Nanotech Semiconductor, the Bristol-based fabless supplier of CMOS mixed-signal ICs for low cost plastic fibre optic communications, has completed a $5m funding round.

This funding brings total investor funding to more than $15m. The money will be used to explore product opportunities for multi-Gigabit rate CMOS chips.

In the last 12 months Nanotech has seen production ramp steeply, with five million ICs already shipped. “The 10 million marker likely to be breached by year end,” said Gary Steele, company CEO.

“We have significant traction in both plastic optical fibre and glass optical fibre markets, and with the best performing products at CMOS prices, we are achieving 40 to 50% market share in some cases,” said Steele.

According top Steele, the next opportunity for the Bristol-based company are in the multi-Gigabit space. “In many areas, copper links are becoming increasingly restrictive and power-hungry. In other areas, we see cost reductions can be achieved by replacing expensive SiGe-based solutions. We therefore made the case to our investors that we should accelerate our investments in the multi-Gigabit space, and that case was readily accepted,” said Steele.

Earlier this year Nanotech completed full qualification of its NT22L31 laser driver which supports both 3.3V and 5V supplies, at 34mA current consumption, and supports 80mA laser bias and modulation currents to over 70mA.

According to Richard Irving, managing partner at investor Pond Venture Partners and board director at Nanotech: “Nanotech has a fantastic track-record of transistor-level and architectural innovations in CMOS, and we were very excited to see yet more innovations coming in the 2.5 to 10Gbit/s space. Both existing and up-and-coming markets are ripe for these innovations.”

Investors are Pond Venture Partners and Atlantic Bridge as well as founder, Gary Steele.