Phononic achieves customer qualification with Fabrinet to manufacture thermoelectrics

Phononic, which supplies solid-state cooling and heating technology for a variety of applications, including optical modules, says it has achieved full customer qualification of manufacturing operations at Fabrinet, (NYSE: FN). The Thailand-based contract manufacturer will supply production capacity for Phononic’s products, including its thermoelectric coolers targeted at optical transceivers (see “Phononic non-hermetic compatible thermoelectric cooler targets telecom, datacom laser packages”).
The company announced its intention to partner with Fabrinet last December (see "Phononic chooses Fabrinet for thermoelectric cooler production"). Phononic says the customer qualification process took a bit longer than a year, despite COVID-19 related travel restrictions. The company said its highly automated and easily transferable chip manufacturing process, paired with Fabrinet’s manufacturing capabilities, eased the process and now will enable Phononic to meet growing customer requirements. In particular, the presence at Fabrinet should benefit optical communications components companies based in Asia Pacific who seek access to Phononic’s thermoelectric devices for use with optical components for data centers, high-speed coherent applications, as well as 5G mobile and FTTx access networks.
“The world is demanding the sustainable cooling solutions that we provide,” said Kevin Granucci, chief revenue officer of Phononic. “Fabrinet gives us that critical, predictable global access to state-of-the art manufacturing while stateside we can continue to focus on our innovation pipeline. Early on in 2020, we forecast strong and robust global demand for our solid-state solutions. By aligning just a year later with one of the most respected manufacturing partners in the world, the message is clear: we’re open and ready for business.”
“Fabrinet excels in the production of high complexity semiconductor products,” added Edward Archer, executive vice president, sales and marketing of Fabrinet. “Our advanced optical and electronic packaging and precision manufacturing capabilities were a natural fit for Phononic’s exacting specifications, and we are proud of our ability to operate at speed under such extraordinary conditions in which most of the work was handled virtually across continents.”
Phononic says its R&D, product development, and production at the company’s headquarters and manufacturing facility in Durham, NC, will continue.
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