Finisar, u²t corner Fraunhofer HHI 100G coherent modulator technology

Finisar Corp. (NASDAQ: FNSR) and u²t Photonics AG say they have reached agreement with Fraunhofer Heinrich-Hertz-Institute (HHI) that will grant the optical component suppliers exclusive access to the German R&D center’s Indium Phosphide (InP) based Mach-Zehnder modulator (MZM) technology. The agreement also covers joint development. The centerpiece of the deal is HHI’s polarization multiplexed I-Q modulators for 100G coherent applications.

Meanwhile, u²t reveals is has acquired all of the assets of COGO Optronics GmbH, the former German operating subsidiary of COGO Optronics Inc. COGO Optronics had previously sold its Canadian operations to Teraxion this past March (see “Teraxion acquires modulator expertise from COGO Optronics”).

"With the completed acquisition of COGO Optronics GmbH and the memorandum of understanding with Finisar and HHI, u²t has taken a significant step to broaden its portfolio and further strengthen its long-standing collaboration with HHI on high performance optoelectronic components for the optical communications industry," said Andreas Umbach, CEO of u²t Photonics AG.

"We are excited about Finisar and u²t's exclusive access to HHI's current InP MZM technology, as well as the future InP MZM technology that will be developed jointly by HHI, Finisar, and u²t," said Prof. Dr. Martin Schell, head of the Photonics Components Department at HHI. "We believe u²t's local presence and leading technical capabilities and Finisar's global reach and volume manufacturing strength represent the ideal relationship for the continued development, commercialization, and broad market adoption of HHI's InP MZM technology."

"Since 2009, Finisar has worked with COGO and HHI to commercialize HHI's InP MZM technology in a number of leading 40G and 100G transceiver products. Building on that foundation, we believe this new relationship with u²t and our joint exclusive access to HHI MZM technology will enable the rapid development of new InP MZMs for next-generation 100G coherent long-haul linecards and pluggable 100G coherent metro transceivers," commented John Clark, Finisar's executive vice president for technology and global R&D. "The u²t team has a solid track record of enabling successive generations of new high speed fiber optic equipment with unique receive-side components based on HHI technology. We're looking forward to a fruitful relationship with u²t to deliver unique transmit-side solutions for data rates of 100G and above."

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