SAN JOSE, Calif., Sept. 8 -- Olympus Optical Co. Ltd., of Tokyo, announced today it has formed a new MEMS Technology Division that will unify its previous MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) activities, including R&D and MEMS foundry services. The company said the division will focus on research and development, that MEMS technology and foundry capabilities will be improved and expanded and that MEMS assembly facilities will be increased by 30 percent. Haruo Ogawa, a general manager for Olympus in Tokyo, will head the MEMS Technology Division. In the US, the MEMS Technology Division and Olympus foundry services will be represented by the Olympus Partnership Development Group, San Jose, Calif., under the leadership of Larry Wang, vice president Olympus Partnership Development Group. Olympus said the present MEMS foundry will have the capability to handle both existing and developing MEMS technologies on both 4- and 6-inch wafers, with a future capability for 8-inch wafers. The MEMS center will produce and develop its own products as well as provide foundry, R&D and assembly services to other companies. In conjunction with the Partnership Development Group, companies can form a partnership with Olympus for new product development or production of MEMS or other optical technologies. Olympus designs, performs rapid prototyping of, manufactures and packages MEMS for optical networking, biotechnology, medical and industrial applications. It also provides MEMS chips for variable optical attenuators, optical MEMS switch chips for small port accounts such as 1x2, and large port optical switches for optical cross connects. For more information, visit: www.olympuspartnership.com