Irvine, CA, February 19, 2003. Randy Heyler, Vice President of Business Development, Newport Corporation, has been appointed 2003 Steering Committee Chairman for the Photonics Manufacturing Association Council (PMAC). The PMAC, organized under the IPC, has established its Steering Committee membership and begun work on organizing standards and industry trade activities for 2003.
Randy Heyler, 2003 Steering Committee Chair, and David Bergman, IPC Vice President for Standards, Technology, and International Relations, have been joined on the committee by a strong team of executives from across the photonics industry supply chain. "As a leading supplier of photonics manufacturing equipment, Newport is strongly committed to the development of standards to improve yields, reliability and ultimately drive down component manufacturing cost," Heyler stated. "By taking a leadership role in the manufacturers association, Newport hopes to help accelerate the trends towards design, process, and equipment standards that will be instrumental to this industry's recovery. I am also extremely pleased with the level and quality of the steering committee membership, and the enthusiasm they have shown so far in helping organize photonics manufacturing standards and help raise the level of collaboration amongst us to help our industry mature,"
A prime objective for 2003 is the formation of a PMAC Standards Subcommittee, whose mission will be to coordinate standards development between IPC efforts and those of other international standards organizations. An important milestone in this effort will be the imminent release of a new standardization roadmapping document, "IPC-0040: Optoelectronics Assembly and Packaging Technology," which is nearing ballot and should be issued in the first half of 2003.
The IPC-0040 document, a culmination of 18 months of collaborative work between numerous industry contributors, identifies over 20 specific areas that need serious, immediate standards work. These areas include test methods, assembly techniques, fiber management, cleanliness, inspection, and quality standards. Additionally, the document references many existing fiber-optic-related standards.
The PMAC is recruiting key managers from both manufacturers and suppliers to serve on the standards subcommittee, and invites volunteers from all sectors of the industry to join the association. Formal meetings presenting the IPC-0040 document and tying in other roadmapping and standards efforts are being planned in collaboration with other groups, including NEMI and The Optoelectronics Industry Development Association (OIDA).
For more information, visit the IPC/PMAC website at www.ipc.org .
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