Northlight outsources packaging to Thailand
Swedish optical components manufacturer Northlight Optronics has signed a three-year volume manufacturing agreement with Fabrinet, a manufacturing services company based in Thailand.
Northlight, which produces InP-based laser transmitters, receivers and optical amplifiers, including 10 Gb/s EML and DFB lasers, for applications such as long-haul, metro and high-speed Ethernet. The company formed from the sale of Ericsson s optoelectronics company in January 2003, and Ericsson now has a minor stake in the Northlight.
Northlight will continue to undertake epitaxial growth of components, with the module packaging and manufacture of optical sub-assemblies outsourced to Fabrinet. The process transfer is already underway, with Fabrinet expecting to ship products during the current quarter.
"The demand for active components is picking up and we are getting very encouraging feedback from our customers regarding our new TOSA/ROSA platform," said Dirk Sinerius, Northlight s CEO.
Mark Schwartz, Fabrinet s CFO, added: "Fabrinet s skilled engineers, low cost labor force, and broad base of optical manufacturing technologies are attractive to companies seeking an outsourced manufacturing partner. Since formally opening our European office last year, we have seen a substantial growth in our European business."