News: Portfolio 2008

A Super-Cool Chip

Lightwire introduces the new information transmission technology at conference.

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Lightwire has tackled a gnawing problem with little overhead in the way of chip plants or a large staff, and as a result, it could potentially be viewed as a hot acquisition target. Shastri, the firm's chief technology officer, said it's too early to talk about that possibility, but he said it's likely the company could stage a lucrative initial public offering at some point.

Engineers at Lightwire, which employs about 25 people in the Valley, began researching the use of silicon in optical chips in 2001 as part of a company called OptronX. The firm sold a division to JDS Uniphase in 2002, Shastri said, and the remaining team continued to work under the name SiOptical. Last year, it changed its name to Lightwire.

Supporters of the company say while its competitors have performed research on the same technology, they don't have a tangible product. Shah, of Artiman Ventures, for example, said a silicon-based optical product from Luxtera, of Carlsbad, Calif., "is more on paper than reality."

"A lot of things that can work in a laboratory don't work in real life," Shah, who is based in California, said in a telephone interview on Friday.

Nonetheless, Electronic Products, an industry publication, named Luxtera's photonic active cable as product of the year in 2007. The product differs somewhat from Lightwire's, but also uses silicon in optical chips, which have traditionally been made of indium phosphide and other compounds.

In reaction to Lightwire's announcement, Luxtera struck back Monday, saying its product provides a higher level of integration. Lightwire's module has a separate chip for the laser. Lightwire, however, says it has found a way to "couple" the two chips that's innovative.

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