OPINION: THE PHOTONICS100
Jose Pozo, CTO, Optica Fotini Karinou, Senior Researcher, Microsoſt Research Cambridge →
levels due to COVID purchasing dynamics, but traffic growth continues to increase. The main challenge that the industry faces in the future is power consumption. The task for the vendors of coherent transceivers is to continue to significantly reduce the power per bit from one generation to the next. That scaling is getting increasingly harder to achieve.” Fotini Karinou, Senior
Researcher, Microsoft Research Cambridge: “Energy efficiency, AI.”
The continuing photonics skills shortage Katrin Wudy, Professor, Technical University of Munich: “There are three big challenges in the photonic world. The first one and a very important one is the increasing war for talent. Highly educated people in the area of laser technology are rare and experienced engineers are retiring. Therefore, for example at the Technical University of Munich, we educate future engineers with new courses on additive manufacturing (AM) of laser technology. But we also train engineers, who have received their degree several years or decades ago, with certificate programs in novel subjects such as AM or artificial intelligence (AI). “Another challenge, but also a chance is the accelerated digital transformation with AI. How do we get these novel methods in photonic
14 Electro Optics February 2024
applications? Again, raising knowledge about the tools is the key. “The third big challenge
is the sustainability of laser technology. The manufacturing industry in general has to become more sustainable since they are one of the big CO2 producers. In this context, the key is transparency. We have to publish systematic data on the carbon footprint of products and processes.” Maik Frede, CEO, neoLASE: “Photonics and laser technologies are going more diverse and will be used in a growing field of applications. To further support this growth we have an increasing demand in skilled people, government support and local goods availability.”
Artificial intelligence Martin Ettenberg, President & CEO, Princeton Infrared Technologies: “Artificial Intelligence (AI) combined with imaging products allowing people to be identified on the street could destroy privacy and damage the whole imaging industry. Imaging has an incredible number of uses, but processing power combined with imagery could make for a dangerous combination that sets us back many years.” Markus Kogel-Hollacher, Head of Dept. R&D Projects, Precitec Optronik: “There are some who perceive AI as a threat. In data processing, evaluation methods based on
“Rapid advancements in photonics technologies might make certain existing solutions obsolete”
AI algorithms will be the future. We will be able to draw the right conclusions from large amounts of data much more accurately and quickly, and thus design much more robust processes.”
Photonics research gaps Mariia Zhuldybina, Institutional researcher, École de technologie supérieure: “The development of components that can operate at terahertz (THz) frequencies is still a significant challenge. THz waves can suffer from high free-space losses and absorption by atmospheric gases. Implementing regulations and standards for new THz technologies is still in progress. The solution can be found by implementing in every environmental object [a coating] with man-made intelligent surfaces of configurable electromagnetic materials. These materials contain integrated electronic circuits and software that enable the control of the wireless medium.” Judith Su, Associate
Professor, The University of Arizona: “The photonics industry… requires a workforce with specialised skills in optics, photonics, electronics, and related fields. A shortage of qualified personnel can hinder growth and innovation. One possible solution is to heavily invest in educational programs, training, and internships to develop a skilled workforce. It’s also important for industry to
Robert Maher, CTO, Infinera
collaborate with universities and research institutions to promote photonics-related education and research. Of course, offering competitive compensation and benefits helps to attract and retain talented professionals.” Anton Stroganov, Product
Manager, LIGENTEC: “I would come back to heterogeneous integration. While there may be several approaches to co-integration of different material platforms in integrated photonics, now we see industrial players making their choices and doing considerable investments to mature underlying technologies. No matter what technology will become a new standard, there is a need and a big challenge to actually show that it is a viable high-yield solution for various building blocks in photonics in a whole variety of wavelength ranges, as well as to build corresponding reliable supply chains. Having industrial consortiums (material providers, chip manufacturers, equipment manufacturers, IP holders, etc) jointly addressing the issue and being ready to directly supply relevant parts or services as technology matures seems to be one of the efficient ways forward, and Europe is seemingly succeeding in this.” EO
See the full Photonics100 list at www.electrooptics. com/thephotonics100
www.electrooptics.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48
