Jenoptik Breaks Ground on Dresden Fab: Week in Brief: 09/09/2022

II-VI announced its corporate name change. The company, which finalized its acquisition of Coherent Inc. this summer, is now called Coherent Corp. The company also debuted a brand identity, which includes a corporate logo. The pre-merger companies’ existing websites, social media platforms, and most product branding will continue for the near term as the transition to the new brand identity is executed over the coming months.

JENA, Germany — Construction launched on Jenoptik’s high-tech fab at Dresden Airport Park. Jenoptik is investing more than €70 million (~$69.77 million) in the new fab, which will feature 11,000 sq m of net floor space, including 2000 sq m for cleanroom production. Production is scheduled to start at the beginning of 2025. The fab will manufacture micro-optics and sensors, which are mainly used in semiconductor lithography systems.

Jenoptik is investing more than €70 million in a production facility for micro-optics and sensors. The facility will open in 2025. Courtesy of Jenoptik.

ULM, Germany — TRUMPF Photonic Components, a developer of high-speed VCSEL and photodiode solutions for data communication, and KDPOF, a Spanish provider of high-speed optical networking solutions, launched a strategic partnership of automotive datacom solutions. According to Joseph Pankert, vice president of product management at TRUMPF Photonic Components, 980-nm VCSELs can operate at much higher temperatures while maintaining excellent reliability — which is what industry is demanding. Additionally, the two companies are participants in the IEEE P802.3cz task force. The current draft approved in IEEE 802.3 working group ballot for automotive optical multigigabit data transmission provides optical specifications that make use of reliable light sources based on proven longer wavelength technology.

CAMBRIDGE, England — Wave Photonics is leading a £500,000 (~$574,968) Innovate UK project to develop packaging solutions for quantum photonic integrated circuits (QPICs) alongside partners Alter Technology TUV NORD UK, Senko Advanced Components, the University of Southampton, and the University of Bristol. The Quantum Photonic Integrated Circuit Packaging (QPICPAC) project will develop a template-driven approach to minimize custom development requirements and costs for quantum technology companies. The goal of the QPICPAC project is to develop design templates and components to minimize the amount of bespoke work needed, meaning that packaging will be simpler and more affordable for those seeking to exploit QPIC technologies. Quantum Dice, a startup developing QPIC-based quantum random number generators, will be a trial customer for the project.

PARIS — Photonics and quantum technologies company iXblue and Welinq, a French startup developing cold atom-based quantum memories, signed a strategic partnership agreement that enables Welinq to deliver a quantum memory product line directly at industry standards. It will be available on the market by 2024, the companies said. iXblue, which developed an industry-grade cold atom quantum system, will develop dedicated laser technology bricks for Welinq.

Bruno Desruelle, managing director of iXblue Quantum Sensors (left) and Tom Darras, CEO of Welinq, during the signature of the partnership at Welinq’s premises in Sorbonne Université, Paris. Courtesy of iXblue.

TOKYO — NTT Corp. reported its development of a digital coherent signal processing circuit and optical device that, according to the company, achieved the world’s largest capacity of 1.2 Tbit/s per wavelength for optical transmission. According to NTT, the technology also achieved the world’s highest optical signal modulation speed of 140 Giga baud, and enables double the previous world record optical transmission distance of 800 Gbit/s. As a result, the capacity of optical transmission systems will increase by 12×, and the power consumption per bit will be reduced to 10% of the widely used commercial system. The transceiver consists of a digital coherent signal processing circuit and a 140-Giga baud class optical device. By increasing the modulation speed from 100 Giga baud to 140 Giga baud, higher resistance to waveform distortion and optical amplification noise caused by transmission could be achieved, NTT said.

SEOUL, South Korea — Accurion GmbH, a German developer and manufacturer of imaging spectroscopic ellipsometers and active vibration isolations, was acquired by atomic force microscopy systems manufacturer Park Systems Corp. The acquisition, the financial terms of which were not announced, adds to Park’s portfolio of atomic force microscopy and white light interferometric microscopy. Accurion is a spinout from the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Armonica Technologies Inc., a biotechnology company developing a novel DNA sequencing system based on single-molecule spectroscopy, was awarded a follow-on Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institute of Health’s National Human Genome Research Institute for “Single-molecule DNA/RNA transport and Raman scattering readout in a coupled nanochannel/nanopore sequencing system.” The award of $2 million supports the company’s single-molecule long read sequencing technology that detects all nucleic acid molecules including any chemical or conformational modifications.

GRENOBLE, France — Scintil Photonics, a supplier of silicon photonic integrated circuits with monolithically integrated lasers and optical amplifiers, secured additional investment, completing its second round of funding. The company saw investment from Applied Ventures ITIC Innovation Fund, a fund jointly created by Applied Ventures and ITIC-Taiwan (Industrial Technology Investment Corp.). Robert Bosch Venture Capital led the original round in June 2022, with support from historic investors Innovacom, Supernova Invest, and Bpifrance through its Digital Venture fund. The new investment brings the company’s total funding to $19 million.

TOKYO — Nikon Corp. signed an investment agreement with metal additive manufacturing company SLM Solutions Group (SLM). In conjunction, Nikon AM, a direct subsidiary of Nikon, launched a voluntary public takeover offer for the acquisition of all outstanding shares of SLM on a fully diluted basis. SLM shareholders will be offered a cash consideration of €20 per share (~$20). The offer price represents a premium of 83.7% to the XETRA volume-weighted average share price of SLM in the last three months prior to (and including) Sept. 1. Nikon AM launched a separate public offer for the acquisition of certain convertible bonds issued by SLM. The total transaction is €622 million ($622 million).

MILL VALLEY, Calif. — Ambient Photonics completed the initial financing for its U.S. solar manufacturing facility. Silicon Valley Bank and Trinity Capital added $17.5 million in debt financing to the company’s previously announced equity investments of $31 million, raising Ambient’s combined equity and debt funding to $48.5 million.

ITHACA, N.Y. — Optical coating group Evaporated Metal Films moved to the brand name EMF. The company offers a portfolio of precision custom and high-volume coatings for various industries. Coatings can be applied to glass, metals, ceramics, plastics, and infrared optical materials.

CORNING, N.Y. — Corning Inc. opened an optical fiber manufacturing facility in Mszczonów, Poland, to meet growing demand for high-speed connectivity. The facility, one of the largest optical fiber plants in the European Union, the company said, is Corning’s latest in a series of global investments in fiber and cable manufacturing, totaling more than $500 million since 2020. The facility adds approximately 250 employees to the company’s existing workforce of more than 3000 in Poland.

AUSTIN, Texas — Albedo, a company developing low-flying satellites that will deliver ultrahigh resolution images, completed a series A financing round co-led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Shield Capital, bringing the total funding to $58 million since its inception. Participation in the round included new investors Republic Capital, Giant Step Capital, and C16 Ventures, along with existing investors Initialized Capital, Joe Montana’s Liquid 2, Kevin Mahaffey, and other undisclosed participants.

HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. — Chembio Diagnostics, a point-of-care diagnostics company focused on infectious diseases, was awarded a $3.2 million contract from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the development of a clinical validation of a rapid point-of-care diagnostic test for syphilis. Chembio will work to develop a syphilis test and confirm assay based on its Dual Path Platform (DPP) technology, which uses an optical analyzer instrument, and proprietary DPP Micro Reader II. The test should require only 10 µL of fingerstick blood, serum, or plasma and produce results in under 20 minutes, the company said.