Gemfire finalizes acquisition of NovaCrystals' APD technology
April 9, 2004 Fremont, CA -- Gemfire Corp. today announced the completion of its acquisition of NovaCrystals Inc., located in San Jose, CA. The advanced Avalanche Photo Diode (APD) technology from NovaCrystals, which can be manufactured using planar silicon processes, will complement Gemfire's passive planar light circuits (PLC) operations, recently acquired from Avanex, and existing polymer PLC waveguide products.
The acquisition further enhances Gemfire's ability to provide integrated planar WDM solutions to the optical networking systems market, in addition to several immediate space and defense related opportunities, say company representatives. The NovaCrystals wafer bonding technology combines the speed and low noise advantages of silicon with the high detection sensitivity of InGaAs to achieve "best-in-class" PIN and APD detectors at telecom wavelengths. The APD technology can also be designed to operate in Geiger Mode, with what the company contends is state-of-the-art noise and sensitivity performance for single photon counting applications.
Richard Tompane, president and CEO of Gemfire, explains how the acquisition adds a unique capability to Gemfire's suite of planar integrated optics offerings. "This technology not only allows cost effective integration of detectors into PLCs for increased functionality, but it also enables Gemfire to serve customers addressing several emerging market opportunities, such as quantum key cryptography," he says.
