SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct. 20 -- Nova Crystals Inc. has raised $31.25 million in a Series C round of funding. The company will increase its vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) diode chip-making capability and add to its current capacity with the new funding.Nova Crystals' latest VCSEL is the most powerful recorded to date at 1.3-µm, the company said. The VCSEL is plug-compatible with the standard Gigabit-Ethernet and SONET/synchronous digital highway transceiver modules that currently use Fabry-Perot edge emitting laser diodes. We are most enthusiastic and determined to continue our efforts at taking the optical networking component industry to the next level, said Felix Ejeckam, the company's CEO. Our VCSEL chips will for the first time blur the distinction between the LAN's reach in the enterprise, and the WAN.