SAN JOSE, Calif., June 7 -- Sanmina-SCI Corp., an electronics contract manufacturing services (EMS) company, and Kailight Photonics, a developer of all-optical signal regeneration and wavelength conversion technology, have announced an agreement to jointly design, manufacture and market Kailight's tunable all-optical signal regeneration (TASR) product line. In support of this joint effort, the Israel-US Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation has approved a $1 million investment. BIRD promotes strategic partnerships between Israeli and American companies in various technological fields. The foundation works in cooperation with the Office of the Chief Scientist of the Israeli Ministry of Industry & Trade and the American National Institute of Standards and Technology. "We have proved that our TASR technology exceeds the stringent performance criteria for today's gigabit networks," said Sagie Tsadka, CEO of Kailight. "As we now focus on moving our advanced optical technology from the laboratory into the global market, our Sanmina-SCI partnership will ensure that the TASR product line will meet the highest levels of quality and reliability for both current and next-generation product designs." According to David Dutkowsky, executive vice president of Sanmina-SCI's Communications Division, growth of the optical network market will continue to be driven by innovative, leading-edge technologies such as those embodied in the TASR product line. "The design is being done in a collaborative manner, leveraging the significant development and industrialization strengths of both companies. Enabled by Sanmina-SCI's global manufacturing expertise, we look forward to jointly offering TASR modules that provide a compelling price/performance point with unmatched flexibility to communications OEMs concerned about next-generation optical network migration." For more information, visit: www.kailight.com