FOCUS BUSINESS AND RESEARCH NEWS


FOCUS PHOTONICS FUNDING NEWS


New Origin secures €6M to build independent photonic chips foundry


University of Twente spinout New Origin has secured €6m in funding from PhotonDelta, a cross-border ecosystem of photonic chip technology organisations to create the Netherlands’ first independent photonic chips foundry that produces silicon nitride chips. The investment is the latest step in PhotonDelta’s goal to create a world- leading photonics industry in the Netherlands. New Origin’s foundry will enable companies to produce their own photonic chips, overcoming a significant hurdle for the photonics industry by substantially reducing costs, while also increasing the availability of photonic chips. Ewit Roos, CEO of PhotonDelta, said:


“New Origin’s foundry is going to play an important role in building Europe’s photonic chip industry. Not only will it help to meet existing demand for chips, it will also gather invaluable insights into how we can create large-scale production facilities [to meet future demand]. This is a vital step in both making Europe less dependent on other regions for chip technology and unlocking the full potential of integrated photonics.”


A roundup of some of the latest photonics firms/technologies


attracting funding to accelerate their innovation efforts


Kepler Communications raises $92M to complete internet-ready satellite constellation


Kepler Communications has raised $92m in Series C funding, bringing its total raised equity to more than $200m since 2016. It is building an optical communications infrastructure consisting of two near- orthogonal planes of relay satellites in sun-synchronous orbits, with the satellites in each plane being connected via SDA- compatible optical links. Kepler seeks to launch an optical data


relay infrastructure in 2024, complementing its existing RF network. Optical services will be operational and available to customers by


Q1 2025. The internet-ready constellation will deliver data to and from spacecraft in real time, enabling high- speed data relay through SDA-standard optical terminals. The company plans to launch two


Pathfinder satellites in autumn, testing and validating optical communication technology developed for its constellation. Its newest satellites build on the flight heritage of its existing constellation, totalling 21 satellites after the launch of two additional spacecraft in mid-April.


Vector Photonics awarded £1M to commercialise datacoms PCSEL


Vector Photonics has won Zeus, a £1m industrial research fund for AI laser development. The funding will enable the Scottish firm to accelerate the commercialisation of its 1W, 1,310nm, all-semiconductor datacoms PCSEL, which targets the interconnects, silicon photonics and CPO used in next-generation cloud datacentre applications. Dr Richard Taylor, CTO of Vector Photonics,


said: “An uncooled, 1W PCSEL is a game- changer for cloud datacoms applications. It offers significant optical power increases over incumbent DFB technology, with countless manufacturing and energy-saving benefits.


4 Electro Optics May 2023


Next-generation datacentre interconnects are expected to deliver 800Gbps, increasing to 1.6Tbps and then 3.2Tbps over the


next decade. The 1W PCSEL enables this development, with a reduction in the laser quantities needed of up to 10 times. The resulting interconnects, silicon-photonic chips and CPO systems become significantly easier to make, with a high likelihood of improved yield and reliability.” The PCSEL will positively affect the


architecture of all datacoms chips and systems, Taylor added. “Power consumption, heat, latency, and manufacturing costs will all be reduced, along with operational power savings due to the PCSEL’s symmetrical far-field, making its data transmission more efficient than DFBs.”


@electrooptics | www.electrooptics.com


Vector Photonics


Kepler Communications


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