6 March 2012

Fabrinet to manufacture OneChip’s PIC-based PON transceivers

Privately held firm OneChip Photonics Inc of Ottawa, Canada, which develops and manufactures optical transceivers based on monolithic photonic integrated circuits (PICs) fabricated in indium phosphide (InP) for access networks and other mass-market broadband applications, has named Dan Meerovich its VP of global manufacturing operations.

Picture: Dan Meerovich.

The firm has also reached an agreement with Thailand-based contract manufacturer Fabrinet Ltd to make its PIC-based passive optical network (PON) transceivers, which are targeted at helping system providers and carriers deploy Fiber-to-the-x (FTTx) more cost-effectively and at meeting consumer and business demand for high-bandwidth voice, data and video services.

Meerovich is responsible for building OneChip’s volume manufacturing capabilities and ensuring cost-effective and efficient operations across its supply chain. “Dan has a wealth of optical communications industry experience and a successful track record of growing and streamlining operations, while exceeding sales and profit targets,” says CEO Jim Hjartarson. “He will play a key role in the introduction and volume manufacture of our unique optical transceiver product line,” he adds.

Before joining OneChip, Meerovich was VP of operations at wavelength-selective switch (WSS) maker Xtellus Inc of Denville, NJ, USA (acquired by Oclaro Inc in 2009). One year after the acquisition, he was instrumental in increasing revenue by 50% while increasing labor efficiency by 70%. He also expanded R&D and manufacturing capabilities in Korea and Thailand.

Previously, Meerovich was VP of manufacturing operations at Multiplex Inc, where he established and managed a manufacturing subsidiary in China. He also held senior-level operations positions at Asip Inc/Apogee Photonics Inc, JDS Uniphase and Tyco/Laser Diode Inc.

According to Meerovich, OneChip has selected Fabrinet as its contract manufacturer because of Fabrinet’s strong global footprint and its ability to get the manufacturing line up and running quickly. “Fabrinet has extensive experience manufacturing optical components and systems and will help OneChip meet the high demand for our integrated optical transceivers,” he says.

As a vertically integrated manufacturer with more than 1 million square feet of space at its facilities in Thailand, China and the USA, Fabrinet will provide manufacturing services at its Pinehurst campus in Thailand including optical component attachment for OneChip’s bi-directional optical sub assemblies (BOSAs) and final integration and testing of its fully packaged optical transceivers. “We look forward to helping OneChip bring its breakthrough solutions to market globally,” says Fabrinet’s senior director of business development Greg Reny.

Tags: Fabrinet OneChip PIC PON transceivers

Visit: www.onechipphotonics.com

Visit: www.fabrinet.com