This week includes cash wins for European start-ups Tronic's Microsystems and ThreeFive Photonics.
French manufacturer of microelectromechanical systems,
Tronic's Microsystems, has won Euro 10.5 million in its second round of funding. The company will use the cash to help set up its 6 inch wafer production line.
US display consultant
DisplaySearch reports that worldwide liquid crystal display (LCD) shipments have reached a record 2.9 million units. The Japanese market share of LCD monitors is expected to fall at the expense of markets in North America and the rest of the world.
Alcatel Optronics, France, has completed its acquisition of Kymata, the Scotland-based manufacturer of arrayed-waveguide grating multiplexers. Kymata is now called Alcatel Optronics UK.
Opto-electronic chip manufacturer
ThreeFive Photonics, the Netherlands, has secured EURO 7 million in its first round of funding. "This will enable us to complete the development of our first chip, codenamed Argo," said ThreeFive Photonics' chief executive Wouter Deelman. "Production will start in 2002."
Germany-based
Adva Optical Networking is closing a research site in Cambridge, UK, and cutting its workforce by at least 10% in a bid to beat the global communications slow-down. "Service providers are simply not building infrastructure in anticipation of future demand," said Adva's chief executive Brian Protiva.
