Understanding the intersection between optics and electronics is one key to understanding the future of commercial
optical technology
Abstract:
Critical
to understanding near term business opportunities in optical communications
is understanding the intersection between optics and electronics from a
business, market and technology point of view. This talk will focus on
opportunities and challenges in dealing with the trade offs associated with
optics and electronics (ICs) primarily from a business point of view,
incorporating several new technology fields to illustrate.
As
a commercial technology, optics made a tremendous leap forward during the
boom years of 1997-2001. Many new engineers were trained and many
applications were made reality. However, optics for communications systems
need to be put into a context of the larger "system" challenges
and especially against the constant improvements and application of
electronics to what may be historically thought of as "optical"
problems. Few companies truly appreciate the crossroads between optics and
electronics, often with an engineering bias towards solving problems
optically or electronically (ICs). The IC market dwarfs the optics market
and as a result has a much stronger support infrastructure (capital
equipment and manufacturing) than optics - at least today. In addition, the
research dollars that flow into semiconductor research still is an order of
magnitude larger than optics, constantly driving fundamental commercial
research such as 90nm CMOS process nodes and SiGe. Understanding these
trends, relative to optical trends, will help one evaluate business
opportunities for the future.
Speaker Bio:
Ryan
Floyd, General Partner of Storm Ventures. Prior to becoming a general
partner of Storm Ventures in October 2000, Ryan directed the business
development activities at E-TEK Dynamics (now JDS Uniphase) where he focused
on building strategic OEM and customer relationships, scaling E-TEK's
manufacturing operations as well as directing the equity investing and
acquisition activities.
Prior
to joining E-TEK, Ryan was with Summit Partners, a private equity firm,
where he focused primarily on the communications industry, including
Summit's investment in E-TEK Dynamics in July 1997. Ryan received his B.S.
and M.S. in Conservation Biology from Stanford University.
