OFC 2001 -- Learn as much as you can about photonics -- outsourcing opportunities are waiting.

Attending OFC 2001 was similar to entering Disneyland on the Fourth of July. Before my bosses told me to go the show, I didn't even know that OFC stands for Optic Fiber Communications. I let my ignorance of the industry show, and exhibitors were more than happy to enlighten me on the technical details of broader bandwidths, which can multiply today's vast data transmissions by factors of thousands.

A Packed House; Excited Attendees

In the last weeks before the show, the 800 exhibitors that organizers expected soared to almost a thousand, and the closest hotel I could book was a $30 cab ride away. The show was big, but what really impressed me was that 7,000 attended OFC 1999, 15,000 attended in 2000 and, this year, over 38,000 people swarmed the recently enlarged Anaheim Convention Center-many after spending three hours in line to get badges without complaining.

A very upbeat crowd came to see the latest in optical switches; fibers; splicers; wave division multiplex (WDM) systems; dense wavelength division multiplex (DWDM) systems; micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS); micro-optical-electromechanical systems (MOEMs); circuits; routers; and all sorts of components that go into transmission systems and subsystems that are rapidly converting Internet to optical Internet and bringing even greater masses of information to every household and business throughout the world. Visitors attended a procession of commercial technology programs, tutorials and technical sessions. Steady streams of new product introductions, simultaneously taking place in three lecture rooms of the convention center, were well attended. Most visitors came to see and buy the latest in hardware in booths that rivaled the glitter and size of those of the old NEPCON shows.

Photonics Versus the PCB Industry

Most of the exhibitors were staffed with physicists and most were recruiting more at the show, which reveals much about what sets photonics apart from the electronics industry. Photonics is a complex science being developed for commercial use, while the fabrication and assembly of printed circuit boards (PCBs) is a mature technology. For now, the two are blended into opto-electro-opto systems, or O-E-O circuits, where signals from photons are transmitted to electrons and back to photons. One ambition among many is to refine O-E-O circuits to pure O-O transmissions-and not waste a valuable microsecond in which millions of bytes of data can be sent around the world at the speed of light.

When O-O technology comes to pass, will the PCB industry finally die? One photonic fan called PCBs "old-fashioned"; another called it "red-neck circuitry." I am confident that O-O transmissions are merely a matter of time, but won't kill the PCB industry. Electrons in copper traces, in countless current and future devices, will never be displaced by photon waves. While the bulk of the future PCBs may be made and assembled in China or Haiti, the U.S. will always be a leader in PCB technology.

Note to Assemblers Everywhere

I have great respect for PCBs, but I was hyped at OFC 2001 because the fiber optics/photonic technology industry presents a great deal of challenge and opportunity to those of us in the "red-neck" electron industry. Your challenge consists of getting up to speed on the components and physics of the photonic industry. Our challenge, as publishers of trade journals, is helping you get there by providing more articles on the subject.

I'm not suggesting that you quit your job to work at the nearest photonic outfit-I'm talking about taking the next step in the tried and true business of outsourcing. The photonic industry uses boards, and no matter how odd they look, your company can build them better than they can. The same goes for assembling the photonic boards, but even more so, since these boards have some really strange components that need very accurate placement. Photonic designers don't want to mess with such boards. Photonic physicists know the why of their designs, but they don't know the how of building them. These companies want to outsource boards to outfits they can rely on for a little design for manufacturing (DFM) and experience as implementers of challenging technology.

Conclusion

Talk to the organizers, exhibitors and attendees that made OFC 2001 such an exciting event. Learn from them and show them what you and your company can do. Catch the wave of the future before it breaks-better hurry, because it's happening right now.

Jerry Murray is West Coast Editor; e-mail:

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