Industry
Optical technology is very strong in the Southeast. A high technology corridor has emerged from the Research Triangle Park in eastern North Carolina to Atlanta, with Charlotte strategically placed to be the center for photonic chip fabrication and manufacturing. This is the unique niche we have promoted from the outset, and the faculty hired and tools purchased have largely been in line with this. Major services delivered can be summarized as i) highly skilled graduates, ii) a state-of-the-art facility to support photonics R&D in the region, iii) leading edge research and expertise in photonics integration, iv) a corporate affiliates program proactively seeking collaborations with regional entities and v) regular meetings, seminars, trade shows to help promote photonics and bring together the photonics community.

Optics, or "photonics", is widely recognized as a major enabling technology for a host of high-technology industries. Integration and low cost manufacturing of photonic components and devices plays a key role in enabling next generation products for entertainment, communications, computing, transportation, homeland security and defense. Government initiatives in fiber to the home, photonics in transportation and grid computing are all areas in which the Center can have an impact. The National Research Council has reported that optics is rapidly becoming an important focus for new business in the global economy, with both large and small businesses emerging as significant players. A ten-fold growth in the optical communications industry is predicted over the next five years, as major investment is underway in fiber to the "X" (FTTX) technologies and new consumer services emerge that demand considerable bandwidth capacity. In addition, the concerns over homeland security have greatly increased the need for sensor technologies of many kinds in which optics also plays a major role. These are two specific areas in which the Center has active research programs, and which are important to the region. NC is still home to a large number of fiber and cable manufacturers, and the state is becoming increasingly tuned in to defense and medical related R&D, especially in the chem-bio sensing and imaging arenas.

The Center is part of the Carolinas MicroOptics Triangle (a nationally recognized photonics cluster) and the Carolinas Photonics Consortium, both of which are bringing a focus to the strengths and capabilities of the photonics community throughout the Carolinas. The Optics Center, along with its collaborators in CMOT, have organized a number of trade show exhibits to publicize the photonics capabilities of the region.

Currently there are ~150 optoelectronics companies in the Carolinas (see map). The Center assists with building intellectual capital in the region and expanding the optics economic base to attract more companies to locate here. This is a key element of the institutional mission. There is regular interaction with economic development groups in the region and through the CRI with this in mind. Increased visibility provided by the Center, especially with respect to its faculty and user facilities, supports and promotes the immediate region.

Industry Collaboration

We wish to thank those companies whose contributions have greatly enhanced our laboratory infrastructure:

A-Metrics LLC
Agilent Technologies
AFL Telecommunications
Corning
Digital Optics Corporation
Dot Metrics Technologies
EXFO
General Dynamics
ILX Lightwave
Luna Technologies
Melles Griot
Northrop Grumman
Solectron
Spiricon
Tektronix
Tetramer Technologies

As well as our Symposium Exhibitors:
Agilent Technologies
Alcatel
Carolinas MicroOptics Triangle
Alcoa-Fujikura
Charlotte Chamber of Commerce
Coherent, Inc.
Continuum Lasers
Corning Cable Systems
Digital Optics Corporation
Dot Metrics Technologies
Eastern OptX
EXFO
Leybold Optics USA
Furukawa America, Inc.
Mycrona
Luna Technologies
Nye Optical
Optiwave Corporation
Newport Corporation
Quantronix
Northrop Grumman Synoptics
Spectra-Physics
Palomar Technologies
Spiricon
Spectra Physics
Wordingham Technologies
Spiricon
Yokogawa Corporation
Tektronix
TeraComm
US Conec
Waveguide Solutions