BinOptics Receives $10 Million in Series B Funding

BinOptics, a start-up based in Ithaca, New York, $10 million Series B funding for its development of integrated microphotonic chips for datacom, telecom, and optical storage applications. BinOptics products are manufactured using a proprietary etched facet technology, which the company said significantly reduces the cost of production, testing, and handling compared to conventional laser processing. The technology also enables monolithic integration of multiple functions on a single chip because of its flexibility and high yield. The company's products include edge-emitting lasers with optional integrated monitoring detectors as well as the industry's first horizontal-cavity surface-emitting laser (HCSEL). The HCSEL is a high power, high reliability surface-emitting laser operating at the important 1310 and 1550 nm wavelengths, where vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) are not effective. The company plans to offer a HCSEL integrated with a high-speed detector to create a fully integrated optical transceiver chip for passive optical network (PON) systems in 2005.


Investors include FA Technology Ventures and ArrowPath Venture Capital, along with previous investors Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Cayuga Venture Fund II.
http://www.binoptics.com