Technical Insight
Optical companies receive first-round funding boost(Fiber News)
Qusion Technologies, an optical component manufacturer founded late in 1999, has raised $9.25 million in first-round venture capital funding from four major investment companies. The company says the financial injection will accelerate production of InP-based transceivers with a view to developing components for 40 Gbit/s systems. Qusion is currently undergoing a major expansion of its 33 000 sq. ft manufacturing facilities in South Brunswick, NJ, which include a 4000 sq. ft class 1000 clean room and class 100 clean room space for photolithography. The company aims to integrate lasers, modulators and detectors onto a single chip, and expects to demonstrate fully integrated transceiver modules by the end of the year. VSK Photonics VSK Photonics, a start-up fiber-optic component company formed at the end of last year, has received first-round funding totaling $18 million from Morgenthaler Ventures and Intel Capital. The investment will provide VSK, which is located in Irvine, California, with further manufacturing resources to develop InP-based 40 Gbit/s optoelectronic components and modules. At this early stage of its development VSK is understandably maintaining a low profile. While few details of its facilities are currently available, VSK will follow a vertically integrated approach, from epitaxial growth through to packaging, that will most likely include manufacturing of photodetectors, modulators and lasers.
