OMM Inc., manufacturer of MEMS-based optical switching products, today announced that it has been awarded four patents by the United States Patent Office for innovations in MEMS photonic switching.
The patents (US# 6445841, US #6445840, US #6449406, US #6453083), cover micro-machined optical switching devices, matrix switches, and collimator designs for two-dimensional (2-D) MEMS devices.
"The technology reflected in these key patents are at the heart of our optical switching products today and for the future," contends John Gritters, vice president of engineering for OMM. "We are very pleased to have been awarded these patents which will further enrich OMM's broad intellectual property portfolio."
"The addition of these patents to OMM's product portfolio will further strengthen their position as a leading innovator in all-optical switching technology," adds Marlene Bourne, senior analyst at In-Stat/MDR.
OMM's commercially available products include optical add-drop switch arrays and 4x4, 8x8, 2x16, 16x16 and 32x32 all-optical switching modules. OMM is also developing a new generation of wavelength management and switching products based on MEMS and planar lightwave circuits (PLCs).
For more information about OMM (San Diego, CA), visit the company's Web site at www.omminc.com.