Let there be light: Tyndall secures €5m in photonics funding

Photonics is used in high-speed fibre optic communications, cardiac diagnostic sensors and self-driving cars

PhotonicLEAP Prof. Peter (Head of Photonics Packaging & Systems Integration), Parnika Gupta (PhD student, Photonics Packaging & Systems Integration) and Dr. Josue Parra (Engineer, ficonTEC Ireland).

A European research project based in Tyndall aiming to drive down the cost of photonics manufacturing has secured €5m in funding through the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme.

PhotonicLEAP is a European collaborative project coordinated by Tyndall in Cork. With demand for photonics being driven by mass-market technology requirements, the global photonics market is expected to be worth over €850bn by 2026. 

The technology is used in high-speed fibre optic communications, cardiac diagnostic sensors, self-driving cars, and a myriad of internet of things (IoT) technologies all require photonic integrated circuits (PIC). 

However, the manufacturing of photonics is costly. The EU is aiming to position Europe at the forefront of wafer-level photonics development, packaging, and test technologies to reduce the cost of production 10-fold.

"Photonics is the key to unlocking the potential of technologies we need for today's interconnected world," said Tyndall's head of photonics Professor Peter O'Brien.

We need faster, more efficient, greener and cheaper solutions to our increasing usage of technology, which photonics manufacturing addresses.

"Therefore, we are delighted to receive this significant and vital funding from the European Commission to enable us to develop truly disruptive photonic packaging and test technologies."

"I look forward to coordinating this exciting transnational consortium, which brings together a wealth of photonics expertise, interdisciplinary skills and impressive infrastructure to deliver on our ambitious objectives. 

"We are confident that photonic packaging and test technologies developed in PhotonicLEAP can make a real impact to increase the uptake of Integrated Photonics across Europe.”