The European Union is investing €380m in the construction of a pilot photonic chip factory. Of that amount, about a third, or €133 mln, will go to the Netherlands, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs. The money is earmarked for a new production line in Twente and the region around Eindhoven.
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This is one integrated European project, where investments will be made in several European locations. For instance, Twente will focus on silicon nitride-based chips and Brabant on indium phosphide-based photonic chips. The project is expected to start in mid-2025.
Twan Korthorst welcomes the European project. Since 1 October, Korthorst has been ceo of New Origin, a Twente-based company that plans to build a production facility for silicon nitride-based photonic chips.
‘This EU project is going to ensure that the production technology for photonic chips becomes even more mature. That is also good news for New Origin,’ says Korthorst. ‘It is very important to make that technology even more mature and make sure that when you produce chips they do it in one go.’
Technological lead
In addition, the barriers to using the new photonics technology are being lowered, leading to more activity, Korthorst expects. He believes this will eventually lead to a greater need for production capacity. New Origin plans to invest in its own production facility and hopes to produce the first photonic chips in a few years’ time.
One of three ambition lines ChipTech Twente
A production line for photonic chips fits into ChipTech Twente’s European ambition. As photonic chips are at an early stage of development, we see an excellent opportunity in Twente for pilot production of these chips and to grow into large-scale production.
In Twente, we believe in challenge-based innovations, close to the market, but always at the forefront of what is scientifically
and technically possible.
Read the full article at fd.nl
