2025
The poultry industry faces multiple challenges, including the cost of feed, animal welfare monitoring, alongside incubation and hatching success rates. But what do these challenges have in common? They can all be addressed by real-time access to biological and chemical data. The question is how to surface that data non-invasively.
Collaboration covers access to Silicon Catalyst’s comprehensive incubation programme to deliver expertise and access to funding
A veteran in the integrated photonics industry, Ghent-based EDA provider Luceda Photonics strives for first-time-right designs to become the norm, accelerating the technology’s journey to mass adoption.
Collaborative platform combines InP chiplets with SOI technology via Micro-Transfer-Printing for high-speed, energy-efficient optical transceivers
Fueled by streaming video, online gaming, remote offices, and generative artificial intelligence (AI), the exploding demand for bandwidth is rippling throughout data centre architectures, where it is felt most acutely by the humble pluggable optical transceiver.
A team at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) is spearheading advancements in the miniaturisation and scalability of tuneable lasers. Their groundbreaking and ongoing research, which is focused on developing innovative integrated photonic devices, is set to revolutionise a wide range of applications, including Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), LiDAR, and environmental spectroscopy. With support from the National Growth Fund PhotonDelta, the team aims to unlock unprecedented performance levels in tuneable lasers, facilitating the viability and scalability of wider commercial applications.
The demand for precise, high-performance laser sources is rapidly growing across various photonic applications. From coherent optical transceivers in data and telecom to LiDAR, gas sensors, and OCT systems, many photonic-based applications rely on stable laser sources. However, developing hybrid lasers is not easy. Starting from scratch often requires significant time, in-depth experience and resources, with much of the early effort spent on foundational design, testing, and integration. This process usually slows down progress and adds unnecessary complexity to bringing new products to market.
Eindhoven, 18 March 2025 – Spectrik, is taking new steps in the photonic gas sensors for the agricultural sector, thanks to the partnership with VTEC Lasers and Sensors. This strategic partnership is proof of trust in the supply chain partners and the confidence that the gas sensor for the livestock sector has the potential to positively impact the agricultural sector and beyond. With VTEC becoming a shareholder in Spectrik, it also shows confidence in each other that the gas sensor for the livestock sector is only the beginning
Today’s generative AI models exceed a trillion parameters, and their computational demands are fast outstripping the computational power of the GPUs, accelerators, and other chips (XPUs) powering hyperscale data centres.
The “Photonic Technologies” call is now open for applications. NWO and the PhotonDelta Foundation want to further stimulate early-stage research on photonic technologies in this way. This will ultimately allow groundbreaking photonic materials, photonic chips, devices and systems to be delivered. A total of 7 million euro is financed by PhotonDelta.
The first CES show took place in New York in 1967, attracting around 15,000 visitors. I wasn’t there, but I can imagine the buzz was all about the latest cassette recorders, colour televisions, and devices for playing stereo LPs.
EINDHOVEN, the Netherlands. PHOTON IP, a manufacturer of advanced low-power optical chips, announced today it has raised a 4.75 million euro seed round. The round was led by Innovation Industries with participation from Faber and Brabantse Ontwikkelings Maatschappij (BOM) and with funding support from PhotonDelta. With this financing, PHOTON IP will accelerate the industrialisation and commercialisation of its breakthrough technology that efficiently combines silicon photonics with active III-V materials.
2024
The dreaded pressure ulcer may become a thing of the past thanks to a startup’s high-tech bed sheets that can detect the formation of painful wounds.
Enschede, the Netherlands– Aluvia Photonics, the leading supplier of photonic integrated circuits (PIC) on the aluminium oxide platform, proudly announces its collaboration with Epiphany, a photonic design house. Together, the two companies aim to enhance Aluvia Photonics’s Multi-Project Wafer (MPW) services with process design kits (PDK) compatible with multiple design software.
27 November 2024 - This week, the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs announced that the National Growth Fund plan PhotonDelta will contribute €53.8 million to the PIXEurope pilot line of which a large part will be built in the Netherlands. The Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO) will coordinate the project on a pan-European level.
An energising kick-off event on 9 November 2024 marked the start of a special Master’s programme, jointly offered by the universities of Delft, Eindhoven and Twente. Hosted in Eindhoven, the event brought together a diverse group of students, professors, and industry partners of the MPOP-programme, all eager to explore the intersection of technology, innovation, and light.
12 November 2024 - X-FAB and SMART Photonics recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding to formalise their collaboration.
Irene Rompa and Peter van Arkel welcomed back attendees to the Philips Hall to unpack two more hot topics: imaging and the wireless revolution. At the same time, the second session got underway on the Future of Integrated Photonics. Here’s a recap of the key moments.
Attendees returned to the Evoluon for a second day of application focussed sessions around four main themes: optical computing, biosensing, imaging, and the wireless revolution. Running parallel to the main programme were side events in quantum and the future of integrated photonics. Here are some key takeaways from the morning’s sessions.
AI might be the buzzword of the day, but it’s actually been a long time in the making. In many ways, integrated photonics is on a similar journey. Post-lunch, the afternoon sessions took a deep dive into some of the key business challenges facing the integrated photonics industry today through a series of breakout sessions, including panel discussions and presentations. Here’s what you may have missed.
Eindhoven, The Netherlands; 15th October 2024: More than 700 leaders from governments, the semiconductor and photonic chip industry are meeting in Eindhoven in one of the largest summits of its kind to discuss the future of the industry.
Event host Irene Rompa kicked off the event, welcoming attendees to a packed Philips Hall for two days of discussion, collaboration, and innovation. The audience included PIC manufacturers, application builders, academics, investors, and end users.
Industry leaders, including imec, LioniX, SMART Photonics, PHIX Photonics Assembly, Epiphany, and Bright Photonics, join forces to transform the winning idea into reality. The winner of the contest will receive €50,000 in services from the ecosystem, backed by a €60 million startup fund.
OpenLight, the world leader in custom PASIC chip design and manufacturing, has announced a strategic partnership with Epiphany, a leading fabless photonic design house, aimed at advancing the photonic integrated circuit (PIC) design ecosystem. Through this partnership, Epiphany will gain access to OpenLight’s open heterogeneously integrated III-V-based PDK, providing more options and flexibility for mutual customers. By collaborating with Epiphany, OpenLight further broadens the scope of design possibilities, paving the way for more innovative and optimised PIC solutions across datacom, LiDAR, AI, healthcare and quantum computing applications.
Start-up Senergetics has developed a sensor system that can spot corrosion of industrial piping as it starts to happen, even if buried under a thick layer of insulation. The potential for cost savings as well as the reduction of CO2 emissions is huge.
Enschede, Netherlands – 30 July 2024 – Aluvia Photonics, a pioneering startup specialising in aluminium oxide-based photonic integrated circuits (PICs), is thrilled to announce the expansion of its leadership team with the appointment of Steve Stoffels as CEO.
Enschede, Netherlands, 18 July 2024 – QuiX Quantum, a European leader in photonic quantum computing hardware, proudly announces its selection by the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator programme, a key initiative of the European Commission. Being granted the EIC Accelerator highlights QuiX Quantum's innovative contributions and secures financial support for their cutting-edge projects.
Amsterdam and Wageningen, Netherlands, 10 July 2024: Today, Surfix Diagnostics, alongside the Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI) and CRCbioscreen, announced a collaboration aimed at enhancing colorectal cancer (CRC) screening methods.
$1.2 billion backed photonic chip accelerator seeks to speed up the creation and adoption of advanced semiconductors enabled by integrated photonics.
From a tripod-mounted box instrument to devices that fit in your hand: Spanish-Dutch firm Ommatidia is on a journey to take lidar technology from niche applications to mass markets.
The Dutch startup MicroAlign secures a 1 million EUR seed investment to enable efficient interconnections in Quantum Photonic Computers.
Semiconductor photonics stands at the forefront of technological advancement, harnessing the power of photons (light) to revolutionise chip circuits. This cutting-edge technology offers unparalleled benefits, such as enhanced performance, reliability, and energy efficiency.
Researchers using QuiX Quantum's technology have successfully demonstrated the on-chip generation of Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) states, a critical component for the advancement of photonic quantum computing. This breakthrough establishes QuiX Quantum’s integrated technology as a leading platform for photonic quantum computing and further validates QuiX Quantum’s roadmap to deliver a scalable universal quantum computer.
Breukelen, Netherlands - 16 April 2024 - PhotonVentures, the deep tech venture capital fund focused on startups and scale-ups developing solutions with photonic chips, is proud to announce that its second fundraising round of over €15 million has been successfully completed, bringing the fund's total to the targeted €75 million. The enthusiasm in the market for participating in this round underscores the confidence in PhotonVentures’ mission to support growth and capitalise on the rapidly developing integrated photonics semiconductor industry. The fund targets essential applications in data transmission, health diagnostics, and smart sensor systems, while also aligning with major global trends such as AI and AR/VR.
A startup based in Eindhoven may be able to put a stop to the Dutch ‘nitrogen conflict’. Using Spectrik’s integrated photonics-based sensor, farmers and policymakers will be able to quantify nitrogen emissions, thus providing much-needed hard data to curb emissions.
PhotonDelta and MIT Microphotonics Center’s roadmap initiative involves contributions from more than 400 organisations including Airbus, Meta, NASA, Dupont Electronics, General Motors, The European Space Agency and VodafoneZiggoIntegrated Photonics System Roadmap - International (IPSR-I) identifies key technology gaps that, if solved, enable integrated photonics to revolutionise industries including RF photonics (wireless communication), 3D imaging, datacom and sensingThe IPSR-I is a platform for a unified, global trust-based network of industrial and R&D partners to drive innovation and adoption of photonics.Eindhoven, the Netherlands; Massachusetts, USA; 25th March 2024: More than 400 technology, academic and industrial organisations from around the world have contributed to a new integrated photonics roadmap led by foundation PhotonDelta and the Microphotonics Center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
PhotonDelta and Optics Netherlands have launched a first-of-its-kind ‘MasterPlus’ Programme in Optics and Photonics – in partnership with the Netherlands’ three leading technology universities: Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), and University of Twente (UT).
If, in a couple of years, you’re finding your way around town using visual cues projected onto your glasses, you may have Dutch startup Brilliance from Enschede to thank for it.
PhotonDelta backs photonics medtech that creates minimally invasive and more accurate monitoring solutions for diagnosing the performance of circulatory and cardiovascular systemsOudkarspel, the Netherlands; 15 February 2024: Amazec Photonics, a photonics based medtech, has secured a €1.5 million Seed Round to develop its pioneering minimally invasive diagnosis devices.
In an industry still lacking standardisation, Twente-based design house Epiphany Design is making itself available up as a guide in the thick jungle of integrated photonics.
Eindhoven, Nederland, 24 January 2024 – SMART Photonics, the Dutch photonic chipmaker, is taking an important step in becoming the leading foundry for next generation chips. The Dutch foundry has significantly scaled up its production of photonic chips by transferring its entire production capability from 3-inch to 4-inch wafer substrates. Confirming its technology leadership, SMART Photonics is one of the first Integrated Photonics Circuit (PIC) foundries offering 4-inch InP wafer production. The resulting doubling of production rate translates in a lower price per chip, accelerating the commercial roll out of the foundry’s photonic chips.
SuperLight Photonics, a pioneer company for supercontinuum lasers, will showcase the SLP-1000, the first portable wide-band laser, at SPIE Photonics West. It's innovative concept stands out in the industry and offers a portable, high-quality, coherent, and unrivaled light source for industrial, agricultural, and biomedical imaging applications.
2023
Eindhoven 21 December 2023 – as of February 19, 2024, Eelko Brinkhoff, currently Managing Director Foreign Investments & International Trade at Brabant Development Agency, will join PhotonDelta as CEO.
VIENNA, Austria – December 14, 2023 – VitreaLab, a visionary laser technology innovator and University of Vienna Quantum Group spin-off, today unveiled its significant investment from PhotonVentures, a Dutch Venture Capital deep tech fund with a focus on integrated photonics. This alliance is set to catalyse a transformative leap in display technology, with VitreaLab at the forefront of a new era in AR and VR experiences.
LioniX International recently introduced a new high-precision integrated tunable laser that operates at 1310 nm in the O-band, targeting high growth applications across optical communications and optical sensing sectors. The collaboration between LioniX, Sivers Photonics, and Chilas has given rise to this laser, hot off the lab bench and ready to redefine industry standards.
PhotonDelta’s Human Capital Program is helping to bridge the gap between STEM students and the photonics industry. This October, Optics Netherlands, Photonics Society Eindhoven, PhotonicsNL and PhotonDelta collaborated on the Optica High Tech Exchange and CARLA Camp, two events connecting aspiring tech talent with industry insiders and academic experts in Eindhoven.
Enschede, the Netherlands - 29 November 2023. Enschede-based Brilliance builds and develops chips for laser projection applications in Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) glasses. Brilliance has developed a laser technology that offers a breakthrough for the current limitations of low resolution and high energy consumption by projecting very sharp, coulorful images onto glass surfaces such as eyeglass lenses and car windows. The €2 million investment from Oost NL and PhotonVentures underscores the confidence in Brilliance's innovative approach and enables the company to develop further.
Enschede-based startup Superlight Photonics has developed a broadband-laser chip that can replace the bulky and power-hungry technology currently used in advanced imaging and metrology equipment.
The national funding bodies from Japan, United Kingdom, Canada, Czech Republic, France, the Netherlands, Singapore and Spain have allocated funding for organisations collaborating on international R&D projects, excluding technologies associated with nuclear power and drug discovery.
Group of CEOs present the EU Commission with a €4.25 billion plan to support growth of industry which is critical to applications including high speed internet, data security, autonomous vehicles and quantum computing.
From February 1st onwards, Carol de Vries, PhotonDelta CTO, will change roles to focus on startups and support the integrated photonics strategy. Peter van Arkel, currently working with PhotonDelta as the roadmapping director of the IPSR-I, will take over the CTO role.
Eindhoven, 01-11-2023 - PhotonDelta has invested in deep-tech venture Spectrik, currently in HighTechXL’s venture building program.
Eureka is an intergovernmental organisation for market-driven industrial research and development. It is a decentralised network facilitating the coordination of funding for Research, Development and Innovation, aiming to boost the productivity & competitiveness of industries. Participants are invited to submit joint project proposals in the research and development of innovative products and applications with a strong market potential.
Eindhoven, 13-10-2023 - On January 1st 2024, CEO Ewit Roos is leaving PhotonDelta to become a General Partner in the deep-tech venture capital firm PhotonVentures.
Eindhoven, 26-09-2023 – The Eindhoven-based deep-tech company MantiSpectra, a Spinoff of the Eindhoven University of Technology, has successfully secured €4 million funding to support its mission to revolutionise how we ‘see’ the world around us by enabling the adoption of near-infrared spectroscopy everywhere.
Enschede, September 14, 2023 – SuperLight Photonics, a spin-off from the University of Twente, is developing a wideband laser that can serve as a 'light source' in various measurement and detection applications. Today, the company announces the completion of a seed investment round. The round is led by Dutch Deep Tech investor DeepTechXL in collaboration with Oost NL. With this investment, SuperLight Photonics will further develop its platform technology into unique products and (sub)systems.
Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) recently hosted academics and industry leaders from the Netherlands and Taiwan for a first-of-its-kind summer school focussed on advancing innovations in electronics and photonics. The event – Eindhoven Taiwan Summer School: Advancing Innovation In Semiconductor Electronics and Photonics – welcomed an impressive line-up of leading lights from both industries and nations, including representatives from PhotonDelta.
Eindhoven, The Netherlands; 12th September 2023 – Astrape Networks – an innovative tech startup that uses unique integrated photonics to build faster and more sustainable optical networks – has secured a pre-seed funding round of €1.6 million from a consortium of investors and loan providers, including Brabantse Ontwikkelings Maatschappij (BOM), Rabobank, Brabant Startup Fonds, TTT Smart Industries, Shift Invest and PhotonDelta.
Eindhoven, Netherlands; 31st August 2023: PhotonVentures has launched a venture capital fund aimed at early-stage photonic chip startups and scale ups. €60 million was raised in its first financing round with PhotonDelta as the lead investor alongside numerous private investors.
PhotonDelta recently sponsored the 32nd International Travelling Summer School (ITSS-TSaT) organized by Eindhoven Hendrik Casimir Institute (EHCI). The goal was to draw attention to a thriving ecosystem and inspire international students, researchers, and professors to join the photonics industry.
Eindhoven, The Netherlands, 12 July 2023 – SMART Photonics, the Dutch foundry for photonic integrated circuits, has secured an additional round of funding of €100 mln from a group of strategic industry and financial Dutch players.
The National Growth Fund‘s grant to further advance the integrated photonics industry has propelled the PhotonDelta team to expand and significantly heightened its ambitions to add more value to the industry.
München, Germany - The Laser World of Photonics, the largest European photonics exhibition, received a distinguished visitor as the Dutch Minister of Foreign Trade and Development, Liesje Schreinemacher, visited the Holland Pavilion. The event, taking place from 27 to 30 June, showcases the latest advancements in photonics technology and brings together leading experts from around the world.
Etteplan has developed a smart solution to accelerate the global breakthrough in photonics. Using a modular machine platform, lightning-fast assembly of optical elements with extreme accuracy is possible. With the latest innovation, particularly prototypes of photonics products can now be produced much faster.
Sustainable food production and distribution using integrated photonic microchips are top of the menu in a new roadmap from leading photonics experts and researchers.
Enschede, Netherlands – QMware and QuiX Quantum collaborate to develop the first fully integrated, hybrid quantum-classical platform in Enschede, the Netherlands, where QuiX Quantum’s headquarters are located.
Rotterdam, 9 May 2023 – Dutch start-up, Delta Diagnostics, a leader in label-free, multiplexed biosensing, announced today that it has successfully secured Series A funding of €5.25 million.
Eindhoven, 20 April 2023 - During King Willem-Alexander's visit to the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven on April 20, he gained insight into the value chain of integrated photonics in the Netherlands and Europe from various perspectives.
MantiSpectra wins prestigious Hermes Startup Award in recognition of its breakthrough ChipSense device
Funding from PhotonDelta will create production facility to supply Europe’s photonics industry with new silicon nitride chips.
No technology platform can do it all in integrated photonics. In this final installment of a four-part series, we’ll review strengths and weaknesses of the major photonic platforms and take a closer look at how combinations of them unlock the full potential of integrated photonics.
New pTLA to offer industry-best combination of size, affordability, and performance to meet the demand for 100G coherent at the edge.
One of the highlights of PIC Summit Europe 2022, was the autumn meeting of the Integrated Photonics Systems Roadmap – International (IPSR-I). Bringing together industry representatives, leading academics, and chip manufacturers from around the world, the event was another important step towards delivering integrated photonics killer applications by 2035.
The former Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) for Volvo joins PhotonDelta’s Supervisory Board. We caught up with Lex Kerssemakers to find out more about his background, his extensive career, and why he joined PhotonDelta.
QuiX Quantum has been awarded the Prism Award, touted as the “Oscars of Photonics”, for their 20-mode Quantum Photonic Processor. This recognition is a great accomplishment for the Dutch photonic quantum computing company, as it is another validation of their commercially available, market-leading quantum hardware.
Dutch photonic startups supported by PhotonDelta, a cross-border ecosystem of photonic chip technology organisations, have made a series of breakthrough announcements at the Dutch Pavilion (booth# 5209) at Photonics West in San Francisco.
Enschede, the Netherlands - A Dutch consortium led by Invest-NL and FORWARD.one, and further consisting of Universiteit Twente Holding, Oost NL and PhotonDelta, invests €3.5 million in the growth ambitions of LioniX International, an Enschede based global leader in customized microsystem and photonics solutions. The consortium sees her investment in LioniX International as an illustration of its strong commitment to further strengthening the Dutch Integrated Photonics and Deep Tech ecosystems in particular.
2022
No technology platform can do it all in integrated photonics. In part III of a four-part series, we take a closer look at a base material that stands out for its seamless integration with existing CMOS infrastructure: silicon.
Eindhoven, The Netherlands — EFFECT Photonics, a leading developer of highly integrated optical solutions, announced today that it has selected Fabrinet as its manufacturing partner for its integrated optical sub-assemblies.
Over 300 visitors from more than 20 countries enjoyed the first edition of PIC Summit Europe in Eindhoven on November 7 and 8. In two days, the whole integrated photonics value chain - including academics, startups, policymakers, and the industry - got together to share their views and learn from each other.
A photonic integrated circuit (PIC) is a microchip containing two or more photonic components which form a functioning circuit, hence also called photonic chip.
German startup which uses photonic chips to make LiDAR devices cheaper, faster and easier to mass produce, gets backing from PhotonDelta, Scania Growth Capital and ZEISS Ventures
Integrated photonics will have a sustainable impact on society, but its adoption is hampered by long product development cycles and limited production throughput. Improving and scaling measurement and test technology are crucial for accelerating the uptake of integrated photonics.
The market leader in quantum computing with light has a new office in Amsterdam. This is QuiX Quantum’s third standing office since 2019, shortly following another one of their new offices in Ulm with the German Aerospace Center that they won to build a €14 M quantum computer based on photonics.
No technology platform can do it all in integrated photonics. In part II of a four-part series, we take a closer look at a base material that stands out for its ability to produce light, thus allowing for the fabrication of active components: Indium Phosphide.
QuiX Quantum will deliver 8- and 64-qubit fully Universal Quantum Computers based on integrated photonics, integrating the existing technologies from their processors with sources, detectors, and feedforward to create a modular Photonic Quantum Computer. This represents the first commercial sale of Universal Quantum Computers based on light.
With the next IPSR-I Roadmap Meeting scheduled for November 2022 at the PIC Summit Europe in Eindhoven, we provide a round-up of the spring meeting, and take a look ahead at what's to come this autumn.
Asset monitoring & diagnostics expertise of GE’s Grid Solutions matched with PhotonFirst’s innovation leadership in chip based sensing
The Eindhoven-based start-up MantiSpectra has signed a framework agreement with Vestel group to validate and accelerate the use of spectral sensing technologies in the domain of Smart Home appliances.
27 July 2022, Enschede – To continue to support our customers, PHIX is proud to have secured €3 million in new capital for the short term and €20 million for the long term from the National Growth Fund. In addition, PHIX will occupy a new building to support further industrialization and scaling of photonic chip packaging in large volumes.
Rotterdam-based Delta Diagnostics lands seed round from PhotonDelta & TNO Investment to help bring its biosensor system to the market faster.
QuiX’s photonic quantum processors operate at room temperature - vastly reducing their cost and size
No technology platform can do it all in integrated photonics. That's why we are looking for the characteristics of the various technology platforms of photonic integrated circuits. In this article, we take a closer look at a base material that stands out for its low light losses and broad spectral coverage: Silicon Nitride (SiN).
9 June 2022 — QuiX Quantum introduces Dr. -Ing. Stefan Hengesbach as newly appointed Chief Executive Officer, for the world’s most powerful quantum photonics processors and scalable, plug-and-play quantum computing solutions. Founder Dr. Hans van den Vlekkert is retiring from the operational side of the business and will remain with the company as a director and shareholder.
For foreign employees in the Netherlands, the Dutch government offers an allowance for extra costs in the form of a tax advantage. In the run-up to the Spring Memorandum, the 30% facility was discussed.
There’s no doubt about it: in the not-too-distant future, cars are going to have a lot more technology packed into them. A heck of a lot more. Could optical chip technology – aka integrated photonics – be the answer to automotive manufacturers’ combined need for smaller and more energy efficient hardware?
22 April 2022, Eindhoven – HighTechXL and PhotonDelta announce a technology partnership to build new integrated photonics start-ups, thereby strengthening the Brainport ecosystem and the Netherlands as a world leader in integrated photonics. PhotonDelta, the integrated photonics ecosystem, contributes its technical know-how and network, to which HighTechXL adds its venture building expertise.
Eindhoven, Netherlands - PhotonDelta, a cross-border ecosystem of photonic chip technology organisations, has, subject to conditions*, landed €1.1 billion in public and private investment to transform the Netherlands into the leader of next generation semiconductors.
QuiX Quantum, the market leader in photonic quantum computing hardware, today announced the commercial launch of the world’s largest photonic quantum processor. The processor was developed in the Netherlands and outperforms the current generation of processors by almost a factor of 2. The new quantum photonic processor has a record number of qumodes (20). It also has the highest operating specifications on the market. With this new product, QuiX Quantum continues to push the envelope of photonic quantum computing.
At the Optical Fiber Conference (OFC) 2022, EFFECT Photonics, a leading provider of highly integrated optical communication products is announcing that it signed a definitive agreement to acquire coherent optical digital signal processing (DSP) and forward error correction (FEC) technology as well as a highly experienced engineering team from global communications company, Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT).
Global data traffic is doubling every two years. As the growth rate is likely to increase further in the future, optical communication and networking technologies are becoming essential to accommodate this growth in an energy-efficient and sustainable manner.
Eindhoven, The Netherlands - Together, Aircision and EFFECT Photonics are looking to push the boundaries of ground-to-ground FSO technology by combining the advantages of integrated and free space photonics.
Accurate and cost-effective biosensors are expected to play a crucial role in the roll-out of point of care testing. Point of care (PoC) testing is the practice of diagnosing patients at the point of need rather than sending samples to a remote specialised medical laboratory. PoC testing therefore reduces the cost of and the time taken in diagnosis. Integrated photonics technology offers a possible solution for developing genuine PoC diagnostic devices.
Faster, lighter, more durable, and ultimately also cheaper: the advantages of photonic circuits are considerable, for a wide range of applications. And the Netherlands plays an important global role in the development and application of this key technology. In recent years, partly due to the policies of the government, provinces, and Brainport, PhotonDelta has laid a solid foundation under the Dutch photonics ecosystem. Thanks to the work of the technical universities and institutions such as TNO and Imec, there is a strong knowledge base, specialization on two essential production platforms, and a supply chain that provides prototyping and initial production.
The photonics assembly service provider PHIX builds on Nanoscribe’s high-performance 3D printing solution with alignment capabilities to offer 3D-printed standard lensed fiber arrays.
The world premiere at SPIE Photonics West in California marks expansion to North America
2021
QuiX Quantum, the market leader in quantum photonic processors, will deliver a photonic quantum computing solution to the newly established Hungarian Quantum Information National Laboratory initiative. This device represents the fifth quantum photonic processor to leave the QuiX plant. “Quix Quantum’s systems are becoming the de-facto standard in photonic quantum computing” says Dr. Jelmer Renema, CTO of Quix Quantum.
Enschede, The Netherlands - Dutch microsystems developer LioniX International announces an integrated RGB laser light engine for retinal projection augmented reality (AR) headsets. The mm scale light engine excels not only in the brightness and quality of the images projected but also in terms of compactness.
Eindhoven, The Netherlands - The open innovation program OIP4NWE launches its second voucher call for innovation support to stimulate uptake of integrated photonics technology by European-based companies. Up to 5 companies will receive innovation support from the OIP4NWE consortium.
Eindhoven - A new investment by PhotonDelta and the Smart Industries TTT Fund that is managed by Innovation Industries will help TU Eindhoven spinoff MicroAlign speed up its technology and product development. MicroAlign will use the funds to optimize the quality of optical fiber-to-chip connections at packaging and start exploring the market opportunities.
PhotonFirst International, a leading pioneer in integrated photonics sensing solutions for advanced applications, announced to have successfully closed its Series A funding. Jointly, their largest shareholder, Amsterdam-based private equity firm Active Capital Company, and new investor PhotonDelta have committed 11 million euros to fund the 5-year business plan of the company. The company, based in the Dutch cities of Eindhoven and Alkmaar, announced the steps in a press release.
Early civilizations already used optical communication. For example, mirrors and smoke were used to send messages. In recent years, the potential of optics and photonics for communication is expanding rapidly and will form the basis of future communication systems. In this article we give three examples of integrated photonics applied in the data and telecom sector and the advantages they bring.
Still a rather clunky and expensive instrument, the automotive and many other markets eagerly await the availability of an affordable and compact lidar system. Integrated photonics is coming to the rescue.
In September 2021, PhotonDelta launched its roadmap for the use of integrated photonics in the automotive sector. It was created together with various stakeholders from the industry as well as integrated photonics companies.
Our lifestyle has evolved virtually over the last decade, causing an exponential surge in data consumption. High bandwidth data transfers, affordable data plans, cloud migrations and the increasing popularity of streaming services are all contributing to this trend.
Fundraising of EUR 158.5M in total was achieved by presenting companies from the last 3 years’ editions of Photonics event
A programme to train thousands of industry workers in the adoption and development of innovative photonics-based solutions to some of society’s biggest challenges, from environmental sustainability to healthy living and smart infrastructure, has been established by a consortium of over 50 of Europe’s top photonics competence centres.
No single integrated-photonics technology can do it all: they need to be combined for maximum functionality. The set of techniques to do that – hybrid or heterogeneous integration – is a key growth driver for the Dutch integrated-photonics industry. This article explains what heterogeneous integration is and why it matters.
QuiX Quantum, the worldwide market leader in quantum photonic processors, has delivered a 12-mode quantum photonic processor to Germany, for a collaboration with researchers from Paderborn University. This photonic processor is the most powerful in the world.
QuiX Quantum reports the realization of the largest Universal Quantum Photonic Processor in a scientific paper published today.
Global healthcare has never been under so much pressure to deliver and innovate to provide effective patient care at affordable costs to an ever increasing and ageing population.
Dutch photonics packaging foundry PHIX B.V. and Dutch flow meter/controller manufacturer Bronkhorst High-Tech B.V. have combined their expertise in a strategic partnership to enable manufacturing of thermal mass flow sensors using PHIX’s assembly know-how and technology. While Bronkhorst’s expertise is to develop a highly dedicated chip to measure flow in its mass flow meters and controllers, PHIX is servicing Bronkhorst with process development and contract manufacturing to manufacture these sensors in volume with the highest precision possible. This collaboration between the two companies enables the best of two worlds. Bronkhorst’s unique sensor development combined with PHIX’s flexible automated assembly services and process knowledge allows for a seamless scale-up to high volumes with an unpreceded accuracy and repeatability.
Evolving photonic integration is opening up a wealth of opportunities in many application areas by enhancing functionality and spectral coverage, facilitating new applications in biomedical, environmental and industrial fields, making devices more power-efficient and bringing ground-breaking technologies within reach of entrepreneurial SMEs.
Over the past two decades, on more than one occasion the time seemed right for integrated-photonics technology to move beyond niche applications. Now finally, everything is lined up for that to happen, says Lionix International CEO Arne Leinse. It will require one more bold investment push, however.
Surfix announces an investment of € 8,5 million by a Dutch consortium consisting of companies Qurin Diagnostics and LioniX International, industry accelerator PhotonDelta and the East Netherlands Development Agency Oost NL for further development of Surfix’s plug-and-play diagnostics platform.
New Photonic Integration Technology Center (PITC) to advance innovations for global technological and societal challenges with revolutionary chip technology.
The Netherlands and Taiwan, both frontrunners in photonics research, join forces through a new cooperation programme. Photonics is a technology that is used in many products, such as cameras in mobile phones, the Internet and lighting. Joint research should lead to photonic innovations that contribute to economic opportunities for societal challenges such as climate change. NWO, together with the Taiwanese science funding agency, is making 3 million euro available and facilitating matchmaking activities to form consortia.
QuiX, the Twente-based worldwide market leader in quantum photonic processors, has sold one of its devices to Quandela, the leading French quantum technologies firm. With this purchase, Quandela anticipates the French national quantum technologies program that was recently announced by president Macron, which will include a strong photonics component.
Data usage and, thus, data traffic over the mobile and fibre networks is growing exponentially every year. While the currently used optical transmission solutions are reaching their limits, a new technology is ready to be implemented.
The Dutch companies QuiX and PHIX started a collaboration in the project Qmode to overcome the packaging challenges of connecting large-scale quantum photonic processors to the outside world.
Earlier this week, during a visit by NLdigital, the industry association of the digital sector, the 5G Hub in Eindhoven announced that EFFECT Photonics and Vodafone have started testing the integration of so-called optical SoCs in the mobile network. This optical ‘System-on-Chip’ technology is expected to offer internet providers and users many advantages in the future. This includes less delay, higher capacity, but also improved network sustainability. These chips reduce the need for hardware and will significantly reduce both energy consumption and maintenance costs. Vodafone is the first telecom provider in the Netherlands to test this technology in the current network.
QuiX, the Dutch quantum photonics company, announced today that it has sold its first quantum photonic processor. The customer is Qontrol, a quantum technologies company from the UK.
The Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology (WIN) at the University of Waterloo (UWaterloo) and the economic development agency of Brainport Eindhoven in the Netherlands have taken another step towards bringing Waterloo’s top nanotechnology innovations to the EU market.
Optics11 and Optics11 Life have secured funding from Rabobank. The funding will be used to strongly accelerate growth across global markets, to further build the team for the future and to strategically expand the high-tech product portfolios of both business units.
New H2020 project INSPIRE will revolutionize photonic integrated circuit technology by combining highest optoelectronic efficiencies in InP photonics and lowest optical loss in SiN photonics, in a single platform through wafer-scale micro-transfer printing technology.Major photonic integration platforms, i.e., silicon, silicon nitride (SiN) or indium phosphide (InP) based, are now mature and make their impact in the real world, for example by enabling our internet. The potential for wider impact in other fields, such as sensors, is clear.
EFFECT Photonics announces the first close of its Series C round, co-led by Smile Invest together with existing investor Innovation Industries Fund, exactly one year after announcing the tape-out of its Manta full photonic integration coherent PIC. Smile Invest are joined by existing investors including Innovation Industries Fund, Photon Delta, btov Partners, Brabant Development Agency (BOM) and individual investors.
Building communication links with the tremendous capacity of a fiber, without needing a fiber.
Following the renowned incubator HighTechXL, PhotonDelta has recently entered into other fruitful cooperations with NLC, Philips Innovation Services and Lumo labs. The collaboration with experienced incubators, ventures builders and coaching service providers is of strategic importance to the Dutch integrated photonics ecosystem as successful startups will help to create new applications that can benefit from the technology.The most recent addition to PhotonDelta’s network of incubators is Tusholdings, which was officialy confirmed on January 12th. Tusholdings is a science & technology investment group, which has successfully built a global innovation service network with more than 300 incubators and science parks, covering more than 80 cities globally. Tuspark is Tusholdings’ platform to manage its science parks and offers incubation and investment services to high-tech enterprises.
Recently, PhotonDelta signed a partner agreement with Demcon, a leading Dutch R&D partner for high-end technology with headquarters in Enschede and offices in Best, Delft, Groningen, Maastricht, Münster and Singapore. The addition of Demcon to PhotonDelta’s ecosystem will reinforce the Dutch integrated photonic systems supply-chain with their system-level design, development and engineering services across various markets, particularly in life sciences & health and high tech systems & materials.. In return, Demcon is able to benefit from the perks of being a PhotonDelta partner. These, amongst others, include facilitated access to a wide range of companies and knowledge institutes, funding possibilities and visibility created by the PhotonDelta cluster.
The open innovation program OIP4NWE launches its innovation support fund to stimulate uptake of integrated photonics technology by SMEs. Seven SMEs will receive innovation support from the OIP4NWE consortium.By providing innovation support to SMEs across North-West Europe, OIP4NWE contributes to the competitiveness and innovativeness of European SMEs on the global markets. The pilot line has now launched its innovation support fund. Seven SMEs are eligible for receiving innovation support and working together with OIP4NWE’s partners in an open innovation framework to help mature their PIC-based products.
Together with Innovation Industries, PhotonDelta invests seed capital in MantiSpectra, a recent spin-off from Eindhoven University of Technology.
2020
The 2020 Integrated Photonics System Roadmap – International (IPSR-I) is a global reference document that reveals the full potential of integrated photonics.
A unique ecosystem to accelerate and standardize the packaging of integrated photonics.Today Chip Integration Technology Center (CITC), Tegema, PI (Physik Instrumente) and PHIX released their new Photonics Assembly Consortium called PODIUM, funded by PhotonDelta and CITC. The name PODIUM refers to PIC Open Development Infrastructure for Universal Markets. The consortium runs a program in which optical termination technology, assembly and packaging is developed for a wide range of integrated photonic applications. As a Key Enabling Technology, photonics is the driver in many relevant innovations, for example data communication - saving lots of energy - and medical technology - saving lives.
QuiX, a photonic quantum technologies company, has demonstrated the world’s largest universal quantum photonic processor. The device is plug-and-play, compatible with all photon sources, and is commercially available. It was unveiled at a product presentation today.Quantum computing will revolutionize the way we process information. To bring this closer to real-world applications, QuiX has developed a photonic quantum processor – the device at the heart of an optical quantum computer.
Who says chemical analysis needs to be performed in a laboratory, by well-trained personnel? Thanks to a photonic-chip-based spectral sensing system being commercialized by startup Mantispectra, classifying and quantifying material composition will never be easier.
PhotonHub Europe – a new pan-European photonics digital innovation hub –has been awarded €19 million investment from the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme. PhotonHub Europe will help European SMEs and mid-caps become highly competitive digital businesses through faster and smarter deployment of photonics-based technologies, directly creating over 1.000 new high-tech EU jobs and nearly €1 billion in new revenues and venture capital by 2025.
It’s been quite the journey, but Effect Photonics is finally ready to take the telecom market by storm with its tunable optical transceivers. In doing so, it will give the Dutch Photondelta integrated photonics ecosystem a most welcome boost, too.
Although many similarities seem to exist between semicon and photonic production, there are major differences. The availability of front-end and back-end production equipment tuned to their needs, will provide the photonics industry with the tools to efficiently and reliably produce photonic devices and systems. Equipment companies on the other hand, will be involved in the growing photonics industry and can prepare for the upcoming large global equipment market, a win-win situation.
With the addition of PhotonDelta as a shareholder, PHIX further secures its position as a leading packaging and assembly foundry within the European integrated photonics ecosystem. PhotonDelta also provides PHIX with long term financing for equipment purchases necessary to ramp up production of optoelectronic modules. This is made possible by PhotonDelta’s funding partners: Brainport Development and The Province of Overijssel.
On Friday 7 August, EFFECT Photonics, a leading developer of high-performance dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) optical components based on its optical System-on-Chip technology, completed its Series-B funding with an additional 8 million Euro. The investment round, led by independent venture capital fund Innovation Industries, secured continued participation from btov partners, Innovatiefonds Brabant BV, Beek Capital and Optiverder BV, and attracted PhotonDelta as a new partner.
SMART Photonics, the independent foundry for photonic integrated circuits, today announced a €35M Series C investment from a Dutch consortium led by Innovation Industries.The company, founded in 2012 and based at the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven, will use the funds to expand its capacity for wafer manufacturing, accelerate the development of its photonic integration technology and firmly establish the technology in the marketplace through its valued customers.
Carol de Vries is already known in the PhotonDelta network for his exploration on packaging and his current work for the Photonic Integration Technology Centre. He recently started to lay down the PhotonDelta roadmap on automotive, a focal area of the PhotonDelta ecosystem. In this news item we want to give you a short introduction on Carol and his ambition with regards to the roadmap.
At the end of April, the Dutch consortia of the PhotonDelta Flagship project jointly kicked off the project. The project addresses the realization of a robust and versatile hybrid integrated photonics platform that provides scalable solutions for a suite of applications. Moreover, with two proven technology platforms within the Netherlands, InP and TriPleX, the PhotonDelta Flagship project demonstrates scalability to high-volume manufacturing aiming for space quality modules; the highest quality grade in industry. Hence, this project indirectly also supports several industry and application driven roadmaps.
PhotonDelta and its partners have initiated projects to develop bio-sensors, based on integrated photonics. A bio-sensor detects the presence or concentration of specific biomolecules, microorganisms or other biological analytes. Such a sensor is critical to bringing the detection of viruses, cancer or other diseases to the point of care of a patient at an early stage.
Surfix B.V., together with its shareholders Qurin Diagnostics B.V. and LioniX International B.V., already successfully developing bio-photonic nanochips for cancer detection and other applications, today announce an accelerated development plan to allow mass-scale COVID-19 diagnosis and immunity detection with the financial support and in close collaboration with PhotonDelta.
Photonics, or the manipulation of light by means of optical fibers and chips, has become a crucial technology in today’s society. High-speed internet, LCD and OLED screens, optical computer mouses and many sensors could not exist without photonics. Also in industry, photonics is gaining importance every day. Optical inspection enables reliable quality control, not only on completed products but also during the fabriation process. Dimensions, shapes and surface quality can be measured at nanometer resolution, and spectral techniques can identify material composition and contamination. Mechanical stress can be made visible using polarization, and infrared detection systems can see through materials which are opaque to the human eye.
From 11th to 13th of February, the second PhotonDelta Application Bootcamp was held at TU/e. Experts in the field at the Eindhoven University of Technology tried to come up with solutions for Hendrix Genetics, with the use of integrated photonics. The challenge is set on measuring conventional egg properties. The company is enthusiastic about the outcome. Together, we can create solutions!
Last Thursday the Ambassador of Ireland, Mr. Kevin Kelly, along with leaders from its two most important trade organizations, Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland, visited the Brainport region. PhotonDelta presented its strategy and its integrated photonics supply chain. In addition to that, the Irish visitors experienced a tour around Philips Innovation Centre and presentations from EIT Digital, EIT Health and HighTechXL. The meeting was a first introduction to each other’s strengths and interests. The aim of the visit was a to explore whether Ireland and the Netherlands, in particular the Brainport region, can connect in terms of innovation and trade. The discussion lead to enough mutual interest and eagerness to connect PhotonDelta, the Dutch integrated photonics cluster, to companies in Ireland, primarily those active in the medical and, growing, automotive segment,to further explore options for concrete co-operations.
2019
We look back at a successful event, with lively and good discussions on how to grow our integrated photonics industry! The team of PhotonDelta would like to express our appreciation and thank you for attending our first of many PhotonDelta days!
From 4 to 6 November, a multidisciplinary team of PhD students from the Eindhoven University of Technology has been working hard to identify possible integrated photonics based solutions to the next-generation product requirements of Storex. TU/e and PhotonDelta are initiators of this three day event, called ‘Application Labs Bootcamp’.
The Integrated Photonics Systems Roadmap – International 2020 overview, a joint initiative of AIM academy and PhotonDelta, has been released on 10-10-2019. The objective of the IPSR-I is to establish and sustain a trust based global network of Industrial and R&D partners, who are working together on defining and creating future Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC) and Systems Technology and Systems Requirements. They jointly enable faster technology and application developments in this emerging business, guided by an up-to-date technology and application roadmap for future developments.
Active Capital Company (ACC), PhotonDelta and ABN AMRO support integrated photonic sensing market leader by providing financing to support growth.
EFFECT Photonics has secured €5M in funding from PhotonDelta to support its growing business. The funds will be used to further accelerate product development and business scale-up, and thereby strengthens the integrated photonics ecosystem.