Posts Categorized: Uncategorized

The path to future AI data centers is paved with optical interconnect

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. Networking individual XPUs can help bridge this gap. By distributing AI training and inference workloads over many chips, networked XPUs deliver a significantly more powerful

Photonic Technologies call: over 7 million available for academic research on photonic technologies

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. With the call, NWO

A look at trends, innovations, and the Dutch presence at CES 2025

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. I first attended CES about 20 years ago while working at Philips. We wanted to get

PIC Summit Europe 2024: day 2 afternoon round-up

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.   Demoing new applications Throughout the day, the Brasserie NEXT

PIC Summit Europe 2024: day 2 morning round-up

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. Optical computing and data

PIC Summit Europe 2024: day 1 afternoon round-up

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,

PIC Summit 2024: Industry leaders stress the need for deeper European cooperation and government support to accelerate the photonic chip industry’s growth

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. PIC Summit Europe, organised by photonic chip industry accelerator PhotonDelta, is covering a range of issues and

PIC Summit Europe 2024: day 1 morning round-up 

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. Since PIC Summit 2023, an increasing number of large semicon companies have realised the added value of integrated photonics. For

PhotonDelta launches €50,000 global photonics engineering contest to drive breakthroughs in photonic chip applications tackling global challenges

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. Eindhoven, the Netherlands; 9 October 2024: Photonic chip industry accelerator PhotonDelta is

Photonic sensing start-up Senergetics seeks out corrosive piping

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. Corrosion is a major headache for every chemical plant owner. A big

LIGHTUP Project Report

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. To strengthen the innovative capacity of companies in the Flemish-Dutch border region, there arises a critical need for accessible cleanroom infrastructure to

QuiX Quantum technology advances scalable photonic quantum computing

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.  A GHZ

Twente start-up aims to revolutionise AR

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.  Having just returned from the SPIE Photonics West Exhibition in San Francisco, co-founders Tim Tiek and Douwe Geuzebroek of Brilliance couldn’t be in a

Amazec Photonics secures €1.5 million Seed Round to develop new generation of circulatory and heart failure detection tech

PhotonDelta backs photonics medtech that creates minimally invasive and more accurate monitoring solutions for diagnosing the performance of circulatory and cardiovascular systems Oudkarspel, 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. The round was led by PhotonDelta

Epiphany: a bridge to help speed up the adoption of integrated photonics technology

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. A new Integrated Photonics design house has emerged from the Dutch Photondelta ecosystem. Leveraging more than four decades of cumulative experience, Enschede-based Epiphany Design aims to act as a

SMART Photonics scaling up to 4-inch wafer production that doubles the production capacity, realising a lower price per chip

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

SuperLight Photonics Unveils World’s First Portable Wideband Laser at SPIE Photonics West

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. Traditionally, supercontinuum lasers have been bulky and power hungry,

Eelko Brinkhoff appointed new PhotonDelta CEO to further grow the organisation as a leading international ecosystem for integrated photonics.

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. Eelko Brinkhoff has extensive experience and knowledge in the field of Foreign Direct Investments and internationalisation of small and medium enterprises. He has built a strong

VitreaLab receives investment from PhotonVentures to ignite the future of outdoor Augmented Reality technology

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

Ultra- narrow linewidth integrated CW tunable laser at 1310nm

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. “The

Brilliance secures seed investment from PhotonVentures and Oost NL to develop laser engines for Augmented Reality glasses

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

Superlight Photonics’ ‘white’ laser set to revolutionise imaging

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 idea popped into his head while moving the remainder of his belongings from Germany to his new home in Enschede. During his PhD research at the Department of Ultrafast

Globalstars call for projects with Japan

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. With this call, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate encourages Dutch entrepreneurs, knowledge institutions and research organizations to

Europe’s largest integrated photonics companies call on the EU to support building a resilient supply chain for photonic ICs

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. Eindhoven, Netherlands; 7th November 2023: CEOs from eight* of Europe’s largest integrated photonics companies have presented Thomas Skordas, Deputy Director-General, DG Connect,

PhotonDelta CTO changes roles to support PIC startups while welcoming new CTO to drive PIC roadmap strategy

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. Carol has been part of PhotonDelta since 2019 and has seen the ecosystem

PhotonDelta invests in Spectrik, an integrated photonics venture addressing nitrogen crisis

Eindhoven, 01-11-2023 – PhotonDelta has invested in deep-tech venture Spectrik, currently in HighTechXL’s venture building program. Spectrik is developing an integrated photonics gas sensor to measure real time ammonia emissions at livestock farms, including dairies and pork producers. By demonstrating the precise measurement of ammonia at the farm level to policymakers, officials and environmental services,

EUREKA GlobalStars Call with Taiwan

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

Ewit Roos leaves PhotonDelta to increase funding for the European photonics industry.

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. Roos joined PhotonDelta eight years ago and helped the organisation develop into a recognised and well-funded integrated photonics industry accelerator with over 60 corporate members and a global reach. Photonic

MantiSpectra Secures €4 Million in funding to Revolutionize Material Analysis with Spectral Sensors powered by AI

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. Innovation Industries and PhotonVentures led the funding round. Together with the support

Photonics Startup SuperLight Photonics Secures Seed Funding in Investment Round with DeepTechXL and Oost NL

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

Astrape Networks secures €1.6 million in pre-seed funding to develop photonics-powered ‘sustainable data center’

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

PhotonVentures raises €60 million to supercharge Europe’s photonics startups

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. PhotonVentures plans to raise a total of €100 to €150 million, with its final close

SMART Photonics secures €100 mln in additional funding

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. Among the group of new lenders are strategic players from the semiconductor industry (ASML, NXP and VDL Groep) as

PhotonDelta moves office and launches new brand identity for further growth

New PhotonDelta office, HTC 31 in Eindhoven

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. As of today, PhotonDelta’s new office will be at High Tech Campus 31 in Eindhoven to accommodate the expanding team. Due to this new

Dutch Minister of Foreign Trade & Development visits Holland Pavilion at Europe’s biggest Photonics Event

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

Dutch photonics industry lights up US market with a raft of breakthroughs at Photonics West 2023

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. Breakthroughs at Photonics West Astrape Network’s photonics solution allows for much faster data transmission compared to traditional electrical networking. Crucially, it is

Report: Equipment needs for efficient and reliable production of integrated photonics

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

Visit Ambassador of Ireland

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

Successful PhotonDelta Day!

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! We had over 125 attendees with various backgrounds: specialized in integrated photonics, high tech