II-VI Incorporated announced the expansion of its 980 nm pump laser assembly lines with a new facility in Calamba, Philippines and additional manufacturing capacity in Shenzhen, China. The continued growth in wired and wireless internet traffic is driving a rapid expansion of the optical communications infrastructure worldwide. Terrestrial and submarine fiber-optic links require optical amplifiers to boost the optical signal at periodic intervals along each transmission line.

II-VI s 980 nm pump lasers are the engines of optical amplifiers that are used to boost the power of the transmitted optical signal, and with this additional capacity, II-VI can respond to the rising demand for its 980 nm pump laser modules. The new II-VI manufacturing facility in Calamba, Philippines, houses automated assembly lines and expands the laser sub-assembly manufacturing capacity already available in Zurich, Switzerland. Laser sub-assemblies are shipped to II-VI operations in Shenzhen, China to complete the pump laser module assembly.

The manufacturing capacity increase in the Philippines and in China will begin contributing to II-VI 980 nmump laser production output this quarter and will be fully operational next quarter.