The European Commission and the Chips Joint Undertaking (Chips JU) select the PIXEurope consortium to lead the European pilot line on Advanced Integrated Photonic Circuits

The European Commission's Chips Program has confirmed the selection of PIXEurope, the European pilot line for advanced photonic chips, as the 5th pilot line of the European Chips Strategy, which enters the financial and technical negotiation phase.

Within the framework of the European Chips Strategy, the so-called European Chips Act, the creation of PIXEurope aims to offer cutting-edge technology platforms, transforming and transferring innovative and disruptive integrated photonics processes and technologies to accelerate their industrial adoption. The objective is the creation of European-owned and manufactured technology in a sector of paramount importance for technological sovereignty and, therefore, for the creation and maintenance of corresponding jobs in the Union.

The PIXEurope consortium involves 20 entities from Spain, Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Portugal, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, and will be coordinated at continental level by ICFO, the Institute of Photonic Sciences (based in Barcelona).

In Spain, in addition to the ICFO and the Institute of Microelectronics of Barcelona (IMB-CNM) of the CSIC, the consortium includes the Universitat Politècnica de Valencia (UPV); the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M); and the Universidad de Vigo (UVigo).  The pilot line is co-funded by the Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Administration of the Government of Spain and is supported by the Generalitat de Catalunya. 

The context of a growing demand for chips

Every year, the needs of the digital society are growing considerably, as shown by the increase in the global market for photonic integrated circuits (PICs), whose production is expected to grow by more than 400% over the next 10 years. By the end of the decade, the global photonics market is expected to exceed 1.5 trillion euros, a figure comparable to the entire annual gross domestic product of Spain. At present, photonic chips represent only a small percentage of this market.

Every year, the needs of the digital society are growing considerably, as shown by the increase in the worldwide market for photonic integrated circuits (PICs), whose production is expected to grow by more than 400% over the next 10 years. By the end of the decade, the global photonics market is expected to exceed 1.5 trillion euros, a figure comparable to the entire annual gross domestic product of Spain. At present, photonic chips represent only a small percentage of this market.

This remarkable growth is due to the imperative need and demand for devices for applications in fields such as telecommunications, artificial intelligence, image sensing, automotive and mobility, medical and healthcare, environmental care, renewable energy, defense and security, and a wide range of consumer application sectors. The features and specifications required for such applications are provided by the combination of microelectronic chips and photonic chips. The former handle information processing by manipulating electrons within silicon-based circuits and their variants, while the latter use photons in the visible and infrared spectrum ranges in a wide variety of materials.

Over the next 10 years and during the operational phase, the pilot line will boost the production capacity and innovation potential of European companies to a new level, enabling them to develop and manufacture prototypes of their products based on photonic chips. It will help research organizations bridge the gap between the lab and the factory by exploiting novel scientific results and accelerating the commercialization of this research, in particular by supporting the creation of new technology-based companies (start-ups).

In particular, the pilot line will contribute to the design and development of an optimized manufacturing chain, with the participation of end users and industrial partners, for the evaluation of production processes to be transferred to industrial scale, with the ultimate goal of creating a unique European PIC ecosystem; establishing itself, worldwide, as the first fully integrated PIC pilot line operating in open access mode for the user.

In this sense, the Institute of Microelectronics of Barcelona (IMB-CNM) of CSIC will have a significant participation, as it will act as the technological core leading the group that will incorporate new advanced equipment for the fabrication and characterization of silicon nitride photonic chips, one of the monolithic integration technologies that will be worked with in the pilot line. The other technologies for PIC fabrication will be based on indium phosphide, silicon, silicon germanium, silicon carbide and alumina.

IMB-CNM's activity in PIXEurope is focused on establishing a silicon nitride technology with high integration capacity and very low propagation losses, resulting in more compact and energy efficient photonic circuits.

CSIC research Prof. and head of the project at IMB-CNM Carlos Domínguez points out that PIXEurope will favor research and development in a key area, such as integrated photonics; helping European industry to improve its competitiveness and positioning Europe in the market for advanced technologies, reducing technological dependence. “Europe has the scientific knowledge and the human and technical resources needed to lead the photonics revolution worldwide,” he adds.

As for our country, he indicates that “PIXEurope will allow us to position ourselves internationally as a technological focus of the first order, attracting and retaining talent, and improving the productivity of our companies."

Joaquin Faneca, researcher at IMB-CNM, adds that “PIXEurope offers young researchers an exceptional opportunity to access a wide range of integrated photonics technologies and gain hands-on experience in design, manufacturing and verification. Having such a state-of-the-art facility in Europe allows new talent to develop their expertise, train the next generation of photonics leaders and drive innovation in the photonics field in Europe."

IMB-CNM currently has one of the largest Clean Rooms in Southern Europe, accredited with ISO9001 and prepared to produce prototypes and small series of chips on demand from companies and academic groups. IMB-CNM is the largest center in Spain dedicated to the research and development of Micro and Nano Technologies (MNTs) for electronic and photonic applications, with unique capabilities in silicon technology and complementary or related materials that allow the manufacture of components, circuits and systems for different fields of application (communications, data centers, energy, medicine...). It belongs to the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and is accredited as a María de Maeztu Unit of Excellence by the State Research Agency (2024-2028).

In addition, the institute is part of the APECS consortium, the third pilot line of the Chips JU, where technology for heterogeneous integration and advanced encapsulation of microelectronic systems is being developed. This consortium is led by the Fraunhofer Institution in Germany. To date, IMB-CNM is the only Spanish institution participating in two pilot lines. 

Also, in the framework of the Chips JU calls, IMB-CNM is the only institution participating in the two shortlisted proposals to establish Competence Centers in Spain, and in the only proposal submitted for the development of the European Design Platform. “All this evidences and reinforces our role as a reference in the Spanish semiconductor ecosystem and our high degree of representativeness in Europe,” explains Luis Fonseca, director of IMB-CNM.

About the Chips Joint Undertaking (JU)

The European Commission's Chips Joint Undertaking supports research, development, innovation and future manufacturing capabilities in the European semiconductor ecosystem. It was launched by EU Council Regulation No. 2021/1085 and amended in September 2023 as part of the Chips for Europe Initiative. To address the semiconductor shortage and strengthen Europe's digital autonomy, it has significant EU, national/regional and private industry funding of almost €11 billion. The EC Chips is funded by the European Union, EC Chips participating states and private members.

In April 2024, EC Chips announced the selection of four pilot lines for deployment in Europe. Now, the PIC pilot line becomes the fifth to enter negotiations, in a key effort to strengthen capacity building and innovation in Europe. In line with the objectives of the Chips for Europe initiative, this pilot line is expected to collaborate closely with the other Chips Joint Undertaking pilot lines (1, 2, 3 and 4), the Design Platform and the Competence Centers.

_{Main image: Characterization of a silicon nitride integrated photonic circuit. Credit: IMB-CNM, CSIC.}