News Release

Akihiko Kasukawa, Senior Fellow at Furukawa Electric's Research & Development Division, Telecommunications & Energy Laboratories, was named Fellow by the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers on March 24, 2017, during the IEICE General Conference 2017 held at Meijo University. The award was given in recognition of his contributions toward "developing high power semiconductor pumping lasers and increasing the capacity of optical communication."

Akihiko Kasukawa, Senior Fellow at Furukawa Electric, has been involved in developing high efficiency semiconductor lasers for erbium-doped optical fiber amplifier applications, and, since the start of the 2000s, has been engaged in developing technology for wideband wavelength tunable lasers. These technologies and products have been used in many optical communication systems all over the world.
Of particular note, wideband wavelength tunable lasers have led to narrow line width wavelength tunable lasers, which are crucial devices in digital coherent optical communication systems. Furukawa Electric narrow line width integrable tunable laser assembly light sources (ITLA) for digital coherent communication currently enjoy the top share in the global market.

In response to receiving this award, Senior Fellow Kasukawa stated, "It is truly an honor to be named a Fellow by the prestigious Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers. It is thanks to the cooperation of everyone who worked with me to advance this technology that I have received this award. Thank you, everyone. I hope to now use my experience to develop semiconductor lasers and in applied fields opened up by semiconductor lasers."

The IEICE Fellow Recognition Program is a system of recognition that names members as Fellows who have contributed significantly to the IEICE and whose achievements in academia, technology, or related business are recognized.
Mr. Kasukawa has also been named as Fellow at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in 2008, and the Japan Society of Applied Physics in 2013.