Telecom and datacom laser-diode supplier BinOptics bought by MACOM for $230 million

M/A-COM (Lowell, MA; Nasdaq:MTSI), also known as MACOM, has acquired indium phosphide (InP) laser-diode maker BinOptics (Ithaca, NY) for $230 million in cash. MACOM makes radio-frequency (RF), microwave, and millimeter-wave products.

John Wallace

Nov. 24, 2014

A 25G laser diode from BinOptics, fabricated using etched-facet technology (EFT), is used in 100G datacenter applications via course wavelength division multiplexing (CDWM; the laser is available in 1270, 1290, 1310, and 1330 nm wavelengths for this purpose). Here, an eye diagram for the laser shows a clean signal.

BinOptics' edge-emitting and surface-emitting Fabry-Perot and distributed-feedback (DFB) lasers are used in datacenters, in silicon photonics devices, and for general telecommunications and data communications.

BinOptics' proprietary etched-facet technology (EFT), co-invented by the company's founder, Alex Behfar, replaces the conventional laser-diode facet-cleaving process with a photolithographic etching step that is less tricky and more consistent than cleaving, and allows wafer-scale techniques to be used for both device manufacturing and testing.

"We believe BinOptics’ wafer-scale model for indium phosphide lasers will play perfectly to our strength in compound semiconductor manufacturing, allowing us to quickly address what is currently a supply-constrained part of the optical component industry," says John Croteau, president and CEO of MACOM.

More info on the transaction is available at: http://ir.macom.com/.

About the Author

John Wallace

Senior Technical Editor (1998-2022)

John Wallace was with Laser Focus World for nearly 25 years, retiring in late June 2022. He obtained a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and physics at Rutgers University and a master's in optical engineering at the University of Rochester. Before becoming an editor, John worked as an engineer at RCA, Exxon, Eastman Kodak, and GCA Corporation.