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By Kathy Kincade

OFC showcases manufacturing trends
While the telecom industry has endured growing pains and a severe downturn over the past year, components manufacturers are taking this opportunity to develop the next generation of their wares, emphasizing speed, flexibility, reliability, integration, scalability, and manufacturability.

Automation and volume manufacturing have emerged as growth opportunities for many companies and this trend was evident at the Optical Fiber Communications (OFC; Anaheim, CA) held in March. More than 75 exhibitors at OFC fell into the "fiber manufacturing equipment" category, and many others are now offering manufacturing services. Returning vendors included Adept, Automation Tooling Systems (ATS), Camstar, DataSweep, EXFO, kSaria, Newport, Palomar Technologies, Sagitta, and Veeco.

Several newcomers were on hand as well, many leveraging manufacturing expertise developed and refined in the semiconductor, disk-drive, and other industries into the optical-components field. Surface Technology Systems (Newport, Wales), for example, was touting its established fab capabilities in wafer etching, which the company has adapted to volume production of MEMS and other photonics components. Similarly, ESEC (Cham, Switzerland) demonstrated its automated eutectic die-attach solution for optoelectronics component assembly that is based on the company's established semiconductor flip-chip platform.

Other new automation products at OFC included the Flexsys family of work-cell assembly tools from ATS and a new component assembly line from Palomar that combines the company's laser-diode attach assembly and wire-bonding capabilities with photonic dispensing, optical-fiber alignment and attach, and test and measurement capabilities developed by Palomar partners Creative Automation, Axsys, and ILX Lightwave.

Test and measurement also had a strong presence at OFC, with particular emphasis on testing in volume production. Several new faces debuted, including Katsina Optics (Milpitas, CA) and Luna Technologies (Blacksburg, VA).

Despite the breadth and depth of cutbacks over the past year, a record number of companies were present (1227 vs. 970 in 2001) with attendance down only slight (32,000 this year vs. 38,000 in 2001).

But although the people came, buying was not their top priority. One reason for this is the ever-changing forecasts of the telecom industry's return. When will North American service providers begin ordering equipment again? Latest estimates range from late 2003 into 2004, according to John Soden of RHK (South San Francisco, CA) and Sanjay Subhedar of Storm Ventures (Palo Alto, CA), who both spoke at an OFC panel session, "Telecom Trends: Analyst and Investor Views."

Photonics Manufacturing Association forges ahead on several fronts
About 50 representatives from the optoelectronics industry attended the first official meeting of the Photonics Manufacturing Association (PMA), held March 21 during the Optical Fiber Communications (OFC) conference in Anaheim, CA. Now considered a council within the IPC (IPC-Association Connecting Electronics Industries)—and leveraging the IPC's well-established administrative infrastructure and public-policy connections—the PMA is actively seeking new members and volunteers to round out its steering committee.

The council is also moving ahead with road-mapping and standardization efforts, much of which builds on work begun by other industry organizations, including IPC, NEMI (National Electronics Manufacturing Initiative), and OIDA (Optoelectronics Industry Development Association). For example, NEMI recently kicked off its own road-mapping effort, which now includes optoelectronics, and one of the first standards to come out of that road map is being developed by NEMI's new Fiber Carrier Working Group. Once finalized, that standard will be released through the IPC.

The PMA has also embarked on a separate initiative to formulate an umbrella standard (JSTD040) that will serve as a framework for all of the optoelectronic-specific standards that need to be developed and written. So far, 23 different standards areas have been identified, according to Randy Heyler, chairman of the PMA council. The JSTD040 standard is expected to be finalized by year's end. The PMA also hopes to begin gathering industry data from its members to begin providing a true picture of the industry in terms of employees, revenues, and region-by-region sales.

For more information or to join the PMA, contact Heyler at rheyler@newport.com or visit the IPC web site (www.ipc.org).

Also in the news...
Rockwell sues Finisar
Finisar (Sunnyvale, CA) is being sued by Rockwell Automation Technologies (Milwaukee, WI) for patent infringement. Rockwell alleges that Finisar used metal organic chemical-vapor-deposition wafers manufactured by a process that infringed on an expired patent originally issued to Rockwell in 1983.

BOC offers single source
The compound semiconductor group of BOC Edwards (Murray Hill, NJ) and BOC's fiberoptics solutions group are coordinating their business activities to offer the optical communication industry a single manufacturing source.

Holey-fiber production
INO (Quebec City, Canada) now offers holey-fiber manufacturing capabilities. INO does not yet have a standard holey fiber product but is interested in partnering with other vendors to develop and manufacture products based on this technology.

EM4 grows up
EM4 Photonics (Burlington, MA), a supplier of optoelectronic manufacturing services and packaging technologies, has opened a new 15,500-sq-ft manufacturing facility. The expanded site features automated device packaging, component assembly, and fiber alignment, a Class 10,000 certified clean room, and in-line chip- and package-level reliability testing. EM4 is also expanding its workforce.

Fabrinet offers outsourcing
Fabrinet (San Francisco, CA), offers optical manufacturing outsourcing services based on processes adopted from disk drive manufacturing. Customers include Seagate, JDS/Uniphase, Finisar, and Agilent.

Axsys partners with Palomar and Loctite
Axsys Technologies (Rocky Hill, CT) and Palomar Technologies (Vista, CA) have joined forces to develop in-line automated assembly systems for the manufacture of active photonic devices such as pump diodes, tunable lasers, and modulators. Palomar designed and integrated the first completely automated assembly line for the production of optoelectronic packages. Now, through the alliance with Axsys, the company will work to extend that line to include optical align and attach functionality.

"By coupling our fiber-automation products with Palomar's assembly machines, we will be able to offer turnkey automation tools to the photonics marketplace that, until now, were not available," said Gary Wagner, president of Axsys' Commercial Products Group. "This is consistent with the semiconductor model, which has proven to be a successful one and is clearly where this industry needs to evolve to be successful."

Axsys has also entered into a joint program with Loctite (Rocky Hill, CT) to develop next-generation optical-attach methods for photonic devices such as arrayed-waveguide gratings, planar light circuits, collimators, and modulators. The goal of the program is to empirically study adhesive performance in optical-device assembly. Areas of study will include optimizing dispense and cure process parameters to maximize throughput, adhesive-specific insertion loss characteristics, bond stability over a range of environmental conditions, and long-term life testing.

"This study will measure adhesive characteristics such as stability over time and automation suitability that are of critical importance to our customers and directly impact the performance of an optical device," Wagner said.

Meikle Automation expands photonics manufacturing capabilities
Meikle Automation (Kitchener, Ontario, Canada), a privately held company that designs and builds automation systems for a variety of industries, is expanding its photonics business. The company recently acquired Electro-Mechanical Specialties (EMS; Sanford, NC), which has a strong presence in the eastern U.S. automation market. This latest acquisition, known as MeikleEMS, gives Meikle a total of five operating divisions, each acting as an independent business unit.

In addition, Meikle has become an Agilent Technologies' channel partner focusing specifically on the photonics marketplace. Under this nonexclusive partnership, Meikle and Agilent will jointly generate business leads, evaluate market potential, integrate equipment, and validate production processes, particularly as applied in the photonics industry.

These two deals are part of Meikle's strategy to become a leader in ultrahigh-precision manufacturing, particularly for photonics, semiconductors, and medical devices and equipment. Founded in 1994 to provide automation products and services to the automotive, appliance, electronics, and materials handling industries, the company recently launched a new platform for photonics automation.

Nextrom launches O/E group with purchase of Sysmelec assets
Nextrom Holding SA (Morges, Switzerland), a supplier of manufacturing solutions and services for optical fiber and fiberoptic cable, has launched a new photonics business following the purchase of the photonics interests of Sysmelec (Old Lyme, CT). Nextrom Photonics SA (Gals, Canton of Bern, Switzerland) will provide automated manufacturing and process solutions for optical component assembly and optical connectivity. Acting as systems integrator, Nextrom Photonics will initially focus on fiber termination, fiber attachment, and optical component assembly.

In addition to transferring Sysmelec's automated fiber assembly assets and other photonics capabilities to Nextrom, the deal also gives Nextrom Photonics several key Sysmelec resources. Nextrom Photonics and Sysmelec have signed a cooperation agreement covering technology development and supply chain management that gives Nextrom access to technologies such as nano-positioning and microsystems assembly. The two companies will share the same facilities in Gals, and Sysmelec will continue to design, manufacture, and market high-precision die and flip-chip bonding products.

Intel adds photonics to its networking business
As part of its strategy to grow the market for optical networking and broadband Internet access, Intel (San Jose, CA) has established a new photonics business unit dedicated to developing and producing application-specific components. Intel Photonics will operate out of a new 70,000-sq-ft facility in south San Jose designed specifically for production of passive components using 8-in. silicon wafers. The group will provide design and manufacturing services for optical component and systems manufacturers focused on the metro and long-haul markets.

Over the last few years, Intel has invested in several optoelectronics-based companies and technologies through Intel Capital, including Avalon Photonics, Blaze Network, Gemfire, K2 Optronics, LightConnect, Novalux, Photonic Materials, and VSK Photonics. In addition, its communications group has spearheaded numerous internal R&D projects focused on integrated optoelectronic components and devices that support the deployment of optical networks. The new photonics unit expands on these efforts by leveraging Bragg grating technology acquired through Intel's recent purchase of Templex Technology (San Jose, CA) and other technologies developed at Intel as part of its ongoing microprocessor and optical interconnect research efforts.

"When we say photonics, we are specifically talking about devices and technologies to manipulate light-to-light signals, without ever converting to electronics," said Rama Shukla, general manager of Intel Photonics. "When you think of Intel's overall optical strategy, you are going to know that, in addition to framers and forward-error correction and mux/demux and integrated components, we are also now in this business. And eventually this will mold into one big optical business for Intel."

Intel Photonics' strategy is to apply the company's planar process technology to the design and production of photonic devices to reduce overall component costs and enable inexpensive broadband access to the home-thereby expanding both its chip and optical communications businesses. The company is confident that its years of expertise in design tools and methodologies, fabs, assembly and test, platform validation, and standards leave it well-positioned to accelerate photonics into the mainstream.

"Our mission is to be the leading provider of building blocks for the Internet economy," Shukla said. "The personal computer is still the client of choice for networking and Internet access, and this is very tied into our communications business."

Intel is already adapting the silicon-based manufacturing processes it has developed and refined over the years to automated volume manufacturing and assembly of photonics components such as planar Bragg grating filters, waveguides, wafers, subassemblies, and integrated modules. In addition to utilizing its established infrastructure for manufacturing tools and packaging on the back end, Intel is making direct use of its established supply chain, partnering with its suppliers to redirect their expertise into the photonics area.

"If you think of how the semiconductor industry has matured over time, it has been the ability to use mass-production techniques and tools to allow high-quality, low-cost, and lowest-possible-labor-content products," Shukla said. "Those experiences can directly be ported to the fab of photonics technologies on silicon. Most of what we are using [in the new photonics facility] is legacy equipment from silicon production fabs, such as 200-mm tools, which have been around for more than a decade."

Terahertz Photonics launches silica-on-silicon sol-gel process
Terahertz Photonics (Livingston, Scotland), a developer of planar lightwave circuits for telecom and datacom applications, has developed a new sol-gel method for depositing silica on silicon that the company believes will displace current gas-based coating techniques such as chemical-vapor deposition used in the fabrication of PLCs.

The new process, called Solica, is a single-step sol-gel deposition process that is up to 10 times less expensive than alternative methods and reduces the cost of production for PLC components such as arrayed waveguide gratings, variable optical attenuators, and couplers. The process also provides a platform for a range of new devices that are both more compact and have more features. In addition, the Solica process enables the manufacture of optical quality glass layers up to 10 um thick in a single liquid-based process, overcoming a major limitation of existing gas and competing sol-gel techniques.

"We believe that Solica is a revolutionary process for the fabrication of silica and silicon planar lightwave circuits," said Navin Suyal, director of PLC materials at Terahertz Photonics. "It is capable of changing the current cost-performance curve of this sector, which will enable the next generation of metro, access, and fiber-to-the-home applications."

The Solica process involves the synthesis of a patented sol mixture followed by a single spinning, drying, and firing operation. It employs standard tools and techniques from the semiconductor industry for both the deposition of the silica and the subsequent lithography. The resulting optical layer contains no organic additives or impurities that could limit component performance.

In fact, according to Suyal, the Solica process opens up avenues for new and improved PLC components. The silica layers may be doped so that the refractive index is settable in the range of 1.45 to 1.50, allowing the creation of super-high delta waveguides, yielding more-compact devices. As a result, more PLC components can be produced from a single wafer at a higher production yield, realizing lower cost and smaller components.

Terhertz Photonics is looking for partners interested in having wafers manufactured using the Solica process at its 8000-sq-ft clean-room manufacturing facility. The company already provides outsourcing to several partners with its organic polymer-based solution. The two-year-old firm received a second round of venture funding in January.

Wed May 01 00:00:00 CDT 2002

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