Omron expands networking portfolio
In a move to expand its networking product line, Omron (www.omron.com) reached an agreement to acquire Aduro (Pleasanton, CA), manufacturer of precision high-speed optical subassemblies. Omron’s Electronic Components Business unit-the American subsidiary of Omron, a $5.6 billion worldwide supplier of electronics and control system components and services-has established a subsidiary called Omron Network Products (ONP), which includes the entire Aduro team. Omron says the acquisition brings great synergy to its operations, as Aduro has been developing a line of optical component products including CWDM devices, passive optical switches, and microlens arrays. The new ONP entity plans to launch fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) and home-network products in the Japanese market, and for the consumer electronic market.
NeoPhotonics ships a million FTTH transceivers
At the January Fiber Optic EXPO (FOE) in Tokyo, Japan, NeoPhotonics announced that it has shipped 1 million bidirectional transceivers for fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) applications, primarily for networks in Japan.
“Bidirectional transceivers are a cornerstone of our growing product portfolio for the booming FTTH market,” said Chris Pfistner, director, Global Access Business at NeoPhotonics. “We are building on our success in transceivers by rapidly expanding our FTTH market share in other segments such as triplexer modules, with integrated analog video receivers, and passive components, such as planar splitter packages and modules.”
ColorChip gets FTTH financing
A manufacturer of glass-based planer-lightwave-circuit (PLC) chips and modules for FTTH networks, ColorChip (Caesarea, Israel) announced that it has closed a $9.5 million financing round.
According to Moshe Price, CEO of ColorChip, the proceeds will enable the company to move from the development to the mass-production stage, expanding efforts in marketing and sales and R&D for different applications in new markets. “ColorChip has a unique PLC technology in the field of transceivers for FTTH and other applications, and we believe that ColorChip will become a leading player in this ‘hot’ and fast-growing market,” said Bob Goodman, general partner at Bessemer Venture Partners (www.bvp.com).
EMCORE acquires Force
The fiberoptic transport and video broadcast products, technologies, and intellectual property of privately held Force (Christiansburg, VA) have been acquired by Emcore (Somerset, NJ), a semiconductor-based components and subsystems provider for the communications market. “As the triple play (video, voice, and data) to the home and mobile devices becomes the market driver for advanced communications infrastructure, demand for video edge aggregation and fiberoptic transport in Internet protocol (IP), hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC), FTTX, and wireless networks is increasing dramatically,” said Hong Hou, vice president and general manager for Emcore’s Ortel division. “With the addition of Force’s satellite communications and cable TV technology and products to our industry-leading portfolio, Emcore is able to provide customers with a comprehensive suite of technical and product solutions.”
MIT launches Communications Roadmap II
The Microphotonics Center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT; Cambridge, MA) has launched CTR II-the second phase of the groundbreaking Communications Technology Roadmap program. The CTR I program was a four-year analysis of the current state of the photonic components industry, the role of emerging markets, the time line for growth, and the key technology platforms most likely to provide the building blocks for the future. CTR II is designed to identify business and technology strategies, leverage resources, and provide a forum for industry leaders to interact.
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Also in the news . . .
StockerYale (Salem, NH) says specialty optical fiber is its fastest growing product line, due to increased demand in the fiberoptic gyroscope and sensor markets; fourth quarter 2005 sales of $5.0 million were led by a 170% increase in revenues from specialty optical fiber. . . . Tyco Electronics (www.tycoelectronics.com) announced that it is a founding member of the Ethernet Alliance (www.ethernetalliance.org), an industry group dedicated to the continued success and expansion of Ethernet technology. . . . OE Solutions (Irvine, CA), a supplier of optoelectronic transceiver solutions for optical communications, announced the closing of a $8 million Series B round of funding and corporate financing, bringing their total funding to $12 million. . . . Optical-networking solutions provider Movaz Networks (Atlanta, GA) closed a $20 million equity financing round and secured an additional $12 million line of credit. . . . NTT Leasing (www.nttl.co.jp), the venture investment organization of NTT, expanded its investment in Glimmerglass (Hayward, CA), a provider of intelligent optical switches.