Acquisitions address fast-growing opto markets

NeoPhotonics has acquired two California-based optoelectronics companies: LightConnect of Newark and OpTun based in Santa Clara.

NeoPhotonics has announced the acquisition of LightConnect, of Newark, California and OpTun, of Santa Clara, California.

LightConnect is a pre-eminent manufacturer of MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) based components and modules for the fibre optic communications industry, with products including variable optical attenuators (VOAs), blockers, dynamic gain equalisers (DGEs) and dynamic channel equalisers (DCEs).

OpTun is a leading developer of planar lightwave circuit (PLC) based reconfigurable optical add drop multiplexers (ROADMs).

Terms of the acquisitions, based on a combination of cash and stock, have not been revealed.

"Next generation optical networks require dynamic reconfiguration to efficiently accommodate the dramatic increase in data traffic now being driven by new FTTx and other broadband services", said Tim Jenks, CEO of NeoPhotonics.

"The combination of LightConnect's broad array of MEMS optical switching products and OpTun's ROADM module design capabilities with NeoPhotonics' existing PLC passive optical components allows us to provide 'best in class' ROADMs to equipment suppliers for all different network architectures".

"The two most rapidly growing markets for optical components are FTTx and ROADMs".

"NeoPhotonics has a strong and broad product offering for FTTx networks, and similarly with these acquisitions, NeoPhotonics can provide customers with the highest performance, most efficient ROADM solution for each of the leading system architectures".

"Several different ROADM architectures are currently being deployed in Next Gen-Networks, but they are all made up of the same basic 'building block' functions, such as optical switching, DWDM MUX/DMUX, power balancing and monitoring", stated Dr Ferris Lipscomb, VP of Marketing at NeoPhotonics.

"The only way to achieve the high performance required by advanced networks at an economically viable cost is through optical integration".

"LightConnect's MEMS switches and VOAs are the industry's solution of choice".

"Similarly, OpTun's very low power integrated Switch-VOA-Tap (SVT) module is a key part of these solutions".

"When combined with NeoPhotonics' extensive suite of passive PLC products, including our ultra low loss, very wide band DWDM MUX/DMUX, customers will have the benefits of leading edge performance for all ROADM architectures, including blockers, switched (2 degree) ROADMs and wavelength selective switches (WSSs)".

"MEMS is unquestionably the best technology for large dimensionality optical switching and power control, while PLC integration is the best approach for cost effective, high performance DWDM MUX/DMUX", said Sushil Shah, CEO of LightConnect.

"We are excited about the new products that result from this combination of best performing building blocks".

"Due to the fact that NeoPhotonics is a vertically integrated manufacturer of PLC products, we can intimately combine MEMS functions with PLC functions to achieve the most efficient optical subsystems".

"We are also excited about combining our existing product line with NeoPhotonics' broad complimentary catalogue".

"We believe that the combination of the companies is the best way to serve our customers, both for current and next generation products".

"PLC integration is the most cost effective way to produce 2-degree ROADM modules", commented Erez Avidan-Antonir, CEO of OpTun Corp.

"Because NeoPhotonics has fully integrated and scaled production capability for all aspects of PLC-based modules, we are able to ramp production to meet growing demand for our 2-degree ROADM products".

"OpTun's extremely low power PLC switch-VOA design enables a much higher level of single-chip integration, reducing the cost, power and size of NeoPhotonics' modules".

In conjunction with the acquisition of LightConnect and OpTun, NeoPhotonics has announced completion of an equity financing of more than $50 million.

New investors International Finance Corporation, Needham Capital Partners, Dont Capital, Shanghai Industrial Holdings and Mitsubishi Capital joined existing investors Oak Investment Partners, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, ATA Venture Partners, Masters Capital, Harris and Harris Group and others in the financing.

In a related move, NeoPhotonics has further strengthened its position in MEMS technology through the acquisition of 25 MEMS patents from MEMX Corp.

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