Quantifi Photonics has purchased fellow test equipment and technology developer SmarTest Electronics. The two companies had collaborated on test equipment designs prior to the acquisition, the terms of which were not disclosed. The deal includes research and development and manufacturing facilities in Buriram, Thailand.
Quantifi says the additional production capability will lead to expanded production of components used in the company’s test instruments. Prior to the sale, SmarTest had been an exclusive supplier of electrical test equipment to Quantifi Photonics starting in 2020. For example, SmartTest had supplied programmable pattern generators (PPGs) and the PAM4-enabled 29-Gbaud BERT Quantifi Photonics unveiled at last month’s OFC 2022 (see, for example, “SmarTest debuts with 14.5-Gbps programmable pattern generators and bit error rate testers” and "Coherent Solutions, SmarTest Electronics collaborate on 400G optical transceiver test"; Coherent Solutions rebranded as Quantifi Photonics in Fall 2020). The company expects to increase investment advanced electrical test equipment as a result of the deal, starting with a 56-GBaud PAM4 BERT for 800G it expects to release later this year.
SmarTest Electronics founders Federico Lipparini and James Zhang will stay on within a newly formed subsidiary, Quantifi Photonics Thailand.
“We are extremely happy to bring Federico’s and James’s incredible talent and expertise into the Quantifi Photonics group,” commented Quantifi Photonics CEO Dr. Andy Stevens. “As optical and electrical technologies converge, it’s getting harder for manufacturers to perform a broad range of electrical and optical tests efficiently and at scale. With this added capability, we’re on-track to become the leading supplier of mixed-signal test solutions with Federico and James already working on a number of innovative products.”
“We’re excited to join forces with Quantifi Photonics and become the leader in the test and measurement of optical transceivers and photonic devices,” added Lipparini. “The skills and expertise of our companies are highly complementary and we now have a team with incredible capabilities and a value proposition unmatched in our market. We look forward to working together and executing on our long-term strategy.”
[Editor's Note: This article has been updated from the original with a correction on the date of Quantifi Photonics' rebranding.]
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