Corporate - News

May 2004

Conjunct Leads The Way

A young start-up company that is devel oping a new product to bridge a data communications gap in the electronics industry is the first Optocap spin-out client.

Conjunct Ltd, a spin-out from Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh , will use the Centre’s facilities take forward the design and development of its microchip that will provide an affordable and faster replacement for copper wire as a means of transferring data. Copper wires are approaching their speed limits and there is a growing demand in the industry for a new solution.

Conjunct’s founder, Dr. Keith Symington, has developed optical interconnect technology to fill the market gap. It will be refined using the facilities on offer by Optocap Ltd. in Livingston.

His product is based on a single chip that will be reconfigurable for use across a wide range of devices from networks to PC motherboards.

Current optical interconnects are so expensive that their application, except in special switches and routers, makes them uneconomical for PC boards costing less than £100. Conjunct’s solution to the problem is to devise an op tical system with a reduced tolerance that will meet the bandwidth demands of the mass market.

The product they will be devel op ing with Optocap’s support will be a system-in-package (SiP) solution for the implementation of short range serial op tical buses.

The initial target market is those already using field configurable products who wish to add bandwidth and support for protocols such as fibre channel or gigabit Ethernet.

Development of the new product will follow the “fabless” semiconductor company model in which prototypes are taken almost to production stage and then manufactured under licence.

Dr. Symington said: “The facilities offered by Optocap are ideal for a young company such as ours. We can take forward our project in a supportive environment with access to equipment we would not be in a position to finance by ourselves at this early stage in our development. The Centre gives Scotland an important competitive edge in the complex discipline of packaging optoelectronic devices.”

David Ruxton, Chief Executive of Optocap Ltd, said: “I’m delighted to welcome Conjunct as our first client. They are a young innovative company with a product that has the potential to make a significant impact in the marketplace. We will do all that we can to help them realise that potential.”

Neil Francis, MOCT director, Scottish Enterprise, commented: “Optoelectronics is an increasingly important technology in today’s world of instant communication. Scotland has a growing reputation for its excellent research in the sector. Optocap’s packaging centre provides a vital link in the chain of helping research and projects such as Conjunct’s, successfully reach the market place.”