Technical Insight
Intense Photonics secures first-round funds (Fiber News)
Intense Photonics of Glasgow, UK, has received $11 million of first-round funding from venture capitalists 3i and ACT. The financing will help to commercialize Intense s technology for photonic integrated circuits (PICs). The company s proprietary quantum well intermixing (QWI) process allows Intense to address market demands for lower cost and higher performance by increasing levels of monolithic integration and adding functionality to discrete components for hybrid assembly (see Compound Semiconductor May 2001, p70). The QWI technology has already been trialled on a number of device types including lasers, amplifiers, filters, and switches. Intense has announced its first PIC (a 980 nm pump laser), exploiting the integration capability of QWI to manufacture a high-yield chip. "Integration is key to the development of optical communications, and monolithic IC technologies offer a practical platform for delivering it," said Andrew Davison of 3i. "We view Intense Photonics technology as among those fundamental to the successful evolution of the industry." The market for optical components used in DWDM systems is forecast to grow to $13.6 billion by 2004 according to RHK. Driving this growth is the increased use of active components and the replacement of multiple discrete components with monolithic multifunction components. Intense Photonics is aiming to capture 20% of its target component sectors within four years. DuPont facility acquisition Just a week after its funding announcement, Intense acquired the DuPont photomask facility in Hamilton, Scotland, for an undisclosed sum. The purchase gives Intense the sophisticated manufacturing facilities it needs for the commercialization of its QWI-based devices. The plant, which is only three years old, has 3800 sq. ft of class-one clean room area and a further 13 000 sq. ft of manufacturing and office space. The company will be transferring staff and equipment from its Glasgow laboratories, and expects to have the site operational in September 2001. "The acquisition not only provides an ideal facility and capability from which to drive growth, but reduces development timescales," said 3i s Chris Hodges.
