21 November 2013

Infinera’s co-founder & president awarded by Institution of Engineering and Technology

Infinera Corp of Sunnyvale, CA, USA, a vertically integrated manufacturer of digital optical network systems incorporating its own indium phosphide-based photonic integrated circuits (PICs), says that co-founder, president & board member Dr David Welch has received the JJ Thomson Medal for Electronics from the Institution of Engineering and Technology for his role as a “pioneer in the field of optical devices and optical networks”.

Welch’s technical contributions and leadership first made it possible to commercially deploy reliable high-power semiconductor lasers including 980nm laser pumps, which are crucial for low-noise optical amplifiers in dense-wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) systems. Welch later achieved the first commercial optoelectronics integrated circuit, several years ahead of any competing research or developments in the laboratory, Infinera says. PICs are now essential for addressing the bandwidth and energy challenges faced by global telecoms networks.

“What I am most proud of is how these innovations have now been incorporated in highly successful commercial systems by the team at Infinera and are making a difference in how networks are built,” comments Welch.

“The Institution of Engineering and Technology Achievement Awards recognise individuals who have made a truly outstanding contribution to engineering,” says IET’s CEO Nigel Fine.

Tags: Infinera InP PIC

Visit: www.infinera.com

Visit: www.theiet.org