BinOptics Receives $10 Million

ITHACA, N.Y., Feb. 14 -- BinOptics Corp., a developer of integrated microphotonic chips for data communications, telecommunications and optical storage applications, has announced a $10 million Series B funding round led by new investors FA Technology Ventures and ArrowPath Venture Capital, along with previous investors Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Cayuga Venture Fund II. BinOptics said it will use the new funding to support product development and production.

"BinOptics has advanced its technology throughout the downturn in the communications marketplace and is emerging as a leader in innovative, low-cost laser chips," said Greg Hulecki, managing partner at FATV. "We believe that BinOptics will play a significant role in reducing the cost of its customers' equipment and systems through efficient manufacturing and functional integration."

BinOptics products are manufactured using its etched facet technology, which the company said reduces the cost of production, testing and handling, compared to conventional laser processing and enables monolithic integration of multiple functions on a single chip. Products include edge-emitting lasers with optional integrated monitoring detectors as well as the industry's first horizontal-cavity surface-emitting laser (HCSEL), a surface-emitting laser operating at 1310- and 1550-nm wavelengths, where vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) are ineffective. The company said it plans to offer an HCSEL integrated with a high-speed detector to create a fully integrated optical transceiver chip for passive optical network systems in 2005.

For more information, visit: www.binoptics.com