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A Silicon Line HDMI Module |
Corporate Overview
Munich, Germany-based Silicon Line (www.silicon-line.com) is the unchallenged world leader in developing and providing innovative ultra-low-power optical link technology that enables the use of thin, long, lightweight and very high speed ‘active’ optical cables for a wide array of consumer electronics products – including TVs, set-top boxes, video game consoles, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) headsets and related devices – as well as commercial and industrial applications. ‘Active’ refers to powered electronics integrated within the cable.
Clear evidence of Silicon Line’s global leadership in ultra-lower-power optical technology can be seen not only by its steadily evolving line of leading-edge and industry-first products – with more than 25 different products now in use – but also in its pivotal role within the HDMI Forum, where it has successfully led efforts to enhance support for active optical cable technology standards in the latest specification, HDMI 2.1.
Founded in 2005 as an outsource integrated circuit (IC) design house, Silicon Line quickly developed proven expertise in ultra-low-power, analog and mixed-signal chip design. Billions of ICs based on its designs have been used in products of major brand-name manufacturers.
Building on its core competencies, Silicon Line soon began to develop its own products with the aim of providing the world’s most power-efficient and best-in-class ICs for optical data transport, specifically targeting applications in consumer electronics. Silicon Line now has a wide portfolio of physical layer ICs plus associated serializer/deserializer (SerDes) ICs for multi-gigabit optical links, and it holds multiple patents associated with these products. In addition to HDMI technology, Silicon Line technology is employed in optical links for devices using DisplayPort and USB 3.1 connections.
Most recently and marking a major new stage in its evolution, Silicon Line has developed proprietary technology and manufacturing methods for optical modules (the tiny circuit boards inside cable connectors), resulting in a dramatic reduction in production cost, so that optical cables are affordable to consumers for use with 4K and 8K TVs, AR/VR headsets and other very high bandwidth applications.
Optical Interconnect Technology: A Rapid Growth Market
The importance of optical link technology to the future of consumer and business electronics truly cannot be overstated. The optical interconnect market, by some estimates, will reach $7 billion by 2020. As bandwidth demands grow, it will be impractical if not impossible for copper cabling to meet signal transport requirements, especially for distances greater than even one meter.
The proliferation of battery-powered devices – phones, tablets, AR/VR headsets – puts a premium on small, lightweight interconnects which minimize power consumption and also minimize susceptibility to and sources of electromagnetic interference (EMI). Additionally, specialized camera applications in healthcare, scientific research, national defense and other areas – as well as weight and size considerations in products such as automobiles and aircraft, where weight savings alone provides a recurring benefit in reduced fuel costs or increased payload capacity – are driving adoption across an expanding spectrum of industries and applications.
Long, low-power, flexible and lightweight active optical cables are already beginning to replace copper cables in many high-speed applications. Silicon Line is playing a key role in the transition to optical cables by making available both ICs and modules which allow rapid, low-cost, high volume manufacture of active optical cables.
In the process, the company has been first-to-market with several products:
- Optical HDMI interface (10.2 and 18 Gb/s)
- Optical DisplayPort interface (40 Gb/s)
- Optical MIPI D-PHY interface (CSI-2, DSI) for cameras in AR applications
- Optical USB 3.1 interface (10 Gb/s)
The company also expects to be the first to market a 48Gb/s optical HDMI interface (for HDMI 2.1 devices), due for introduction in 2019.
Silicon Line is privately held and employs more than 40 people. In addition to its Munich headquarters, it operates an optical subassembly (OSA) factory in Hasselt, Belgium, and maintains offices in China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and the U.S.
Senior Management Team (biographies and photos available upon request)
- Ruud van der Linden, CEO
- Holger Hoeltke, Co-founder and CIO
- Martin Groepl, Co-founder and CTO
- Katrin Gravier, CFO
Patents
- Over 70 patents relating to optical engine technology, VCSEL driver technology, serialization / de-serialization technology and optical module fabrication
Investors
- Munich Venture Partners, a cleantech venture capital specialist based in Munich;
- Capital-E, a leading venture capital fund in Europe with an exclusive focus on micro/nano-electronics and advanced materials;
- WPG Holdings, headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan, the number one global semiconductor distributor and the largest electronics distributor in Asia;
- LRM, an investment company that develops and stimulates economic growth in Limburg, Belgium; and
- Unixtar, an advanced electronics manufacturing company with multiple facilities in China and Cambodia.
Products
- Drivers for VSCELs (vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers)
- Transimpedance amplifiers
- Serializer and Deserializer ICs
- Modules for optical HDMI, DisplayPort (ALT), USB 3.1 and VirtualLink active optical cables
Awards
- “Partner Performance Excellence Award” from Infineon for custom ASIC design (1.4 billion sold)
Fast Facts (in reverse chronology)
- 2019
- Demonstrated prototype of first active optical cable for HDMI 2.1 at Consumer Electronics Show
- Expanded manufacturing at OSA factory in Hasselt, Belgium which doubled manufacturing capacity
- 2018-2015
- Closed Series B financing raising €8.2m ($9.5m)
- Joins the VESA standards organization
- Releases AR/VR optical cable concept
- Develops first optical module to fit micro USB (USB Type C) connectors
- Opens vertically-integrated OSA factory in Hasselt, Belgium
- Develops first ICs for “next generation” 5-channel, 90Gb/s
- Establishes first U.S. offices in the Bay Area
- Closes Series A investment round
- Joins USB Implementor Forum (USB IF)
- Opens sales office in Korea
- 2014-2011
- Introduces 18 Gb/s HDMI products
- Introduces USB 3.1 products
- Develops 10.2 Gb/s HDMI module
- Releases 4 Gb/s MIPI D-PHY products
- Joins the HDMI Forum
- Names Ruud van der Linden CEO
- Appoints distributors for Korea, Taiwan, China, and all Asia.
- Opens Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan offices
- Releases 6Gb/s products
- 2010-2006
- Joins MIPI as a contributing member
- Releases 10.2 Gb/s HDMI chipset
- Releases 4-channel 3.5 Gb/s products
- Receives initial Series A funding from Capital E and Munich Venture Partners
- Receives Infineon’s “Partner Performance Excellence Award” for custom ASIC design
- 2005
- Releases 1.5 Gb/s optical ICs
- Founded in Munich, Germany by Holger Hoeltke and Martin Groepl
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