Spectra7 Microsystems, comprising Fresco Microchip, RedMere Technology and Chrysalis...

Spectra7 Microsystems, comprising Fresco Microchip, RedMere Technology and Chrysalis Capital VIII, has secured a first closing of $11.1 million in venture capital from Celtic House Venture Partners, Ventures West Capital and EdgeStone Capital Partners, the companies said Tuesday. Spectra7 and Fresco Microchip had expected to raise $10 million when they said last month they'd combine (CED July 18 p5). Spectra7 CEO Tony Stelliga told us the funding will be used to develop silicon that’s “high-frequency-aware,” enabling high-resolution 4K displays and tablets to operate at the level of resolution “we're envisioning we'll see,” while integrating an expanded number of radio technologies. Already, “we're seeing over a dozen radios in next-generation tablets and smartphones,” he said. The radios don’t all run at the same time, he noted. But 50-60 percent run simultaneously, he said, citing Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC, over-the-air tuning and others. Pixel bandwidth on high-resolution displays is so high it interferes with the radios in a similar way to how a microwave oven can interfere with a handset, he said, “but at an exponentially higher level.” To address these interference issues, Spectra7 is developing “frequency planning” that will be done dynamically, in real time, in silicon rather than through software. “The silicon will be aware of what radio is on and what the resolution of the display is and what it should do to prevent interference,” said Stelliga. The 7 in Spectra7 refers to the interference that will eventually occur when tablets incorporate seven radios in a 7-inch tablet in a compact space where the radios can’t be physically isolated from each other, he said. “It’s a problem we're on the cusp of,” Stelliga said, “but it’s just a matter of time” before it happens. With this round of funding and an additional round down the road, “we'll accelerate the development of high-bandwidth, high-resolution, frequency-aware semiconductor devices that enable screens to run at 4K resolution without interfering with the radios,” he said. Spectra7 will restructure its focus and add an engineering facility in Silicon Valley for the effort, which will join two existing facilities in Irvine, Calif., and an analog plant in Cork, Ireland, he said. Products are expected to hit the market in 2014, he said.