APPLIED OPTOELECTRONICS

Applied Optoelectronics

We are a leading provider of fiber‑optic networking products. We serve three growing end-markets: Cable Television Broadband (CATV), fiber-to-the-home (FTTH), and internet data centers (Data Center). We design and manufacture a range of optical communications products employing our vertical integration strategy from laser chips, components, subassemblies and modules to complete turn-key equipment. We design, manufacture and integrate our own analog and digital lasers using a proprietary Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) fabrication process, which we believe is unique in our industry. The lasers we manufacture are proven to be reliable over time and highly tolerant of changes in temperature and humidity (delivering millions of hours service), making them well-suited to the CATV and FTTH markets where networking equipment is often installed outdoors.

All three of our end markets are driven by bandwidth demand fueled by the growth of network‑connected devices, that included video traffic, cloud computing and online social networking. To address this increased bandwidth demand, CATV and telecommunications service providers are competing directly against each other by providing bundles of voice, video and data services to their subscribers and investing to enhance the capacity, reliability and capability of their networks. The trend of rising bandwidth consumption also impacts the internet data center market, as reflected in the shift to higher speed server connections. As a result of these trends, fiber‑optic networking technology is becoming essential in all three of our target markets, as it is often the only economic way to deliver the desired bandwidth.