FREMONT, Calif. -- Avanex Corporation (Nasdaq: AVNX), the global provider of photonic processors that enable next-generation performance for optical communications networks, today announced the successful development of a low-cost hermetic packaging technology for optical module applications. The hermetic sealing is obtained around multiple fibers. This new packaging technology, which does not require specialized tooling, will reduce the cost of hermetic packaging of optical modules by more than an order of magnitude. It also significantly reduces the process time and testing time requirement of the optical modules packaging process.Avanex has completed all qualification tests of its new hermetic packaging technology. The company plans to introduce the technology into all Avanex product lines in the second half of 2001.Avanex Corp.