Integrated Photonics
Shaping our future with the power of light
Photonics – the generation, processing and detection of light – is crucial to our future internet and for better healthcare, mobility and security. At TU/e we develop new materials, devices, integrated circuits and systems to create game-changing solutions that enable faster and more reliable data communication at lower energy cost and novel sensors for healthcare, automotive and agrifood applications. This activity is integral part of the research program of the Eindhoven Hendrik Casimir Institute.
Light: the essential ingredient for future technology
The exponential increase in data traffic is becoming unsustainable. At the present pace, information technologies will soon be responsible for >10% of the global electricity consumption. Photonics – the technology that uses light to carry information – can come to rescue, by providing low-energy, high-speed data transmission throughout the internet and within data centers. Photonics additionally provides new ways to sense the world around us and is a key enabling technology for healthcare, autonomous driving and smart farming. However, these promises can only be realized if increasingly complex photonic chips can be produced at low cost. Within the Eindhoven Hendrik Casimir Institute we perform fundamental and applied research aimed at making this dream come true.
Our job opportunities
"In photonics, with relatively simple steps, you can make great contributions to achieve new things. And TU/e is the best place to do photonics research, since we provide a rich working environment, excellent facilties and ample job opportunities in the Brainport region."
Andrea Fiore, Scientific Director of the TU/e Center for Integrated Photonics
Accessible and low-cost design of photonic chips with newly launched industrial pilot manufacturing line
Future technologies in the fields of communication, sensing, and quantum computing look set to be based on photonic integrated circuits (PICs). To reduce development and prototyping costs for companies working on PICs, access to foundry manufacturing of PICs is essential. The JePPIX consortium, which was established in 2006, has just launched a new Pilot Manufacturing service to provide companies with an accessible and low-cost service for the design and pre-production of PIC devices that can help accelerate the development of such devices for a wide range of societal applications.
Related research groups
The seven TU/e groups working on Integrated Photonics together cover three fields:
- Photonic materials and devices
- Photonic integrated circuits
- Photonic systems
Optical Sensing Challenge
Do you have an industrial sensing problem? Do you want to know if optics/photonics can provide a solution? We can check it for you! We set up teams of PhD/Master students to brainstorm over possible optics-based solutions to a sensing problem. This is done at no cost for the involved companies, which get access to the results and have the opportunity to start a collaboration with the TU/e. See here for the details on the way of working.
Interested? Send us an email!
Photonics and spectroscopy appear promising technologies for measuring conventional egg properties such as shell thickness and egg quality automatically and at scale. Fascinating what the team was able to come up with in a few days. (Bram Visser, Hendrix Genetics)
News
Center for Integrated Photonics Eindhoven
The Center for Integrated Photonics Eindhoven (IPI) carries out research in materials, devices, circuits and systems enabling novel applications in communications, computing and sensing. The Center is funded by a 10-years NWO-Gravitation grant and is embedded in the Eindhoven Hendrik Casimir Institute. The Center’s ultimate mission is to break the current limits in the energy consumption of information systems, and thereby contributing to a sustainable information society. The groups participating to the Center provide the expertise needed to achieve this.
Meet our principal investigators
Research Projects
Our research in the area of Integrated Photonics covers the whole chain from materials to system engineering. We develop and integrate new materials and components on the nanoscale, connect micro-photonic integrated circuits and micro-electronic integrated circuits, and devise solutions to enable the next generation 5G network.
Our Partners
Our technology and ideas have found their way to the market, through collaborations with large companies and spin-offs. To make this even simpler, we have created a national integrated photonics ecosystem, PhotonDelta, and a European platform for photonic integration, JePPIX. On the right you can read some of our success stories.
Meet some of our partners
PhotonDelta Fast Career Track program
Integrated photonics will have major impact in areas such as communications, healthcare, agro-food, and mobility. The market is growing fast and thousands of jobs will be created. TU/e is the place to start a career in this field.
Do you want to be part of this future?
Then you should consider the new PhotonDelta Fast Career Track program. This program involves TU/e Master students in Applied Physics or Electrical Engineering in photonics research and applications, together with researchers and companies active in this field. For more information please consult:
PhotonDelta Fast Career Track Program for Applied Physics students
PhotonDelta Fast Career Track Program for Electrical Engineering students
Interested? Send an email to photonicscareer@tue.nl
Start-ups
We actively encourage the creation of start-ups based on our technology. A number of them is already active in the market.
Contact us
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Visiting address
Center for Integrated PhotonicsFlux 0.155Building number 19Groene Loper 55612 AE EindhovenThe Netherlands -
Postal address
Center for Integrated PhotonicsFlux 0.155PO Box 5135600 MB EindhovenThe Netherlands -
Contact person
Center for Integrated Photonics Office