DuPont Photonics Selects the Palomar FAST 60 Optical Alignment System - News Item

Palomar Technologies, a leading manufacturer of automated, high-precision assembly systems, today announced that DuPont Photonics Technologies, LLC has selected Palomar's FAST 60™ Optical Alignment System to automate the testing of manufactured planar integrated photonic devices for use in optical networks for the telecommunications industry.

DuPont Photonics Technologies, LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of DuPont located in the Boston suburb of Wilmington, Mass. DuPont Photonics combines advanced materials and design expertise using a library of proven optical building blocks with fabrication know-how to create integrated photonic devices based on planar lightwave circuitry.

“DuPont Photonics is rapidly advancing our product developments to manufacture and we are pleased to work with Palomar Technologies to bring rapid and automatic test capability to our business,” said Drew Weber, general manager of DuPont Photonics. “Automatic testing is a key link in our manufacturing process to ensure that our products meet the high quality requirements of our customers, providing them components that reduce the cost, size, power consumption and complexity of system integration.”

Palomar's FAST 60 uses nano-positioning technology to fully automate the difficult task of aligning and attaching double-ended planar waveguides. Incorporating Palomar's FAST 6 fiber alignment motion systems, the FAST 60 offers an unprecedented level of performance, reliability and throughput. Optical Fiber Conference 2002 attendees voted the FAST 60 as the best-in-class system for automating the alignment, test, and attach process for double-ended planar waveguide devices.

“Our focus has been in setting the standard for automatic assembly and test of microelectronic and optical devices. The FAST 60, built upon a modular concept, allows our customers to customize the system to their specific needs while maintaining a clear technological performance and cost advantage,” said Kevin Kron, product manager of Palomar Technologies.

Posted 17^th December 2003