Navy looks to Enablence Technologies to fabricate photonic integrated circuits for high-speed optical communications

SAN DIEGO, 22 April 2012.Optical communications experts at the U.S. Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) Systems Center Pacific in San Diego are looking to optical network specialists at Enablence USA Components in Fremont, Calif., to fabricate photonic integrated circuits for advanced high-speed naval optical communications. Enablence USA Components is part of Enablence Technologies Inc. (TSX VENTURE:ENA) headquartered in Toronto.

SPAWAR officials on Thursday announced a plan to award a sole-source contract to Enablence to fabricate photonic integrated circuits for optical-to-electrical-to-optical conversion in optical networks. The amount of the contract has yet to be negotiated.

Enablence is a specialized developer for access network solutions, such as high-capacity FTTx and multiservice access systems for high-bandwidth networks. The company fabricates optical chip technologies for carrier-grade architectures and vertically integrated subsystems. The company operates foundries dedicated to polymer, silica-on-silicon, and III-V materials (InP/GaAs platforms) for photonic wafer processing.

Enablence specializes in active component design, manufacturing, and fabrication, of products ranging from miniature transceivers to large-scale optical circuits. The waveguide process at Enablence can be customized for performance and yield, from the wafer level to individual bare die handling and testing.

The Enablence integrated Planar Lightwave Circuit (PLC) optical chips, components, and subsystems are for next-generation high-capacity communications systems for access, metro, and long haul networks. The company's custom and off-the-shelf integrated modules and subsystems help provide communications functionality in small sizes at speeds as fast as 100 gigabits per second.

The company provides technologies that can add as many as 88 high-speed communications channels to one optical fiber and manage speeds to 100 gigabits per second on each channel.

SPAWAR delivers high-end Navy information technologies to the fleet and other U.S. Department of Defense warfighters. As the Navy’s Information Dominance Systems Command, SPAWAR develops and deploys advanced communications and information capabilities. SPAWAR-developed products and services transform ships, aircraft, and vehicles from individual platforms into integrated battle forces, with advanced information and communications capabilities among naval forces, Marines, joint forces, federal agencies, and international allies.

SPAWAR is the Navy’s technical lead for C4ISR, and provides the hardware and software to connect warfighters at sea, on land, and in the air -- from the initial research and development, to acquisition and deployment, to operations and logistics support.

For more information contact Enablence Technologies online at www.enablence.com, or SPAWAR at www.spawar.navy.mil.

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