IN THE NEWS
Exploring the Next Wave in Optics
4Wave President Sami Antrazi, left, and
Vice President Trey Middleton are reflected in a silicon wafer, which is used to test
mulit-filter chips.
By Andrea Caumont
Washington Post Staff Writer
The Washington Post, E5, December 20, 2004 -A Sterling company called 4Wave is trying to turn its nanotechnology
materials into big things in the optical component market.
_____ In Profile_____
In Profile
Name: 4Wave
Location: Sterling
Big idea: Develops passive optical components through a thin film deposition
technique called biased target deposition
Founded: 2000
Web site: www.4waveinc.com
Who's in charge: Sami Antrazi, president
Funding: 4Wave, which has been largely self-funded, is seeking investment
funding. The company received a $100,000 award from the Virginia Center for Innovative
Technology's Growth Acceleration Program fund and two awards from the National Institute
of Standards and Technology's Advanced Technology Program totaling $2.5 million.
Employees: All nine of the company's employees met while working for
Commonwealth Scientific. When that company was sold, they founded 4Wave. They intend to
expand to as many as 60 people over the next four years.
Big-name clients: 4Wave sells to companies that make transceivers for optical
equipment, including Emcore Corp., Intel Corp., E2O Communications Inc., Opnext Inc.,
Finisar Corp. and Agilent Technologies.
Origin of company name: "We always thought of getting into the optics
business," Antrazi said, and four seemed the key number. "There are four
characteristics to optics: the incident light, the standing light, the reflected light and
the transmitted light. It's worked out well because our chip has four filters on it and it
filters four ways."
|
"We're in the business of developing materials that are created one
atomic layer at a time," said Trey Middleton, vice president of business development
for 4Wave. The company's technology, called biased target deposition, is used to create
optical films for 4Wave's main product: a multi-filter chip. The chip is the heart of a
multiplexer, a device that filters the light used in high-speed fiber optic cables to
transmit the zeroes and ones of computer language.
A multiplexer combines four wavelengths, each capable of transmitting 2.5
gigabytes of data per second over fiber-optic cable, so that the fiber can transmit 10 GB
per second altogether, Middleton said.
4Wave's technology is rooted in basic physics. "If you look at the
sun you see white light," company President Sami Antrazi said. "A rainbow is
multiple colors. Each color represents a wavelength. You can transmit data down each color
at 2.5 gigabytes per second. To run the four colors down the fiber you have to combine
them. Our chip combines the light and separates the light. On the transmitting end you
have a multiplexer to combine the light. On the receiving end you have a demultiplexer to
break up the light to get data out of it. "
4Wave's executives said their biggest challenge has been its lack of
financial resources. "We got great reception and traction in the venture community,
but they were concerned about when the market would be realized," Antrazi said.
"In the 2000 time frame a lot of venture guys took a bloodbath."
Middleton says the company has three orders for its multiplexers so far
and will begin shipping in March. The company expects $2 million in revenue this year and
predicts it can be a $45 million company in five years.
"The whole
market is being realized today," Middleton said.
"I think we have a double barrier to entry to a
competitor -- a patent portfolio that protects our
products and the ability to make them. We didn't
share the secret sauce on how we came about making
this equipment." 4Wave's main competitor is a
German company called Cube Optics, which Middleton
says purchases the optical filters from another
company and cuts them down in size. "It's a very
labor-intensive activity," Middleton said. "We
make it from scratch."
|
