OneChip Photonics Secures $19.5 Million for Integrated FTTH Transceiver

OneChip Photonics, a start-up based in Ottawa, has secured $19.5 million in venture capital financing for its high-performance optical transceivers -- based on monolithic Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs) in Indium Phosphide (InP).


The company says its breakthrough approach will remove the cost and performance barriers that have been impeding the ubiquitous deployment of FTTH. OneChip Photonics is taking a new approach with its breakthrough PIC technology. OneChip is monolithically integrating all the functions required for an optical transceiver onto a single, Indium Phosphide (InP)-based chip. All active and passive components of the chip -- including the Distributed-Feedback (DFB) laser, Optically Pre-Amplified Detector (OPAD), Wavelength Splitter (WS), Spot-Size Converter (SSC), and various elements of passive waveguide circuitry -- are, uniquely, integrated in one epitaxial growth step, without re-growth or post-growth modification of the epitaxial material.


Currently, the company is developing these low-cost, high-performance transceivers for Optical Network Terminals (ONTs) and Optical Line Terminals (OLTs) in Ethernet PON (EPON) and Gigabit PON (GPON) networks.


Investors include BDC Venture Capital, DCM, GrowthWorks Canadian Fund and Morgenthaler Ventures.
http://www.onechipphotonics.com