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News

3 September 2007

 

Tunable laser manufacturer Syntune raises $7.1m in second-round funding

Syntune AB of Stockholm, Sweden has closed a second round of financing of SEK47.8m ($7.1m, €5.2m), led by InnovationsKapital of Sweden, joined by Teknoinvest, Vision Capital and existing private investors. This follows a SEK42m ($6.2m, €4.7m) private equity round in December 2004.

Syntune develops single-chip, widely tunable lasers for applications ranging from fiber-optic communications to sensor systems. As part of the firm’s formation in January 2003, Syntune acquired an exclusive license to a patent on a ‘modulated grating Y-branch' (MG-Y) tunable laser, jointly owned by IMEC of Leuven and Ghent University in Belgium and UK-based Gayton Photonics Ltd. The technology was developed as part of the EU-funded project NEWTON (New Widely Tunable Lasers for Optical Networks), in which Stockholm-based tunable laser manufacturer Altitun/ADC (former home to several Syntune executives) was a partner.

“This round of investment enables us to ramp production more quickly, as well as grow our customer base for both our first generation of tunable products as well as our second-generation 10Gb/s tunable transmitter product,” says CEO Patrik Evaldsson. Syntune’s product line includes the S3500 widely tunable CW laser, the S3600 MSA-compliant Integrable Tunable Laser Assembly (ITLA) and the S4500 – the world’s first truly monolithic, integrated 10Gb/s tunable transmitter, it is claimed.

In communications, Syntune’s lasers enable universal dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) transceivers with low power consumption in a small form factor, cutting overhead costs for sparing and maintaining inventories. Tunability also enables flexible networks, which allows operators to offer innovative services as well as reducing operational expenditures.

“Syntune’s approach of using world-class foundries in both chip and packaging fully leverages our investment,” says InnovationsKaptial’s investment director Peder Holm. Syntune uses manufacturing partners, including CyOptics Inc of Lehigh Valley, PA, USA (which specializes in indium phosphide optical chip and component technologies), with which Syntune entered into a manufacturing agreement in January.

“We have made great progress in the marketplace and look forward to supporting the volume demands of our customers,” says Kevin Green, VP of marketing & sales. According to estimates by market research firm CIR, tunable lasers will be the fastest growing major segment of the components market, reaching almost $1bn by 2012.

See related item:

Tunable laser designer Syntune and manufacturer CyOptics cooperate on market introduction

Visit: http://www.syntune.com