Luxtera Leads Formation of OIDA’s New Silicon Photonics Community of Interest

Carlsbad, CA, September 10, 2007- Luxtera Inc., the world leader in Silicon Photonics, today announced that it is leading the formation of the Silicon Photonics Alliance, the first formal Community of Interest within the Optoelectronics Industry Development Association (OIDA).  

Dedicated to raising the profile of Silicon Photonics, members of this newly formed Community of Interest (COI) will participate in forums and work to identify key applications areas. The group will also collaborate to promote silicon photonics within the optical standards bodies to assure interoperability among vendors. Luxtera’s Tom Palkert has been selected to head the group. Other companies that already joined the Silicon Photonics Alliance include Corning, Kotura, Molex, and US Conec.  

“The establishment of the Silicon Photonics Alliance is a notable development for the optics industry,” said Ashok Krishnamoorthy, distinguished engineer and director for SUN Microsystems.  “This OIDA Community of Interest brings together multiple suppliers to create an ecosystem for the industry.  I expect that their efforts will accelerate customer adoption of this technology.”

The formal launch of the Silicon Photonics Alliance will occur September 11-12 in conjunction with OIDA’s ‘Perspectives on the Optoelectronics Industry: Advances, Challenges and Growth Opportunities’ Forum in San Jose, California.

“We are proud to be leading OIDA’s Silicon Photonics Alliance COI,” said Palkert. “Our primary objectives will be to educate the industry about the benefits that silicon photonics brings versus traditional optical solutions. We will work together to promote silicon photonics in the standards bodies, and accelerate commercial products based on this exciting new technology.”

“We have grown to unprecedented levels with an extremely diverse membership, and we are excited to be working with Luxtera and the other members to introduce this Community of Interest,” said David Huff, Vice President of Business Development and Marketing of OIDA.  “Luxtera’s achievements in silicon photonics are outstanding and an excellent example of the types of high-quality companies involved with OIDA. We anticipate that this new Alliance will help further promote and increase the market adoption of silicon photonics technology.”

Luxtera brings a wide range of experience to the Silicon Photonics Alliance. It recently announced the world’s first CMOS Photonics product, a 40 Gigabit Optical Active cable, Blazar, as well as other breakthroughs in optical interconnects that overcome the cost barriers faced by existing optical transceiver technologies.

Companies that are interested in joining the alliance should contact David Iams at OIDA ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , 202-785-4426) or refer to the SPA web page at www.oida.org/spa. 

Press Contact:
Catriona Harris
PR@vantage for Luxtera
407-767-0452 x2
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About OIDA:
The Optoelectronics Industry Development Association (OIDA) is a Washington DC-based, not-for-profit association that serves as the nexus for vision, transformation, and growth of the optoelectronics industry. OIDA advances the competitiveness of its members by focusing on the business of technology, not just technology itself. OIDA members include the leading providers of optoelectronic components and systems enabled by optoelectronics, as well as universities and research institutions. OIDA provides roadmaps, reports, and market data for the optoelectronics industry, serves as the voice of industry to government and academia, acts as liaison with other optoelectronic industry associations worldwide, and provides a network for the exchange of ideas and information within the optoelectronics community. OIDA can found on the associations website: www.oida.org.

About Luxtera:
Luxtera, Inc. is a fabless semiconductor company and the world leader in silicon photonics. Luxtera fulfills the world’s insatiable demand for bandwidth by uniting the high performance of fiber-optic communications with the low-cost and high-volume manufacturing advantages of mainstream silicon CMOS fabrication. The company was founded in 2001 by a team of industry-renowned researchers and technology managers drawn from the communication and semiconductors industries. Luxtera is funded by leading venture capitalists: Sevin Rosen Funds, August Capital and New Enterprise Associates. Luxtera just announced its first commercial product based on its CMOS Photonics technology, Blazar, and will begin shipping later this year. Luxtera is headquartered in Carlsbad, CA.

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