CALIENT Technologies has essentially found a way to get rid of the middle man.

The Santa Barbara-based company leverages technology developed at UCSB that uses thousands of tiny mirrors to relay optical signals. It announced Tuesday that it has raised $19.4 million in venture financing to continue its research and production.

The middle man in this case is the electronic switch. CALIENT redirects optical communication through a series of tiny mirrors, rather than going through an electronic circuit. Photonic switching helps large companies, such as ones with large data centers, save energy, improve efficiency and optimize privacy, according to Gregory Koss, CALIENT consultant and senior vice president.

“Our goals for next year are to introduce our new product portfolio around our proven MEMS technology,” Koss said. “Essentially we’re taking the current product that was designed six years ago and refining it to lower the cost, make it smaller and increase energy efficiency.”

CALIENT manufactures its deep-silicon plasma etch technology locally to make 3D Optical MEMS mirrors used in its photonic switching systems.

The company will use the venture financing to expand its reach into global data center markets, cloud computing markets and government agencies as well as finish its new portfolio of 3D MEMS photonic switching systems.

“(In terms of cloud computing) we would monitor fiber optic cables coming into cloud computing data centers, basically monitor every fiber that connects to a subscriber, which is most often a business,” Koss said. “Secondly, we would be able to switch more capacity on demand for that particular subscriber.”

CALIENT has flourished as the increasing demand for streaming video surpassed bandwidth capacity, Koss said. The company was founded 11 years ago and recently moved its headquarters from San Jose to Santa Barbara, where much of the industry-leading technology originates.

“The core technology is really here,” Koss said. “We have a semiconductor lab that does some very unique operation called deep-silicon etching, and all of the equipment and a lot of the competency for that is in Santa Barbara. So it’s a natural fit from my perspective.”

The company plans to hire 10 engineers and hopes to triple its annual sales and reach $15 million by the end of next year, Koss said.

“CALIENT is excited to have the funding to complete our strategy of expanding our product line, moving into new markets and partnering with global vendors to provide best-in-class solutions,” CALIENT chairman and CEO Atiq Raza said. “There are many new trends as a result of the demand for high bandwidth applications and we are now in a position to take advantage of these opportunities and grow our business.”

— Noozhawk business writer Alex Kacik can be reached at akacik@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.