Communications Research Centre / Innovative Fibres Inc.

FPTT Technology Transfer Award

Communications Research Centre /
Innovative Fibres Inc.

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Successful transfer and commercialization of "Fiber Bragg Gratings" technology

François Bilodeau
Communications Research Centre

Ken Hill
Communications Research Centre

Derwyn Johnson
Communications Research Centre

Joe LeBlanc
Communications Research Centre

Benoît Lavigne
Innovative Fibers Inc.

Bernard Malo
Innovative Fibers Inc.

Innovative Fibres Inc., a spin-off company of the Communications Research Centre (CRC), is a textbook FPTT case of successful technology transfer and commercialization. In 1995, the fledgling fibre optic company, led by a former CRC employee and a business entrepreneur, was one of the first tenants of the CRC Innovation Centre, an incubation facility that offers federal expertise and research capabilities to enterprises developing new products. Taking advantage of a cross-licencing arrangement between CRC and the Connecticut-based United Technologies Corporation (UTC) that provides access to jointly held worldwide patents related to the fabrication of Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBG) - a concept discovered in a CRC lab two decades ago and considered a revolutionary breakthrough in fibre optic technology - the Gatineau, Qué. Company developed and manufactured FBG components for the worldwide market, specializing in wavelength division multiplexing applications in fiber optics telecommunications systems. Innovative Fibres Inc. is now a self-sufficient company with a commercial product that has become an essential element in a family of novel optical devices such as narrowband optical fibre transmission filters. With distributors in Japan, Denmark, Italy and Germany, the company has a projected export market of $2 billion and a staff of more than 30 employees. What began as a simple transfer of technology from a CRC laboratory to two ambitious and talented business partners has evolved into one of Canada's cutting-edge initiatives in communications technology.

Sponsored by:
SECOR Consulting Inc.