Europe is taking an important step towards technological independence in the field of integrated photonics. During PIXEurope Connect, Industry Ecosystem Building Day in Barcelona, more than 300 representatives from industry, academia and policy gathered on 21 May to accelerate the development of a strong European ecosystem for photonic chips. On behalf of MESA+, the participants were postdoctoral researcher Cristina Catalá Lahoz, Nanolab director Rob Legtenberg, and project manager Bente.
The event focused on PIXEurope, a €400 million European initiative aimed at accelerating the development and scaling of photonic integrated circuits (PICs). These chips use light instead of electricity to process and transmit information, enabling higher speeds and significantly lower energy consumption compared to conventional electronic chips.
Integrated photonics is regarded as a key enabling technology for applications in areas such as artificial intelligence, data centres, quantum technology, healthcare and advanced communication systems. At the same time, the technology offers important opportunities to reduce the energy consumption of digital infrastructures.
From research to industrial application
PIXEurope brings together twenty organisations from eleven European countries in Europe’s first fully integrated pilot line for photonic chips. The initiative aims to bridge the gap between fundamental research and industrial application by giving companies access to design, fabrication, integration, packaging and testing facilities within a single European ecosystem.
During the event, it was emphasised that Europe has a strong knowledge base in photonics, but further collaboration is needed to scale innovations more quickly towards industrial applications and to strengthen the international competitive position.
Dutch contribution to PIXEurope
The Netherlands plays an important role within PIXEurope, where the University of Twente is working with TNO and Eindhoven University of Technology. MESA+ University of Twente focuses within PIXEurope on the development of advanced fabrication technologies for photonic integrated circuits based on silicon nitride and aluminum oxide Si3N4 and Al2O3 PIC production technologies on 200mm wafer sizes, electro-optical modulation technologies, and expansion of the wavelength range to the MIR for SiN and to the UV for Al2O3. These technologies enable new applications and support the scaling up of integrated photonics in Europe.
Bridging research and impact
For Bente ten Brug, project manager of PIXEurope at UT and programme manager at MESA+, the initiative demonstrates how European collaboration accelerates the transition from research to application.
During the Industry Ecosystem Building Day, organised by ICFO at the Torre Glòries in Barcelona, it became clear how strongly European collaboration has grown. Bente: “It is inspiring to see how partners across Europe are joining forces to strengthen Europe’s capabilities in integrated photonics. Within our project team, we are working closely together on the further development of the PIXEurope Pilot Line.”
Building European leadership together
Discussions at PIXEurope Connect highlighted that the future of photonic chips is not only driven by technological innovation, but also by collaboration across the entire value chain: from research and design to production, packaging and system integration.
With PIXEurope, Europe is taking an important step towards a strong, innovative and competitive photonics ecosystem. For MESA+, the initiative provides a platform to further strengthen research, talent development and international collaboration.
More information
If you would like to know more about the PIXEurope project, the PIXEurope Pilot Line or our open access activities, please feel free to contact us at bente.tenbrug@utwente.nl!
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