<p id="isPasted"><a href="https://www.cdc.gov/chronic-disease/about/index.html/" target="_blank">Six in 10</a> Americans are living with at least one chronic disease, and four in 10 Americans have two or more chronic diseases. Some of those diseases, such as hypothyroidism and inflammatory diseases, require individuals to carefully track certain blood tests in order to manage their conditions. Unfortunately, that usually means an onerous cycle of scheduling appointments, traveling to hospitals, and waiting for lab results.</p><p>Now SiPhox Health is working to help patients and their doctors manage diseases from the comfort of their home with a new kind of blood test based on a silicon photonic chip. The system is the size of a coffee maker and can produce precise readings for 20 different biomarkers.</p><p>The chip-based device is not yet FDA-cleared, so it is currently only being used for research purposes, but SiPhox also provides mail-in blood testing to thousands of people with chronic diseases, both directly and through other health care and wellness businesses, using approved technology. The company hopes its new system can soon deliver faster results to every home that needs it.</p><p>“A lot of blood tests aren’t done because they're too inconvenient,” SiPhox founder and former MIT researcher Michael Dubrovsky says. “People skip scheduled blood tests, and physicians don’t always prescribe blood tests because they know it’s inconvenient. That requires them to base their decisions on symptoms, and that’s not optimal for many of these chronic diseases.”</p><p>Dubrovsky and SiPhox co-founder Diedrik Vermeulen met at MIT while researching photonic chip and laser technology. They see SiPhox’s technology as the latest in a long trend toward smaller and more scalable devices as they are condensed onto integrated chips.</p><p>“Biolabs typically do blood testing with these large instruments that are full of optics, lasers, lenses, mirrors, and all these very expensive features,” Vermeulen says. “We don’t change any of the main features. We leave all the optics the same, but we miniaturize it onto our chips and make it so scalable that you can ship it to homes. It’s like how computers used to be the size of a room and you could only find them in high-end universities — now they’re all on a chip. We’re doing the same for blood testing.”</p><p><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 832px;"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1731976955976-MIT-SiPhox-03-press.jpg" style="width: 100%px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><span class="fr-inner">"We can offer a new way for people to access health care in their home," Vermeulen says. Pictured is an example of the package sent to clients. Image: Courtesy of SiPhox Health</span></span></span></p><h2><strong>Photonic chips with electric properties</strong></h2><p>Dubrovsky and Vermeulen met through the MIT ecosystem in 2019. Vermeulen had worked in MIT’s Silicon Photonics Group within the Research Laboratory of Electronics and Dubrovsky was working in the MIT Materials for Micro and Nano Systems group.</p><p>The two quickly bonded over a new way to approach optical chips.</p><p>“We had this idea of doing optical chips more like a printed circuit board,” Vermeulen explains. “Electrical chips incorporate a lot of chips on one circuit board, but optical chips typically do everything with a single chip. We wanted to combine optical chips into a new kind of circuit board.”</p><p>The founders met regularly in the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship to refine their approach. In February of 2020, they started filing patents and receiving guidance from MIT professors. They also entered the START.nano program, which helps early-stage companies accelerate their innovations by giving them access to MIT.nano’s laboratories and equipment.</p><p>The same lasers that are used to mass produce traditional silicon chips can be used to manufacture SiPhox’s integrated photonic silicon chips. Each 1-millimeter chip contains lenses, polarizers, modulators, splitters, and other optical components you’d see in a traditional lab-based system, but SiPhox’s chips are cheap enough to be single-use.</p><p>Just as the founders were deciding on the first application for their new chip, the Covid-19 pandemic hit. They took that as a sign.</p><p>“We decided to focus on biosensing, with one of our chips being disposable and the other one being reusable,” Vermeulen says.</p><p>The founders worked to detect infectious disease with their chips but realized the technology was better suited for high-fidelity blood testing.</p><p>“I worked a lot on tunable lasers at MIT, and we use a slightly different approach to lasers at SiPhox,” Vermeulen says. “We applied all of the lessons we learned at MIT to design something from scratch.”</p><p>SiPhox’s chip testing system works with third-party arm patches that people already use to collect blood samples at home. Dubrovsky likens the system to a Nespresso machine in which users simply place a pod into the machine and press a button. Each of SiPhox’s disposable cartridges contains an array of photonic immunoassay sensors that can be used to detect specific proteins or hormones.</p><p>The system includes a dashboard that can be viewed by a physician or the patient themselves to get biomarker data at home. The dashboard also provides historic data and educational content about the biomarkers measured. SiPhox also uses large language models to parse third-party blood test data, allowing users to track traditional blood tests in the same dashboard.</p><p>Because the approach makes use of semiconductor lasers and silicon chips, the founders say a single traditional chip manufacturing facility, or fab, could produce 1 billion of SiPhox’s chips every month.</p><p>“Our technology is very scalable because it’s all on a chip,” Vermeulen says. “There are only two ways to really scale something: You can do injection molding; that’s how you produce billions of plastic cups, for instance. But if you want to scale something very complex, you have to put it on a silicon chip.”</p><h2><strong>A platform for health</strong></h2><p>The founders believe their technology could enable a world where tracking biomarkers is as easy as brushing your teeth. That would have huge implications for the tens of millions of Americans who need to get regular blood tests to manage chronic diseases.</p><p>“For people with inflammatory diseases, tracking inflammation levels is very important because they can develop resistance to their medicine,” Dubrovsky says. “Once they experience symptoms of a flare-up, it’s very hard to reverse. And these symptoms can be horrible, so catching it early is really important.”</p><p>To gain FDA clearance, SiPhox plans to begin studies in coming months, but its system’s accuracy has already been validated by third parties, and the company’s Burlington, Massachusetts, facility is capable of manufacturing about 10,000 of its cartridges per month.</p><p>Once SiPhox gains FDA clearance, it plans to partner with health care systems, health insurers, employers, and mail-in blood testing companies to help people everywhere track their health.</p><p>“We can offer a new way for people to access health care in their home,” Vermeulen says. “Once they have our blood testing device, whether for a chronic disease or something else, anytime they want telehealth-enabled by blood testing, they can use our device, similar to how Apple users have access to third-party apps from many different service providers. Siphox users will have access to curated third-party services built on top of the core blood testing capability.”</p>

SiPhox Health is working to help patients and their doctors manage diseases from the comfort of their home with a new kind of blood test based on a silicon photonic chip. Image: Courtesy of SiPhox Health

The startup SiPhox, founded by two former MIT researchers, has developed an integrated photonic chip for high-quality, home-based blood testing.

Bringing lab testing to the home

<html><head></head><body><p dir="ltr" id="isPasted">The future of photonic integrated circuits (PICs) is brighter than ever, and the Global Photonics Engineering Contest is set to drive this momentum forward. Hosted together by PhotonDelta and Wevolver, this contest calls on tech-savvy engineers and innovators to tackle the engineering challenges of tomorrow. Launched against the backdrop of this year’s PIC Summit, which saw over 700 industry leaders, including government officials, semiconductor experts, and photonics professionals to discuss the future of the photonic chip industry, the contest underscores the urgent need to advance photonic chip technologies to address critical societal challenges.</p><h2 dir="ltr">The Global Photonics Engineering Challenge: Driving Innovation</h2><p dir="ltr">The Global Photonics Engineering Challenge is a pioneering contest that is shaping the future of photonic integrated circuit (PIC) engineering. Hosted by PhotonDelta, an industry accelerator of the development of the photonic chip ecosystem, and Wevolver, a platform dedicated to democratizing engineering innovation, the contest highlights the critical role photonics will play in the future of multiple industries. It is further supported by key actors in the integrated photonics industry: imec, PHIX Photonics Assembly, SMART Photonics, BRIGHT integrated Photonics, Epiphany, and LioniX International.</p><p dir="ltr">The challenge invites participants to design groundbreaking PIC-based solutions across a broad spectrum of industries, from telecommunications and medical devices to quantum computing and environmental monitoring. With the competition focusing on next-generation PICs, participants are encouraged to explore practical applications that could redefine the technological landscape.</p><p dir="ltr">Winners will not only gain €50,000 of services from the PhotonDelta ecosystem to make their idea market-ready and a chance to receive up to €2 million in pre-seed funding, but will also have the opportunity to get recognition among the global photonics community and collaborate with industry leaders to develop their idea.&nbsp;</p><p dir="ltr" id="isPasted">The competition is open for applications from now until the <strong>3rd of March</strong> for any one from startups, established companies, engineers, researchers, students, and academic organizations working on next-generation photonic circuits that tackle pressing societal challenges in areas such as sustainability, healthcare and climate change.&nbsp;</p><p dir="ltr">This challenge is more than a contest—it’s a way to help shape the future of technology, enabling engineers to demonstrate the potential of PICs in addressing critical societal and industrial challenges.</p><p dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.wevolver.com/article/global-photonics-engineering-contest" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" id="isPasted" class="button-main-action">Read more and apply</a></p><h3 dir="ltr">Why the Challenge Matters</h3><p dir="ltr">This year's PIC Summit highlighted the need for innovation and collaboration to continue advancing the applications of integrated photonics, &nbsp;as it is rapidly becoming a critical component in many industries, thanks to its ability to provide ultra-fast data transmission, energy-efficient computing, and compact hardware. However, the design and integration of PICs remain complex. Engineers must overcome significant challenges related to fabrication, power consumption, and scalability. The Global Photonics Engineering Challenge serves as a platform for innovators to present creative solutions to these challenges while showcasing the untapped potential of photonic technologies.</p><p dir="ltr">For engineers, this challenge offers an opportunity to work on cutting-edge technology, collaborate with leading professionals, and contribute to transformative solutions. It highlights the critical role that PIC engineering plays in solving global problems and drives home the importance of continuing advancements in this field.</p><h2 dir="ltr">Key Highlights and Insights from PIC Summit 2024</h2><p dir="ltr">The&nbsp;PIC Summit 2024&nbsp;was a hub of cutting-edge discussions, bringing together over 700 leaders from governments, the semiconductor industry, and the photonic chip sector. The focus of the summit was to explore how photonics can drive the next wave of technological advancements. Leaders emphasized the need for greater European cooperation to remain competitive in the global market and stressed the importance of government support to fuel innovation.</p><h3 dir="ltr">Three Key Themes from This Year’s PIC Summit:</h3><ol><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr"><strong>Industry Roadmaps and Trends:</strong> Discussions on the global photonics roadmap provided valuable insights into where the industry is headed. Experts delved into the latest advancements in materials, fabrication techniques, and applications that are driving the photonic sector forward.</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr"><strong>The Role of Startups and SMEs:</strong> This year's PIC Summit highlighted the crucial role of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and startups in pushing the boundaries of PIC technology. The summit saw several sessions where start ups pitch their applications in biosensing, quantum computing and imaging.</p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr"><strong>Quantum Computing and Photonics:</strong> With the rise of quantum computing, photonics is being explored as a viable technology to enable the creation of quantum bits (qubits) at scale. Sessions dedicated to this topic revealed how photonics could overcome current quantum computing challenges, particularly in scaling and error correction.</p></li></ol><h3 dir="ltr">Be a Part of The Future of Photonic Integrated Circuit Engineering: Apply to the Global Photonics Engineering Challenge</h3><p dir="ltr">The PIC Summit 2024 and the&nbsp;Global Photonics Engineering Challenge&nbsp;represent a monumental shift in how the world views photonic integrated circuits. As governments, industries, and engineers come together to drive the next wave of photonic innovation, the future holds immense potential for transformative applications in a variety of fields.</p><p dir="ltr">For engineers, this is an exciting time. Whether you are involved in telecommunications, computing, healthcare, or environmental technologies, photonic integrated circuits are set to change the game. The&nbsp;Global Photonics Engineering Challenge&nbsp;offers a unique opportunity to contribute to this revolution while gaining recognition in an industry that is poised for exponential growth.</p><p dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.wevolver.com/article/global-photonics-engineering-contest" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="button-main-action">&nbsp;Read more and apply</a></p></body></html>

Industry Leaders Emphasize the Role of Innovation and Cooperation in Developing Integrated Photonic Applications to Address Societal Challenges.

The Future of Photonics: Global Engineering Challenge Officially Launced at PIC Summit 2024

<p id="isPasted">MIT researchers have developed a miniature, chip-based “tractor beam,” like the one that captures the Millennium Falcon<em>&nbsp;</em>in the film “Star Wars,” that could someday help biologists and clinicians study DNA, classify cells, and investigate the mechanisms of disease.</p><p>Small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, the device uses a beam of light emitted by a silicon-photonics chip to manipulate particles millimeters away from the chip surface. The light can penetrate the glass cover slips that protect samples used in biological experiments, enabling cells to remain in a sterile environment.</p><p>Traditional optical tweezers, which trap and manipulate particles using light, usually require bulky microscope setups, but chip-based optical tweezers could offer a more compact, mass manufacturable, broadly accessible, and high-throughput solution for optical manipulation in biological experiments.</p><p>However, other similar integrated optical tweezers can only capture and manipulate cells that are very close to or directly on the chip surface. This contaminates the chip and can stress the cells, limiting compatibility with standard biological experiments.</p><p>Using a system called an integrated optical phased array, the MIT researchers have developed a new modality for integrated optical tweezers that enables trapping and tweezing of cells more than a hundred times further away from the chip surface.</p><p>“This work opens up new possibilities for chip-based optical tweezers by enabling trapping and tweezing of cells at much larger distances than previously demonstrated. It’s exciting to think about the different applications that could be enabled by this technology,” says Jelena Notaros, the Robert J. Shillman Career Development Professor in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), and a member of the Research Laboratory of Electronics.</p><p>Joining Notaros on the paper are lead author and EECS graduate student Tal Sneh; Sabrina Corsetti, an EECS graduate student; Milica Notaros PhD ’23; Kruthika Kikkeri PhD ’24; and Joel Voldman, the William R. Brody Professor of EECS. The research&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-52273-x" target="_blank">appears today in&nbsp;<em>Nature Communications</em></a>.</p><h2><strong>A new trapping modality</strong></h2><p>Optical traps and tweezers use a focused beam of light to capture and manipulate tiny particles. The forces exerted by the beam will pull microparticles toward the intensely focused light in the center, capturing them. By steering the beam of light, researchers can pull the microparticles along with it, enabling them to manipulate tiny objects using noncontact forces.</p><p>However, optical tweezers traditionally require a large microscope setup in a lab, as well as multiple devices to form and control light, which limits where and how they can be utilized.</p><p>“With silicon photonics, we can take this large, typically lab-scale system and integrate it onto a chip. This presents a great solution for biologists, since it provides them with optical trapping and tweezing functionality without the overhead of a complicated bulk-optical setup,” Notaros says.</p><p>But so far, chip-based optical tweezers have only been capable of emitting light very close to the chip surface, so these prior devices could only capture particles a few microns off the chip surface. Biological specimens are typically held in sterile environments using glass cover slips that are about 150 microns thick, so the only way to manipulate them with such a chip is to take the cells out and place them on its surface.</p><p>However, that leads to chip contamination. Every time a new experiment is done, the chip has to be thrown away and the cells need to be put onto a new chip.</p><p>To overcome these challenges, the MIT researchers developed a silicon photonics chip that emits a beam of light that focuses about 5 millimeters above its surface. This way, they can capture and manipulate biological particles that remain inside a sterile cover slip, protecting both the chip and particles from contamination.</p><h2><strong>Manipulating light</strong></h2><p>The researchers accomplish this using a system called an integrated optical phased array. This technology involves a series of microscale antennas fabricated on a chip using semiconductor manufacturing processes. By electronically controlling the optical signal emitted by each antenna, researchers can shape and steer the beam of light emitted by the chip.</p><p>Motivated by long-range applications like lidar, most prior integrated optical phased arrays weren’t designed to generate the tightly focused beams needed for optical tweezing. The MIT team discovered that, by creating specific phase patterns for each antenna, they could form an intensely focused beam of light, which can be used for optical trapping and tweezing millimeters from the chip’s surface.</p><p>“No one had created silicon-photonics-based optical tweezers capable of trapping microparticles over a millimeter-scale distance before. This is an improvement of several orders of magnitude higher compared to prior demonstrations,” says Notaros.</p><p>By varying the wavelength of the optical signal that powers the chip, the researchers could steer the focused beam over a range larger than a millimeter and with microscale accuracy.</p><p>To test their device, the researchers started by trying to capture and manipulate tiny polystyrene spheres. Once they succeeded, they moved on to trapping and tweezing cancer cells provided by the Voldman group.</p><p>“There were many unique challenges that came up in the process of applying silicon photonics to biophysics,” Sneh adds.</p><p>The researchers had to determine how to track the motion of sample particles in a semiautomated fashion, ascertain the proper trap strength to hold the particles in place, and effectively postprocess data, for instance.</p><p>In the end, they were able to show the first cell experiments with single-beam optical tweezers.</p><p>Building off these results, the team hopes to refine the system to enable an adjustable focal height for the beam of light. They also want to apply the device to different biological systems and use multiple trap sites at the same time to manipulate biological particles in more complex ways.</p><p>“This is a very creative and important paper in many ways,” says Ben Miller, Dean’s Professor of Dermatology and professor of biochemistry and biophysics at the University of Rochester, who was not involved with this work. “For one, given that silicon photonic chips can be made at low cost, it potentially democratizes optical tweezing experiments. That may sound like something that only would be of interest to a few scientists, but in reality having these systems widely available will allow us to study fundamental problems in single-cell biophysics in ways previously only available to a few labs given the high cost and complexity of the instrumentation. I can also imagine many applications where one of these devices (or possibly an array of them) could be used to improve the sensitivity of disease diagnostic.”</p>

This chip-based "tractor-beam," which uses an intensely focused beam of light to capture and manipulate biological particles without damaging the cells, could help biologists study the mechanisms of diseases. Credit: Sampson Wilcox, RLE

The tiny device uses a tightly focused beam of light to capture and manipulate cells.

MIT engineers create a chip-based tractor beam for biological particles

Design the next generation application with Photonic Chips

Global Photonics Engineering Contest

Exploring Silicon Photonics: Shaping the Future of Optical Communication

Silicon Photonics: A Comprehensive Guide to the Future of Optical Communications

<p data-block-key="al8jp" id="isPasted">In those latter applications, lasers that can emit extremely short pulses—those on the order of one-trillionth of a second (one picosecond) or shorter—are especially useful. Using lasers operating on such small timescales, researchers can study physical and chemical phenomena that occur extremely quickly—for example, the making or breaking of molecular bonds in a chemical reaction or the movement of electrons within materials. These ultrashort pulses are also extensively used for imaging applications because they can have extremely large peak intensities but low average power, so they avoid heating or even burning up samples such as biological tissues.</p><p data-block-key="6iqns">In a paper appearing in the journal <em>Science</em>, Caltech's <a href="https://www.eas.caltech.edu/people/amarandi" target="_blank">Alireza Marandi</a>, an assistant professor of electrical engineering and applied physics, describes a new method developed by his lab for making this kind of laser, known as a mode-locked laser, on a photonic chip. The lasers are made using nanoscale components (a nanometer is one-billionth of a meter), allowing them to be integrated into light-based circuits similar to the electricity-based integrated circuits found in modern electronics.</p><p data-block-key="fj3q0" id="isPasted">"We're not just interested in making mode-locked lasers more compact," Marandi says. "We are excited about making a well-performing mode-locked laser on a nanophotonic chip and combining it with other components. That's when we can build a complete ultrafast photonic system in an integrated circuit. This will bring the wealth of ultrafast science and technology, currently belonging to meter-scale experiments, to millimeter-scale chips."</p><p data-block-key="9a3i6">Ultrafast lasers of this sort are so important to research, that this year's Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to a trio of scientists for the development of lasers that produce attosecond pulses (one attosecond is one-quintillionth of a second). Such lasers, however, are currently extremely expensive and bulky, says Marandi—who notes that his research is exploring methods to achieve such timescales on chips that can be orders of magnitude cheaper and smaller, with the aim of developing affordable and deployable ultrafast photonic technologies.</p><p data-block-key="419r7">"These attosecond experiments are done almost exclusively with ultrafast mode-locked lasers," he says. "And some of them can cost as much as $10 million, with a good chunk of that cost being the mode-locked laser. We are really excited to think about how we can replicate those experiments and functionalities in nanophotonics."</p><p data-block-key="eb773">At the heart of the nanophotonic mode-locked laser developed by Marandi's lab is lithium niobate, a synthetic salt with unique optical and electrical properties that, in this case, allows the laser pulses to be controlled and shaped through the application of an external radio-frequency electrical signal. This approach is known as active mode-locking with intracavity phase modulation.</p><p data-block-key="fpnt1">"About 50 years ago, researchers used intracavity phase modulation in tabletop experiments to make mode-locked lasers and decided that it was not a great fit compared to other techniques," says Qiushi Guo, the first author of the paper and a former postdoctoral scholar in Marandi's lab. "But we found it to be a great fit for our integrated platform."</p><p data-block-key="855j1">"Beyond its compact size, our laser also exhibits a range of intriguing properties. For example, we can precisely tune the repetition frequency of the output pulses in a wide range. We can leverage this to develop chip-scale stabilized frequency comb sources, which are vital for frequency metrology and precision sensing," adds Guo, who is now an assistant professor at the City University of New York Advanced Science Research Center.</p><p data-block-key="bdu50">Marandi says he aims to continue improving this technology so it can operate at even shorter timescales and higher peak powers, with a goal of 50 femtoseconds (a femtosecond is one-quadrillionth of a second), which would be a 100-fold improvement over his current device, which generates pulses 4.8 picoseconds in length.</p><hr><p data-block-key="ekctn">The paper describing the research is titled "<a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adj5438" target="_blank">Ultrafast mode-locked laser in nanophotonic lithium niobite</a>" and appears in the November 9 issue of <em>Science</em>. Co-authors are Benjamin K. Gutierrez (MS '23), graduate student in applied physics; electrical engineering graduate students Ryoto Sekine (MS '22), Robert M. Gray (MS '22), James A. Williams, Selina Zhou (BS '22), and Mingchen Liu; Luis Ledezma (PhD '23), an external affiliate in electrical engineering; Luis Costa, formerly at Caltech and now with JPL, which Caltech manages for NASA; and Arkadev Roy (MS '23, PhD '23), formerly of Caltech and now with UC Berkeley .</p>

Lasers have become relatively commonplace in everyday life, but they have many uses outside of providing light shows at raves and scanning barcodes on groceries. Lasers are also of great importance in telecommunications and computing as well as biology, chemistry, and physics research.

Ultrafast Lasers on Ultra-Tiny Chips

<section><p><strong>Photonic chips, powered by light rather than electricity, are the future. They will pave the way for self-driving vehicles, innovations in healthcare, and, of course, energy-efficient data and telecommunications. But bridging academic research to industry is not so straightforward. With this in mind, TU Eindhoven, University of Twente, TNO and PhotonDelta are launching the <em>Photonic Integration Technology Center&nbsp;</em>(PITC), a R&amp;D center focused on accelerating the development of integrated photonics technology.</strong></p></section><section tabindex="-1"><p>The possibilities of our current electronic chip technology are slowly but surely reaching their limits due to resistance, which is released in the form of heat as electrons travel through the copper conduits between transistors in chips. That resistance weakens the signal as it passes through the material. &nbsp;</p><p>Unlike electrons, light particles, or photons, lack mass and charge so they do not experience resistance. Moreover, light has properties allowing it to carry much more information, making it the ideal technique to accelerate the transfer of data within and between chips. Provided you know how to tame the light in the right way.</p><h3>From Lab To Fab</h3><p>TU/e has been putting significant investments into this lighting technology for years, and is a global leader in integrated photonic research. And while TU/e is well known for its close cooperation with industry, making the step from lab to factory could do with an extra push. Hence the new <em>Photonic Integration Technology Center.</em></p><p>Sylwester Latkowski, TU/e researcher and the brand-new scientific director of the Center: "This R&amp;D center will build a bridge to really get photonic chips to the market. In fact, we experience a gap when it comes to maturing the technology. As researchers, we work up to an advanced prototype, but the industry lacks the resources to move forward with that," Latkowski explains.</p><h3>Knowing What The Market Needs</h3><p>He continues: "Our role model is <a href="https://www.imec-int.com/en/about-us" target="_blank">imec</a>, the R&amp;D hub for nano and digital technologies for semiconductor electronics industry. With them you really see how much value there is of having a large center for research and development in the chain. And that such an overarching center can perfectly well co-exist alongside the established institutes, start-ups, companies, large industries and universities."</p><p>Fortunately our work is not a matter of conjecture. Latkowski: "We know exactly what we need to do, what the next steps are and how we need to approach them. The bandwidth, the energy consumption, the price and the time frame.”</p><p>"In this respect, we also differ from academia. We're not targeting papers or mentoring PhD students. We are purely focused on what the industry is looking for, what the next generation products and applications need and at what moment which product is wanted," he explains.</p><p>This involves a very different scale than what researchers are used to. Latkowski: "Success is defined in a completely different way, and that requires a completely new way of thinking. What may be a large volume for academics and some of the businesses, say thousands of chips, is very small for industry. They measure success by seeing millions of chips a month rolling off the assembly line.”</p><h3>Silicon Or Indium Phosphide?</h3><p>"Electronic chips and multiple forms of photonic chips will be used side by side over the next five to ten years," Latkowski predicts. The center is therefore fully committed to so-called hybridization, integrating a variety of photonic chips alongside electronic ones. As every material has its own strengths.</p><p></p><div class="fr-img-space-wrap"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 788px;"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1622716440440-csm_IMG_7878_315a510efc.jpg" style="width: 788px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><span class="fr-inner">Photo: Florian Lemaitre&nbsp;</span></span></span><p class="fr-img-space-wrap2">He refers to the various materials from which photonic chips can be constructed. A well-known material that TU/e researcher Kevin Williams and his group are working on, for example, is indium phosphide (InP), a material that can generate, modulate and amplify light itself but for which no very-large-scale infrastructure has yet been developed.</p><p>Silicon based chips can more easily be integrated with the current silicon based fabrication processes used for electronics. For example, the chips based on silicon nitride (Si3N4) that the University of Twente is developing or the full silicon chips that TU/e researcher Erik Bakkers and his group are working on, and which was <a href="https://www.tue.nl/en/news/news-overview/08-04-2020-eindhoven-researchers-present-revolutionary-light-emitting-silicon/" target="_blank">recently demonstrated to be capable of emitting light</a>”.</p><h3>Self-Driving Car</h3><p>That there is a market for cost-effective integrated photonic chips is apparent when we look at self-driving cars. Photonic components are already in use for the cameras and LIDAR modules that provide full surveillance of the surrounding and allow the vehicle to accelerate and brake automatically.</p><p>But one LIDAR sensor of an autonomous Google car, for example, can cost as much as 60.000 dollars. An autonomous car needs at least 6 of such sensors to be able to view the surroundings with sufficient extent of detail and not make any mistakes.</p><p>Latkowski: “The car industry has calculated that the photonic components should cost a maximum of 50 dollars to be a cost-effective solution for the car market. Integrated photonics can then be a game-changer. It brings many advantages over discrete component-based photonic systems, in terms of size, stability, performance, reliability, and cost.”</p><p>Full integration, in which one chip contains photonics and electronics together, is the next step. "Only then can photonics chips gradually take over as the costs of production become less and less," Latkowski concludes.</p><hr><p>This article was first published here: <a href="https://www.tue.nl/en/our-university/departments/mathematics-and-computer-science/the-department/news/news-overview/01-06-2021-netherlands-tames-the-light-in-photonic-chips/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.tue.nl/en/our-university/departments/mathematics-and-computer-science/the-department/news/news-overview/01-06-2021-netherlands-tames-the-light-in-photonic-chips/</a></p></div><p></p></section>

A new applied R&D center accelerates chip technology development towards industry and applications.

Netherlands tames the light in photonic chips

<p>In 2019 the chipmaking industry churned out more than 634 billion computer chips, generating a global turnover of 412 billion euro’s. Although the companies that design and produce the chips, like Intel, Samsung and NXP, are known the world over, the same cannot be said about the company that makes the incredibly complex machines on which these chips are manufactured. We’re talking of course about ASML, the multinational Brainport-based company that with a sense of irony describes itself as ‘the most important tech company you’ve never heard of’.</p><p>Yet ASML’s lithography machines are the backbone of the chipmaking world. Their incredibly accurate lasers, used by large chip manufacturers, print chip patterns onto silicon wafers with resolutions up to 13 nanometers (a nanometer is a millionth of a millimeter). Although ASML is primarily a hardware company, software has become increasingly important to them over the years. This includes artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), which the company uses to improve machine performance.</p><p>As a senior program manager Arnaud Hubaux drives the adoption of AI at ASML. Hubaux introduced machine learning solutions to detect defects during production and optimise the behaviour of their lithography machines. “We use AI as a complementary technology to our product portfolio, which helps our customers get the most out of their chip manufacturing processes,” he says.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Firstly, can you tell us why ASML decided to co-invest in the AI Innovation Center?</strong></p><p>Hubaux: “Many people don’t realise that ASML’s chipmaking machines rely extensively on software to produce and maintain nanometer precision. That includes machine learning and artificial intelligence solutions. The AI Innovation Center is a gateway for us to talk about the challenges of what AI means in that context. Also, with the start of this Center I’m excited that students fresh out of university can immediately learn to apply AI at a scale where a manufacturing process can rely on it. That’s a completely different ballgame than just knowing the mathematical background. The Center is also a way of promoting what we do in the ‘AI for Good’ scope and giving back to the community.”</p><p>Since ASML’s technology is driven primarily by physics — mathematical formulas and models lie at the heart of their lithography systems — adding AI or ML to their toolset wasn’t a foregone conclusion, says Arnaud. Yet he saw a possibility for algorithms to optimise the performance of their machines in order to improve the ‘yield’, the number of good wafers produced per day.</p><p>Optimisation is crucial, since lithography processes can malfunction and ‘drift’. In a business where every nanometer counts process drift is a potential showstopper, which is why ASML engineers are always monitoring and recalibrating machines to perform up to par. “We tried to push the optimisation with our standard physical model,” Hubaux says, “but we were limited by the fact that we didn’t know what was happening in the customer environment.”<br></p><p>Since protection of intellectual property (like chip designs and manufacturing processes) is top priority for chipmakers, each lithography machine operates in a black box environment, completely off-grid and unconnected to any cloud or internet. Hubaux: “We provide all the knobs the customer can turn. Customers configure our machines to their specific production process. So we’re like a car dealer selling a car and knowing exactly how it can perform, but the customer actually drives that car.”</p><p>Without knowing how the machine is configured and used by their customers, it’s all but impossible to achieve full optimisation. That’s where machine learning came in handy, says Hubaux. “For optimisation you have to understand how the domain works. But for us the customer domain is a no-go area. So if I cannot go there myself, I need someone to tell me when I’m right and when I’m wrong. That’s where machine learning imposed itself as the solution, because it is designed to address this kind of issue. The algorithm was able to learn the parts that we didn’t know, which really helped us to further push the boundary of optimisation.”<br></p><p><br></p><p><strong>But how can you train your algorithm if&nbsp;</strong><strong>you do not have actual manufacturing data from the customer?</strong></p><p>Hubaux: “Yes, that’s the interesting part. The whole essence of machine learning is data, that’s how you train the model. In our case the data is owned and protected by the customer, it’s their life blood and competitive edge. We have to make clear agreements about that with customers. After all, this intellectual property is the competitive catalyst for the industry. For machine learning it means that we cannot do what most solutions do, which is to train your model first and then deploy it. Instead we’re using a completely untrained model, like a baby that cannot read or write.”<br></p><p><strong>So how does an untrained model learn?</strong><br>“Our algorithm only needs to know whether each step of the printing process is performed correctly or not. That pass/fail label is supplied to us by the customer. Based on that feedback alone we can tune and train the model, so it slowly adapts its behaviour for the specific context of that customer. Then we can do the finetuning on our machines and help the customers optimise their manufacturing process, without knowing anything about the chip design or manufacturing process itself.”</p><p>Apart from machine optimisation ASML is also using AI to detect defects during visual inspections of the wafers. Algorithms can be trained to spot anomalies in high resolution images of parts of the wafer very efficiently. Machine learning is also helping to correct deformations in the processing of laser images on the wafer. Hubaux says these can all be done in-house with ASML’s own data.</p><p>According to Hubaux the biggest challenge in applying AI in business is industrialisation or ensuring a solution always performs well at customer locations. And for that, Hubaux says, explainability or being able to reason exactly why the algorithm is performing like it does, whether good or bad, is crucial. “Machine learning is a bit of a black box, you don’t know exactly what goes on under the hood. That is why it is extremely important to always be able to explain what is going on inside the model and link it to physics. We invest in these solutions, but we also invest in explaining how they work and behave.”</p><p>Hubaux is critical about hailing AI as the saviour of innovation. Algorithms are useful, but they also have their limits, he says. “For an innovative semiconductor equipment maker like us, you know that new generations of products and systems will never solely depend on AI, because AI needs data to perform and the data is not even there yet. The roadmap for innovation is driven by customer demand and realised by our multi-disciplinary engineering teams around the world. So AI will never be the gatekeeper to produce new generations of lithography systems. But AI does help us to squeeze every possible bit of performance out of our existing machines.”</p><hr><p><strong><em>AI Leadership Forum</em></strong></p><p>Arnaud &nbsp;<span data-ccp-props='{"335559740":288}'>is one of the keynote speakers during the first edition of the AI Leadership Forum on April 22nd. See the list of speakers and register&nbsp;</span><a href="https://hightechcampus.com/events/ai-leadership-forum" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><span data-ccp-props='{"335559740":288}'>here</span></a><span data-ccp-props='{"335559740":288}'>.</span></p><p><span data-ccp-props='{"335559740":288}'><strong>High Tech Campus Eindhoven</strong></span></p><p>Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a game changer both for industry and society. To ride the wave of this technological revolution, High Tech Campus Eindhoven in cooperation with NXP, Signify, ASML and Philips has recently opened the AI Innovation Center on Campus. In this 1100 square meter hub organisations can develop strategies, talent, knowledge and skills in the vastly evolving field of AI.&nbsp;</p><p>In this interview series managers from the four founding companies share their insights on the role of AI both in their companies and the world at large.</p>

Arnaud Hubaux, Senior Technical Program Manager at ASML

Arnaud Hubaux, Senior Technical Program Manager explains about optimization of ASML machines as part of a series from the founding partners of the AI Innovation Center at High Tech Campus Eindhoven.

AI helps us to squeeze every possible bit of performance out of our machines

<h1>Introduction</h1><p>The automotive industry is going through a rapid transformation driven by electrification, autonomous vehicles &amp; driver support systems, and changes in mobility patterns and city infrastructure. These trends will influence the physical design and capability of commercial, public, and individual vehicles and the broader social and economic impacts of changes to car/fleet ownership and use. The increased need for sensors in vehicles, in the electric/hybrid drivetrains and advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) up to autonomous driving systems, creates new significant opportunities for the integrated photonics industry.</p><p>Combustion engine vehicles are facing increasing emission legislation demands. This is leading to accelerated innovation in electric vehicles (EV) and a <a href="https://www.eenewsautomotive.com/news/number-automotive-ecus-continues-rise" target="_blank">very strong increase of electronics</a> in vehicles in two key areas: Power electronics and sensors in EV and Sensors and computing/networking for ADAS in autonomous vehicles.</p><p dir="ltr">Integrated photonics offers <a href="https://www.wevolver.com/article/key-application-areas-for-integrated-photonics" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">promising solutions</a> in both areas. Integrated photonics is the rapidly <a href="https://www.wevolver.com/article/an-introduction-to-integrated-photonics" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">emerging field of photonics</a> that works to integrate multiple photonic functions into integrated circuits for communication, sensing, and, going forward, computing applications. Complex photonic circuits can now generate, process, and detect light, in analogy to how electronic integrated circuits do for electronic signals by way of connecting multiple discrete single-function components (e.g. dedicated lasers, photodetectors) and relevant optical interfaces.</p><p dir="ltr">This article will give an overview of the applications in automotive that hold the most potential for Integrated Photonic potential. Additionally, it will introduce the PhotonDelta Integrated Photonic Automotive roadmap.&nbsp;</p><h1 dir="ltr">Automotive applications with potential Integrated photonic content&nbsp;</h1><p>As the amount of electronic content in cars continues to increase the potential for PIC also rises rapidly. &nbsp;There is a wide range of applications within the future motor vehicle suitable for PIC.</p><p><img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjE3MTc4NTM3MTkxLUlNQUdFIDgtMDEuanBnIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" style="width: 788px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"></p><h1>FMCW lidar and Fiber Bragg Grating Sensors</h1><p>Two areas with the most potential for PIC are FMCW Lidar and Fiber Bragg Grating interrogators.</p><h2>FMCW (Frequency-modulated coherent wave) lidar</h2><p>Lidar is a complementary sensor technology to radar and cameras for ADAS and autonomous vehicles. It works by actively scanning its environment with a laser beam and detecting the return signal to measure distance and speed (for some versions). Different operating principles and many different technical solutions exist, and the technology is developing rapidly under the increased investment from major automotive manufacturers.</p><p>FMCW lidar is gaining traction because it can offer higher sensitivity and measure the speed at the same time. This principle is very well suited for using Integrated Photonics. Future electric vehicle designs are expected to host multiple Lidar, particularly vehicles with elevated autonomous driving functions.&nbsp;</p><div class="fr-img-space-wrap"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 788px;"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjE3MDEzMjU5ODQ5LUlNQUdFIDItMDEuanBnIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" style="width: 788px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><span class="fr-inner" spellcheck="false">Possible sensor set up for autonomous vehicles.&nbsp;</span></span></span><h3 class="fr-img-space-wrap2">FMCW lidar using integrated photonics</h3></div><p>The challenge to bringing an FMCW solution to market has been the lack of low-cost, high-volume manufacturing of the required high-performance components. Affordable FMCW lidar solutions require all-optical functionalities to be integrated into a single silicon chip. PIC offers the level of manufacturing control and accuracy needed for integrated circuits to achieve superior performance and the functionality needed to enable a robust, cost-effective, and high-quality product.</p><p>A low-noise, low-loss, and polarization-independent technology will enable very high signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) so even lower optical powers can be used. Thus, even when humans are close to the sensor, it will remain eye-safe for the detection of distant objects. Measuring objects a few centimeters in dimension &gt;200 m away should be within the capability of integrated circuit-based FMCW lidar.</p><p>Improvements in lidar bring deliver better driver assist systems and will ultimately be essential to widespread autonomous vehicle design. However, FMCW lidar also has massive potential for use in other types of ‘vehicles’ such as autonomous robots for use in manufacturing, healthcare, and infrastructure monitoring.&nbsp;</p><div class="fr-img-space-wrap"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 788px;"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjE3MDEyOTE5MTI3LWNsZWFycGF0aC5qcGciLCJlZGl0cyI6eyJyZXNpemUiOnsid2lkdGgiOjk1MCwiZml0IjoiY292ZXIifX19" style="width: 788px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><span class="fr-inner" spellcheck="false">Lidar will be employed across robotics applications. Image: Clearpath</span></span></span><h3 class="fr-img-space-wrap2">Fiber Bragg Grating sensors using integrated photonics</h3></div><p>Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) sensors work on the principle that light is reflected or absorbed in a fiber where on specific positions a frequency tuned grating is made. This is dependent on force, pressure, temperature, and strain, all of which can be simultaneously measured with extreme accuracy.</p><p>Most fiber optic sensor systems today make use of FBG technology. FBG-based sensing offers advantages, such as small size, fast response, distributed sensing, and immunity to the electromagnetic field. All attributes relevant to application in automotive. These systems can be miniaturized using integrated photonics into very compact interrogator systems that have multiple applications for electric vehicles.</p><p>This miniaturization isn’t just a ‘nice to have' but rather essential for the continued innovation of vehicles to occur. As described above the rapid electrification of all forms of transport means also means more ‘stuff’ is needed inside the vehicles. &nbsp;Wiring, sensors, and processors increase contributing to the vehicle’s overall weight and in turn a reduction in its efficiency. Integrated photonics offers a huge reduction in the overall size of systems. Combined with other communication technologies such as wireless and single pair ethernet, vehicles will get lighter and more efficient.</p><div class="fr-img-space-wrap"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 788px;"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjE3MDEzMjcyODExLUlNQUdFIDMtMDEuanBnIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" style="width: 788px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><span class="fr-inner" spellcheck="false">The sensor market is rapidly expanding&nbsp;</span></span></span><h2 class="fr-img-space-wrap2">The future of vehicles</h2></div><p>We are at a precipice of change within the automotive industry. Multiple technologies, including integrated photonics, are rapidly coming to maturity that has the potential to radically change the way we understand vehicles. At this moment almost all imagined scenarios could become reality. It will be a complex combination of market demand and adoption, resource management, and imagination that will ultimately decide the outcome.</p><h2>Integrated Photonic Automotive Roadmap</h2><p>Dutch growth Accelerator PhotonDelta has created the Integrated Photonic Automotive Roadmap, which provides a clear overview of the automotive industry’s current trends and market conditions and identifies the key opportunity areas for integrated photonics. The roadmap details which technology developments need to occur to support PIC applications and links this with technology roadmaps. Finally, the roadmap proposes an approach for the industry to ensure new applications are not delayed due to roadblocks caused by industry or manufacturing capabilities. <a href="http://eepurl.com/huN8Fj" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sign up here</a> to receive a notification of the roadmap's official release.&nbsp;</p><h1>Summary</h1><p>Integrated photonics opens a wide range of innovation opportunities in automotive. As the electronic components of cars increase and the move to full electrification continue, PIC offers low-power and low-cost solutions that directly contribute to vehicle efficiency. PIC will follow a similar path of decreasing cost as mass manufacturing expands. Future automotive solutions are likely to heavily rely on the advantages of PIC.</p><hr><h2><em>About the sponsor: PhotonDelta</em></h2><p><a href="https://www.wevolver.com/article/about%3Ablank" target="_blank"><em>PhotonDelta</em></a><em>&nbsp;is a growth accelerator for the Dutch integrated photonics industry. Its objective is to promote the adoption of integrated photonics and support companies to get prioritized access to the Dutch Integrated Photonics supply chain. Furthermore, PhotonDelta runs a new business creation program that provides companies, ranging from startups to SMEs and big organizations, with access to strategy, market, and funds.</em></p><p><em>Through its wide network within the industry, PhotonDelta has gathered insights on market trends, challenges, and product roadmaps. This information is used to drive business creation, investments, and strategic technology roadmaps. Furthermore, PhotonDelta actively supports start-ups and SMEs to facilitate their involvement with the Dutch integrated photonic supply chain. This includes facilitating options for establishing a solid presence in the Netherlands.</em></p><p><em><img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjE3MTAxMzgwMDU0LXBob3RvbiBkZWx0YSBhcnRpY2xlIGJvdHRvbSBiYW5uZXIuanBnIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" style="width: 788px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"></em><br></p><p><br></p>

Integrated photonics offers promising solutions in a range of automotive applications.

The Road Ahead for Integrated Photonics in Automotive

<section><p><strong>Our access to the internet is made possible by an ensemble of technologies such as photonic integrated circuits (PICs). There is also potential for PIC devices in healthcare or sensing, however their use in these applications is limited by issues with scalability and high-throughput manufacturing. The TU/e-coordinated H2020-funded project INSPIRE seeks to change how PIC devices are fabricated to make them suitable for applications beyond communications and speed up their large-scale production. INSPIRE has received close to 5 million euros in funding and has just been officially launched.</strong></p></section><section tabindex="-1"><p>The technological world is built on a foundation of electronic devices. In recent years though there has been an upsurge in the use of <em>photonic</em> devices, particularly for data transfer applications. These photonic devices are based on materials like silicon, silicon nitride (SiN) and indium phosphide (InP).</p><p>While these devices have the potential for wider impact in other fields like sensors used in aircraft or communication devices, their uptake is limited as different materials need to be effectively combined to meet performance requirements.</p><p>For example, high-performance fiber sensors used in infrastructure monitoring and microwave signal processing in RADAR systems both require low-noise operation and ultra-low degradation of signals. This can only be achieved through a combination of materials in the manufacturing process. If this manufacturing process can be properly scaled to allow for large-scale production, it is expected that these photonic devices can have a major impact on sensing applications.</p><p><br></p><div class="fr-img-space-wrap"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 788px;"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1616801247953-csm_Micro_transfer_image_88d0e3eeb3.jpg" style="width: 788px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><span class="fr-inner">Source: INSPIRE project&nbsp;</span></span></span>&nbsp;</div><section tabindex="-1"><h3><strong>Be Inspired</strong></h3><p>To facilitate the combination of these high-performance, so-called III-V opto-electronic materials in photonic devices, INSPIRE is developing wafer-scale micro-transfer printing technologies, and the project has received H2020 funding to the tune of 5 million euros to achieve its goals.</p><p>In micro-transfer printing, devices are first made on a source wafer, after which they are transferred to a target wafer (see image). This printing concept has been established and widely applied by project partner X-Celeprint to different wafers and materials. The INSPIRE project is focusing on the next step: parallel device printing with accurate placement where many integrated devices can be printed at the same time.</p><p>The INSPIRE micro-transfer printing technology will be validated for three specific cases: fiber sensors to measure stress, strain, and temperature for use in airplane safety measures, a microwave photonic radio-frequency (RF) pulse generator with application in RADAR and wireless communication, and optical switches for energy-efficient data centers. Compact versions of the III-V opto-electronic components will be developed, enabling designers to use this platform for a wide range of applications.</p></section><section tabindex="-1"><h3><style type="text/css"></style><style type="text/css"></style><span data-sheets-formula="=PROPER(R[-1]C[0])" data-sheets-userformat='{"2":769,"3":{"1":0},"11":3,"12":0}' data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Combining Established Fabrication Technologies"}'>Combining Established Fabrication Technologies</span></h3><p>INSPIRE aims to sustain Europe’s industrial leadership in photonics by consolidating established fabrication approaches, such as those from the pioneering pure-play foundry and TU/e spinoff SMART Photonics and the silicon photonics pioneer imec, with the micro-transfer printing technology of X-Celeprint.</p><p>This will result in a world-first fabrication platform that combines the strengths of two of the most well-known PIC manufacturing platforms. Methods will chiefly be developed for the coupling of SiN and InP processes, but could also be used for silicon-based photonics.</p><p>INSPIRE coordinator prof. Martijn Heck from Eindhoven University of Technology is excited by the possibilities that lie ahead: “By combining SMART and imec technologies, with only minor changes to the fabrication processes, we can leverage the major investments in the development of these platforms from the last decade. We can thus significantly reduce the time needed to transfer our technology out of the lab, and make a faster and telling impact in new application areas.”</p></section><section tabindex="-1"><h3><style type="text/css"></style><style type="text/css"></style><span data-sheets-formula="=PROPER(R[-1]C[0])" data-sheets-userformat='{"2":769,"3":{"1":0},"11":3,"12":0}' data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"Onwards To Application"}'>Onwards To Application</span></h3><p>And the potential of the INSPIRE approach is demonstrated by the participation of industrial partners such as Dr. Jerome Bourderionnet from THALES: “The INSPIRE platform enables high-performance building blocks, such as low-linewidth lasers, which are at the heart of THALES’ applications for optical signal processing at large, or sensing integrated systems.”</p><p>INSPIRE aims to create a full-function PIC platform, compatible with open-access pilot manufacturing, and with an order of magnitude lower cost for volume production.</p><p>INSPIRE’s generic approach makes the technology widely applicable and ensures that European innovators can focus their research and development directly on manufacturing platforms. As a result, it should take a shorter time to bring these PIC technologies to market.</p><p>The INSPIRE project consortium is made up of TU/e, imec, Thales, University of Cambridge, X-Celeprint, SMART Photonics, and Amires. The project officially started on 1<sup>st</sup> January 2021. The project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement n°101017088, project INSPIRE.</p></section><hr><p><style type="text/css"></style><style type="text/css"></style><span data-sheets-userformat='{"2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}' data-sheets-value='{"1":2,"2":"This article was first published here"}'>This article was first published here:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tue.nl/en/our-university/departments/mathematics-and-computer-science/the-department/news/news-overview/24-03-2021-new-project-set-to-inspire-advances-in-photonic-devices/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.tue.nl/en/our-university/departments/mathematics-and-computer-science/the-department/news/news-overview/24-03-2021-new-project-set-to-inspire-advances-in-photonic-devices/</a></span></p></section>

H2020-funded INSPIRE project to lead a revolution in photonic integrated circuits with so-called micro-transfer printing technology and establishment of world-first fabrication platform.

New project set to INSPIRE advances in photonic devices

<h1>Faster, cheaper disease diagnosis</h1><p>Biosensing refers to the detection of biomolecules using an analytical device that combines a biological component with a physicochemical detector. <a href="about%3Ablank" target="_blank" style="border: 5px solid green;">Silicon photonic biosensors (GOOD)</a> based on evanescent wave detection are among the leading types of technology that can deliver genuine point-of-care (PoC) devices. PoC devices will play a huge role in the global prevention of and fight against disease.</p><p>Most medical diagnostics techniques use time-consuming, expensive, and specialized techniques performed by trained technicians at the laboratory level. The distance between the patient, the diagnostic centre, and the return of results can lead to long wait times for diagnosis and expensive testing. There is a need for a portable, easy to-use, and highly sensitive lab-on-a-chip (LOC) platform for real-time diagnosis. The advantages over current methods include reduced time, costs, and a reduction in the need for highly trained staff making fast cheap testing more widely available; a scenario that has come starkly into focus during the 2020 global coronavirus pandemic.</p><h1>Towards an Integrated Photonics Point of Care Future</h1><p>The emerging field of Integrated Photonic (PIC) based biosensors offers advantages to the PoC industry such as miniaturization, extreme sensitivity, robustness, reliability, potential for multiplexing (multiple simultaneous tests) and mass production at low cost. This cutting-edge technology requires support and a collaborative approach to ensure its potential is maximized.</p><p>The Netherlands is a global leader in PIC research, development, and production. Various research institutes and private companies have led IP breakthroughs for more than a decade. This innovation is assisted and supported by PhotonDelta, a growth accelerator for the Dutch integrated photonics industry. &nbsp;To further innovation in the area of IP biosensing, PhotonDelta has created <a href="https://www.photondelta.com/news/the-road-to-next-gen-biosensing-photondelta-roadmap/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="border: 5px solid orange;">a roadmap for the technology (EXTERNAL)</a> that supports the mission of PhotonDelta to grow the business based on integrated photonics in the Netherlands. The roadmap illustrates the path towards medical devices based on integrated photonics.</p><p>This article will outline the role of integrated photonics in enabling the development of biosensors that will be a key part of our future health care systems while highlighting the core points from the PhotonDelta roadmap, including:</p><ul><li>Describing the current trends and drivers.</li><li>Outlining the technological solutions based on integrated photonics.</li><li>Providing an overview of the challenges and opportunities.</li><li>Outlining the industry ecosystem.</li></ul><h1>Point of Care testing</h1><p>The Point-of-Care testing market is significant and growing quickly, even in pre-Covid times. The need for advanced point of care testing has become increasingly clear during the coronavirus pandemic. The value growth of the PoC market is expected to grow from $4.8B in 2019 to $10.1B in 2025, at a CAGR of 13.0%. The associated biosensor device market (microfluidic chips) was valued at $500M in 2019 with an estimated growth to $777M by 2025 at CAGR of 7.7%.<sup>1</sup></p><p>The drivers for an increase in PoC testing include the severe cost pressure on global health care systems as a result of the aging population and a focus to reduce the impact of the world's deadliest diseases.</p><p>Point of Care testing exists in a wide range of segments. Each has its own set of priorities and required technologies.</p><h2><img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjE1OTY4Mzg3ODMxLTIyLnBuZyIsImVkaXRzIjp7InJlc2l6ZSI6eyJ3aWR0aCI6OTUwLCJmaXQiOiJjb3ZlciJ9fX0=" style="width: 788px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Timeline and trends</h2><p>PoC testing has undergone a significant transformation over the last two decades. In the early 2000s, PoC testing enjoyed a huge breakthrough with the wide availability of simple tests such as blood glucose levels. These handheld devices offered fast results, although their cost was still relatively inhibitive for mass availability. In the resulting years, increasingly complex tests required increasingly complex instrumentation. Large, expensive, and lab-bound testing instruments were common. These instruments decreased in size as breakthroughs in Integrated Circuits (IC) and other technologies allowed, PoC testing demands a further reduction in the size of instruments, with the long-term goal to deliver instrument-free consumables.</p><div class="fr-img-space-wrap"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 788px;"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjE1ODE3MDY5Nzk3LVBvaW50IG9mIENhcmUgVGVzdGluZyBEZXZlbG9wbWVudCBUaW1lbGluZSAoMSkuanBnIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" style="width: 788px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><span class="fr-inner" spellcheck="false">Point-of-Care testing is moving towards instrument-free consumables.&nbsp;</span></span></span><h1 class="fr-img-space-wrap2">Integrated photonics biosensor technology</h1></div><p>Integrated photonics biosensor technology has the potential to deliver fast, affordable, and highly accurate biosensor testing applications useful for PoC. Integrated biosensors are miniaturized in Integrated Circuit-like processes and can be produced in large quantities which leads to very low cost and thus disposability. Because of their very small size and the integration processes, a limited sample volume is needed, the time to result is fast, and the sensor area can be filled with many sensing structures for multiplexing.</p><p>The integrated biosensor concept hinges on the biomarker/bioreceptor interaction. The integrated biosensor device combines a biological or biomimetic recognition element with a transducer which converts a specific (bio)chemical interaction into a measurable signal. The selective biological receptor determines the specificity and response time of the test in combination with the layer of the sensor which determines where the receptors are attached while being antifouling elsewhere. The main bioreceptors are antibodies, DNA strands, aptamers or enzymes, and biomimetic materials. The method of inclusion or immobilization of the receptor on the transducer surface is critical for performance. The more different types of bioreceptors that can be defined on the active surface, the more powerful the biosensor is.</p><p><img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjE1OTY4ODIyNjA5LUFuYWx5dGUgKCBiaW9tYXJrZXIpICBpbiBzYW1wbGUgKCBibG9vZCApICgxKS5qcGciLCJlZGl0cyI6eyJyZXNpemUiOnsid2lkdGgiOjk1MCwiZml0IjoiY292ZXIifX19" style="width: 788px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"></p><h2>SiN offers advantages</h2><p>PIC biosensors using Silicon Nitride (SiN) waveguides offer several intrinsic advantageous properties. They work in a very wide wavelength range from visible to near-infrared, avoiding the water absorption window of water and allowing fluorescence detection. This wavelength range makes it easy to combine them with a cheap laser source, reducing their cost and size. &nbsp;Biosensors based on SiN PICs are highly sensitive. A very low detection limit can be achieved by using self-referencing optical structures that eliminate sources of noise like temperature variations. For more technical detail on PIC-based biosensors, read our other article here. (BAD)</p><h2><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/438875125" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable" style="width: 788px; height: 447px;" data-lf-form-tracking-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-yt-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" data-lf-vimeo-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true"></iframe></span>Cost and size</h2><p>PIC biosensor technology can deliver the low cost, portable tests that the healthcare industry demands. In general, cost per test must be lower than clinical lab testing, unless the value provided by the short time to result is very high, then higher cost per test is worthwhile. &nbsp;The main route to driving down the cost is mass manufacturing the same way the IC industry has done for ICs: the production of many million PICs per year based coming from large substrate wafers which are processed in highly automated lines.</p><p>The drive is now towards instrument-free consumables. This means shrinking the analyzer and test chip to a disposable which can easily be held in hand. The coronavirus ‘fast tests’ are a good example of this.</p><h2>Multiplexing and time to result</h2><p>One of the key advantages PIC based PoC testing offers is the ability for significant multiplexing. These tests are able to interrogate several targets at one time resulting in more accurate and streamlined testing procedures. The trend for tests with only 2 or 3 bioreceptor types are ‘fast tests’ with results delivered in under 15 minutes. Tests with significant multiplexing, for so-called syndromic testing, such as microbiological screening or cancer profiling that may have more than 200-plex should aim to be returned in under an hour or at least significantly faster than conventional tests.</p><h1>Challenges and Opportunities</h1><p>An important long-term goal for PIC biosensor PoC testing is to remove the need for any instrument (benchtop or handheld) instead have disposable testing instruments using smartphones for display purposes. The key targets of reducing cost, addressing appropriate sensitivity, managing time to results, and increasing multiplexing drives the field forward, however, each of these targets will be hit at different times depending on their own set of technological challenges. Given the complexity of the market, profitable applications can be envisioned to arise already when only one or a few of these targets are met.</p><h2>Opportunities</h2><p>Outside of efficient and low-cost PoC testing, there are several drivers in life sciences and health care that can be addressed by integrated photonics. These include the continuous monitoring of biomarkers (wearable, minimally invasive, ingestible, or implantable). There is also the possibility of a combination of monitoring of biomarkers with simultaneous therapy, within the framework of personalized medicine, such as in-situ diagnostics of organ-on-a-chip systems.</p><h2>Challenges</h2><p>Challenges for the development of PIC-based PoC tests centers on a trade-off between cost and robustness/reliability. There are several directions the technology could take depending on the timing of the maturation of some of the technology and the focus that leading developers take. A multi-disciplinary approach towards assay development, biochemistry, surface functionalization, microfluidics, and an integrated approach to industrialization is necessary for high cadence innovation.</p><h1>Industry ecosystem</h1><p>The biosensing ecosystem is complex and requires significant collaboration between diverse groups to ensure continued increased innovation. A high-level overview of the industry's leading players and influencers demonstrates how a collaborative approach to PIC biosensors for PoC is essential.</p><p><strong>Platform provider:&nbsp;</strong>Offers a hardware platform (instrument &amp; disposable) that enables the integration of standardized assays, with sample preparation and detection.</p><p><strong>Assay provider:</strong> Comes with its own assay (reagents) and collaborates with the platform provider to integrate the assay on the hardware.</p><p><strong>Disposable manufacturer:&nbsp;</strong>Combines the elements from the platform provider and the assay provider. May also obtain optical biosensors from the foundry.</p><p><strong>Distributor:</strong> Is the conduit to the end-user. May also be the platform provider and even the assay provider.</p><p><strong>End-user:</strong> Any customer having purchased the instrument from the platform provider</p><p><strong>Others:</strong> providing packaging, assembly, and testing equipment; R&amp;D services.</p><h1>Next steps</h1><p>Even pre-Covid, there is a sizeable, fast-growing market for PoC testing, with a large number of potentially profitable product/market segment combinations. The most significant growth area is in complex molecular diagnostics that require low-cost disposable biosensors that deliver fast results and have extensive multiplexing capability. A collaborative approach, particularly between diagnostic companies and platform providers is key for globally relevant innovation.</p><p><a href="https://www.photondelta.com/news/the-road-to-next-gen-biosensing-photondelta-roadmap/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="border: 5px solid orange;">Download the PhotonDelta roadmap here. (EXTERNAL)</a></p><hr><h1><em>About the sponsor: PhotonDelta</em></h1><p><a href="about%3Ablank" target="_blank" style="border: 5px solid green;">PhotonDelta (GOOD)</a><em>&nbsp;is a growth accelerator for the Dutch integrated photonics industry. Its objective is to promote the adoption of integrated photonics and support companies to get prioritized access to the Dutch Integrated Photonics supply chain. Furthermore, PhotonDelta runs a new business creation program that provides companies, ranging from startups to SMEs and big organizations, with access to strategy, market, and funds.</em></p><p><em>Through its wide network within the industry, PhotonDelta has gathered insights on market trends, challenges, and product roadmaps. This information is used to drive business creation, investments, and strategic technology roadmaps. Furthermore, PhotonDelta actively supports start-ups and SMEs to facilitate their involvement with the Dutch integrated photonic supply chain. This includes facilitating options for establishing a solid presence in the Netherlands.</em></p><p><img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjE1ODE3MTg3NDczLXBob3RvbiBkZWx0YSBhcnRpY2xlIGJvdHRvbSBiYW5uZXIuanBnIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" style="width: 788px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"></p><h1><em>References and further reading</em></h1><p>1. Point-of-Need 2020 – including PCR-Based Testing- report-www.yole.fr</p>

Point of care (PoC) testing diagnoses patients at the point of need rather than in a medical facility reducing time to diagnosis and increasing patient care.

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