Acquisition to Boost Optical Component Integration

NeoPhotonics Corp. of San Jose, Calif., a developer of nanomaterials-based photonics technologies, has purchased Lightwave Microsystems Corp., combining that company's passive integration technology with its own active-waveguide platform. Lightwave, also of San Jose, specializes in integrated circuits for optical communications systems. The technological integration may result in smaller and less costly optical subsystems, and new products such as colorless mux/demux and a reconfigurable optical add/drop module to improve performance and reduce costs in metro systems. NeoPhotonics, in addition to its existing products, will offer low-channel-count and smaller systems for metro and access networks.