A breakthrough in photonic integration

Photonic Integrated Circuits, also called optical chips or PICs, are considered as the way to make photonic systems or subsystems cheap and ubiquitous. PICs still are several orders of magnitude more expensive than their microelectronic counterparts, however, which has restricted their application to a few niche markets. Recently, a novel approach in photonic integration is emerging which will reduce the R&D costs of PICs by more than a factor of ten. It will bring the application of PICs that integrate complex and advanced photonic functionality on a single chip within reach for a large number of small and larger companies. Europe is leading in this novel approach and the Netherlands is playing a key role.