Indium Phosphide
devices. CyOptics manufacturing facilities include both an InP wafer fab for
optical chip production, and optoelectronic packaging capability. According
to Dror Motovilov, CyOptics VP of Operations. "First qualification devices
from these facilities are expected in Q3 2000, with full scale manufacturing
in 2002". CyOptics was founded in early 1999, to develop breakthrough technology
for 40 Gb/s active optical components. The company is headed by veterans of
Lucent, Intel, and Lasertron, with extensive InP optical component development
and manufacturing, and optoelectronic device packaging experience. The company
is headquartered in Burlington, MA, with offices in Los Angeles, California,
and research and development facilities in Israel. CyOptics' capability includes
InP wafer fab, regrowth, and characterization, as well as microelectronic packaging,
test & qualification facilities. InP Startup VKS Photonics Musters First $18 Million in BackingMarch 15, 2001...VSK Photonics, Inc. has secured
$18 million in first round financing from Morgenthaler
Ventures and Intel Capital to
help aid its initial growth and deploy the startup's core Indium Phosphide (InP)
components and modules, which it intends to use as entrée into the popular
40Gbit/s field. And how does a startup warrant the attention of this caliber
venture backing? According to Drew Lanza at Morgenthaler Ventures, "We believe
VSK has the right approach to the market today -- products that increase performance
and reliability of optical networks while dramatically decreasing cost. The
innovative technologies that VSK is developing will bring these benefits to
the emerging 40 Gb/s market." Tom Willis, managing director for Optical
Communications Investments at Intel Capital stated, "Intel Capital invests
in companies, such as VSK Photonics, that help accelerate the pace of broadband
technology. VSK's Indium Phosphide technology promises high performance and
reliability for the high end telecommunications market." VSK Photonics was
founded in December 2000 and is based in Irvine, California. CEO is Don Ackley
and CTO is Timothy Vang. Princeton Lightwave Introduces Packaged InP Broadband Gain ChipMarch 15, 2001...Princeton Lightwave, Inc. (PLI),
which we highlighted in a March
12 editorial, has announced what they call a breakthrough
Broadband GainChip (BGC), which is an Indium Phosphide-based semiconductor
chip-on-carrier (CoC). The BGC is designed to enable customers to reach more
than 40 milliwatts from an external cavity network source laser as a means of
offering more than double the power currently available, while simultaneously
tuning over an entire band. The BGC's unique characteristics include high power,
a simplified chip design, a smaller package, and tuning over S, C and L bands
within the external cavity. Fitel/Furukawa Announces Pump Laser & Opens New Development CenterMarch 15, 2001...Fitel Technologies, Inc. and its parent
company, Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd., have
announced the development
of a high output, 400mW 14xx nanometer (nm) pump laser for wavelength division
multiplexing (WDM) systems. The modules will be available on a sample basis
beginning in June 2001, and full production capacity is scheduled for the end
of this year. Fitel will premier the new pump laser during OFC next week in
Anaheim. Fitel also announced the opening
of an amplification products Development Center to support the growing Erbium
Doped Fiber Amplifier (EDFA) and Raman markets. The facility, which is scheduled
to open in April 2001, will be located in Warwick, Rhode Island and will work
in conjunction with both Fitel and its affiliate, Optigain. The 12,000 sq. ft
facility will employ approximately 40 people and will be responsible for the
research and development of next generation, advanced Raman solutions for high
speed, long haul optical data transmissions. Stratos Mixes It Up in Dual T/R TerritoryMarch 15, 2001...Stratos Lightwave LLC (Nasdaq:
STLW) has announced its new
line of small form factor (SFF) dual transmitters and dual receivers for
high-performance optical communications. These are unidirectional devices headed
to become high-density, multi channel optical links in increasingly complex
routers, switches, and telecom applications. Housed in an industry-standard
SFF transceiver package with two LC fiber optic interfaces, each unit contains
either two transmitters or two receivers, and are available in 850nm and 1310nm
versions, for any data rate up to 2.7 Gb/s. A single SFF package can be ordered
with two transmitters or two receivers having the same or different data rates,
operating at the same or different wavelengths which is a flexibility feature
made possible by Stratos' proprietary modular circuit board design, in which
each individual transmitter and receiver is contained on a separate circuit
assembly. This allows Stratos to "mix-and-match'' receivers and transmitters
and the modular design allows Stratos to deliver production quantities of these
dual transmitters and dual receivers very quickly, regardless of the configuration
specified. Oplink Rolls Out More New ProductsMarch 15, 2001...Oplink Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: OPLK)
announced the addition
of components based on fiber Bragg gratings (FBG) to its product lines for
use in DWDM, intelligent optical add/ddrop multiplexing and gain flattening
filters as well as optical elements for dispersion compensation, optical monitoring
and various other functions. Oplink has also introduced a new
line of variable optical attenuators (VOAs) for use in optical communications
systems. Our news features are reported
by the CompoundSemi News staff writers.
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