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nanotimes
10-02 :: February 2010
EU-Projects
“PLATON” – New FP7 European Research
Project on Plasmonics and Silicon Photonics
T
he new research project PLATON is targeting
the realization of a fully integrated Terabit per
second optical routing system for data networks
through merging Plasmonics and Silicon Photonics.
All consortium partners have gathered for the kick off
meeting in Dijon for the first time and discussed their
joint activities within the new project.
PLATON aims to be the first project that will realize
Terabit per second optical routing fabrics for opti-
cal interconnects in backplanes and Blade Servers main task within PLATON will constitute the analy-
adopting Plasmonics as its disruptive technologi- sis, design and optimization of the final Terabit per
cal vehicle. Plasmonics is an emerging research dis- second router prototype. With Fraunhofer Institute
cipline that deals with the demonstration of entirely for Reliability and Microintegration IZM in Ber-
new classes of devices based on surface plasmon lin, Germany, the Syddansk Universitet Denmark,
waves. Surface plasmon waves were first observed in Universite de Bourgogne France, the Institute of
the 1980’s, with light waves traveling at the interface Communication and Computer Systems Greece as
between a metal and a dielectric and inducing a well as AMO GmbH, Germany, the main partners
resonant interaction between the waves and the free with competences in optics and photonics are wor-
electrons at the surface of the metal. king together to reach the challenging project targets.
PLATON will pioneer the field of routing for optical The commercial exploitation of the PLATON com-
interconnects and will provide a completely new ponents is guaranteed with the involvement of the
technological toolkit. It will also open totally new German SME AMO GmbH, fabrication specialist
application vistas and opportunities for European for SOI nanophotonic devices. The mission of AMO
industry being active in the field of nanophotonics, is to develop innovative technologies for nanoelec-
given that the active participation of industry within tronics and nanophotonics and their implementation
PLATON ensures the industrial take up of the com- in novel devices architectures to a prototype level.
bined Plasmonics/Photonics functional devices from
research elements to commercially available pro-

http://www.ict-platon.eu
ducts.
http://www.amo.de
The PLATON project is coordinated by the Greek
Centre for Research and Technology Hellas, whose