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Delen
Photonics is the technology that processes, transports, and measures information using particles of light, photons, in much the same way electronics does with electrons. While electronics uses electric current to transmit signals through copper traces, transistors, and chips, photonics uses light that travels through optical fibres, waveguides, lasers, and photonic chips. The major advantage of light is that it is extremely fast, can carry large amounts of information simultaneously, and loses less energy than electrical signals. That is why photonics is important for applications such as data centres, telecom, and medical sensors.
The development of integrated photonics resembles the steady climb up a mountain: for a long time, progress may seem gradual, sometimes even flat, but only in hindsight does it become clear how steep the route actually was. That metaphor fits an industry that has spent more than ten years building something much bigger than a single technology company: a complete chain around photonic integrated circuits, or PICs.
That chain has now become broad. PhotonDelta, the industry organisation for the photonics sector, describes the Dutch PIC ecosystem as an interconnected whole of design companies, foundries, packaging and testing companies, module builders, application companies, knowledge institutions, and specialised suppliers. By the end of 2025, the core of the Dutch PIC industry consisted of 33 pure PIC companies, together generating €33 million in revenue and employing 780 FTEs.
The next phase is no longer just about proving technological potential but about scaling up and market adoption. There is not one single champion, but a chain in which every link is needed. These seven players illustrate how that chain works. Our ecosystem partners, Phix and Superlight Photonics, play a vital role in steps 3 and 4 of the supply chain. Find out more at: https://ioplus.nl/en/posts/7-key-players-in-the-dutch-photonics-ecosystem.
Source: IO+
