The industry’s most innovative people 2024 Jose Capmany


Organisation: iPronics/Valencia Polytechnic University


Role: Founder/Full Professor of Photonics


“Programmable processors will radically change the way we design, manufacture, and operate photonic chips, enabling their penetration into high-performance computing, 5/6G communications, and sensing,” says Jose Capmany. Thanks to a new advanced grant awarded


by the European Research Council, Capmany will be working on programmable silicon photonics processors and computers for the next five years. This technology provides the ability to manage multiple interferences, he says, which could change the way computing is approached in the future. Capmany believes heterogeneous


Jose Pozo


Organisation: Optica Role: Chief Technical Officer


Together with his corporate engagement team, Jose Pozo, CTO at the photonics society Optica, believes in focusing on the “grand challenges”. These include, he says, “the impact of a


global chip shortage, and what the Chips Act will mean for photonics, the continuous search for qualified talent, access to affordable and trustworthy market data, selecting the right investors at the right time, engaging with young start-ups and scale-ups for partnership, investment or acquisition, engaging with the end-users”, and more.


Based in: Noordwijk, The Netherlands


Education: PhD, Electrical Engineering, University of Bristol


“The 2023 OFC Conference raised the


biggest dilemma of the last decade,” Pozo says, “how do we save power now?” The answer, according to Pozo, lies in three things: digital signal processors, silicon photonics modulators, and light sources. “New materials are coming to silicon photonics, offering major advantages in speed and power consumption,” Pozo says. He adds: “How do we reduce the power consumption of the light sources? That’s easy: use less of them or make them more efficient.”


Judith Su


Organisation: The University of Arizona Role: Associate Professor


“I want my sensors to help make important discoveries in biology and other areas. They can provide a paradigm shift in how we diagnose diseases by measuring tiny molecules, which could help us detect diseases sooner, find harmful chemicals in our surroundings, and even discover new drugs,” says Judith Su, an Associate Professor at the University of Arizona. Su's lab is focused on label-free, ultra-


sensitive detection using whispering gallery mode microtoroid optical resonators. She is developing next- generation optical sensors and, through collaboration with top researchers, using


Based in: Tucson, Arizona, US Education: PhD, Caltech


Frequency Locked Optical Whispering Evanescent Resonator (FLOWER) sensors to understand fundamental science, improve medicine, and monitor the environment, she says. "Due to an ageing population, increased


focus on non-invasive medical procedures, and the development of new imaging and sensing techniques,” Su says, “I see the healthcare and biophotonics sector as having the biggest opportunity for growth in the next 12 months.” She adds: “Integrated photonics sensors


represent a promising and rapidly growing sector within the broader industry.”


Based in: Valencia, Spain


Education: PhD in Electrical Engineering and PhD in Physics


integrated photonics and microtransfer printing are significant technologies to emerge in the industry: “Silicon will be the base for passives and micro-transfer printing will be key in transferring actives – such as lasers, SOAs, and LiNbO3 modulators – into silicon, combining the best of all worlds.” Noting challenges to be overcome in


the industry, Capmany says the focus is to “reduce losses and power consumption in photonic chips, develop standardised fabrication and packaging procedures for optical chips, and develop co-integration of photonic and electronic chips".


32 Photonics100 2024


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