Press Releases

NeoPhotonics Completes Phase I of Plan to Increase Production of Narrow Linewidth Tunable Lasers (NLW-TL)

NLW-TL Critical to High Speed 40 and 100 Gbps Coherent Systems Used for Metro and Long-Haul Optical Networks

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 7, 2012-- NeoPhotonics Corporation (NYSE: NPTN), a leading designer and manufacturer of photonic integrated circuit, or PIC, based modules and subsystems for bandwidth-intensive, high speed communications networks, today announced that the company has completed the first phase in its plan to significantly increase production capacity of narrow linewidth tunable lasers (NLW-TL) in support of rapidly growing demand. The Company has doubled NLW-TL output since initiating the production plan in the fourth calendar quarter of 2011. Demand for these products has outstripped industry capacity due to the rapid uptake of coherent optical technology coupled with industry supply constraints attributable to the flooding in Thailand in 2011.

“With the flooding in Thailand, the supply of Narrow Linewidth Tunable Lasers has become a limiting factor in the shipment of 40 and 100 Gbps coherent optical transport systems,” said Tim Jenks, Chairman and CEO of NeoPhotonics. “Accordingly, we have stepped up our production to help satisfy this critical need. Since we first announced our expansion plans, we have added seven additional customers and are engaged with several more. Our first phase capacity expansion is now full and we are again expanding to help meet industry requirements. We expect the growth in demand for NLW-TLs to continue for the next several years in concert with the rapid adoption of coherent transport technology.”

NeoPhotonics NLW-TLs are compact, widely-tunable and narrow linewidth assemblies with up to 35mW launch power in the C band and 20mW in the L band. Narrow linewidths are designed to facilitate digital signal processing, which is used in coherent optical transmission to analyze the incoming signal when it is mixed with a local oscillator laser in a coherent receiver. Coherent transmission is capable of increasing the bandwidth of an optical channel from 10 Gbps to 100Gbps, and is designed to enable carriers to add “backbone” network capacity economically and accommodate the surge of wireline and wireless broadband services hitting the network. The narrow linewidth and frequency stability of the NeoPhotonics NLW-TL are enabled by a phase-shifted DFB laser chip and proprietary packaging technology, and the laser assembly includes an integrated wavelength locker as well as electrical and firmware interfaces.

About NeoPhotonics

NeoPhotonics is a leading designer and manufacturer of photonic integrated circuit, or PIC, based modules and subsystems for bandwidth-intensive, high-speed communications networks. The company’s products enable cost-effective, high-speed data transmission and efficient allocation of bandwidth over communications networks. NeoPhotonics maintains headquarters in San Jose, California and ISO 9001:2000 certified engineering and manufacturing facilities in Silicon Valley and Shenzhen, China. NeoPhotonics has been included in the Russell 3000^® Index since its reconstitution in June 2011. For additional information, visit www.neophotonics.com.

© 2012 NeoPhotonics Corporation. All rights reserved. NeoPhotonics and the red dot logo are trademarks of NeoPhotonics Corporation.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future events or results. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions and current expectations. The company’s actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions. The risks and uncertainties that could cause the company’s results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements include but are not limited to: acceptance by customers of narrow linewidth tunable laser products and coherent technology systems or the timing of such acceptance may not be as the company expects; the timing of or costs related to the expansion of capacity for production and output levels of narrow linewidth tunable lasers may not be as the company expects; the demand for narrow linewidth tunable laser products and coherent technology systems may be volatile or lower than the company expects and its production capacity may be underutilized; the impact of flooding in Thailand may not be as the company expects; demand for narrow linewidth tunable laser products could decrease from the company’s expectations due to general conditions in the telecommunications equipment industry, the capacity of third parties providing similar products or the world economy generally, and other risks and uncertainties described more fully in the company’s documents filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Source: NeoPhotonics Corporation

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