BALTIMORE, July 11 -- Bandwidth9 has activated a fourth epitaxial growth reactor used to manufacture its tunable lasers. With four reactors the company's material-growth capacity can produce 100,000 gross die per month. Along with the increased capacity, the company has also experienced favorable yield advancements, as it continues to sample prototypes of its first product, MetroFlex, a tunable OC-48 transmitter subsystem.
    "In addition to perfecting our tunable-laser technology, Bandwidth9's other key goal is to build a world-class, high-volume manufacturing capacity to meet the market's needs," said Hatch Graham, chairman and CEO of Bandwidth9. "Our vertically integrated manufacturing capabilities allow us to make and assemble complete optical subsystems in-house, dramatically reducing the cost of our subsystems and shortening our customers' time to market."
    Bandwidth9 uses growth reactors to process 2-inch wafers with its patented molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) process, which produces monolithically grown, tunable, vertical cavity surface emitting lasers.