Dutch Optoelectronics Giant Opens North American Office To Accelerate Advanced Semiconductor R&D Applications

On July 9 EST, Dutch photonic chip gas pedal PhotonDelta announced the opening of a new office in North America. The move is part of the organization's strategy to promote cooperation between Europe and North America and accelerate the development of the photonic chip industry.
Accelerating advanced semiconductor R&D and applications
In recent years, photonic chips have made possible the development of advanced semiconductors that enable smaller, faster and more energy-efficient devices. This is critical to overcoming the limitations of conventional semiconductor technology and advancing artificial intelligence in a sustainable way.
In addition to the use of photonic integrated circuit (PIC) technology in data centers to improve performance and reduce energy consumption, photonic integration technology has tremendous potential for applications in quantum computing and novel sensing solutions in areas such as healthcare, agriculture and automotive.
To drive these innovations, PhotonDelta has raised $1.2 billion to conduct multiple R&D programs, lead international roadmap activities, and invest in innovative startups applying PIC technology.
Over the past five years, PhotonDelta has provided support to SMART Photonics, EFFECT Photonics, PHIX Photonics Assembly, Astrapé Networks, MantiSpectra, Surfix Diagnostics, Delta Life Science, Scantinel Photonics, Amazec and others have raised a total of more than $500 million.
Combining the strengths of European and American photonics technologies
PhotonDelta believes that a unified photonic chip industry is critical to realizing its potential and addressing the challenges facing the semiconductor industry. This is because Europe and the United States each have strengths in complementary photonic chip technologies.
The Netherlands has the world's largest concentration of photonic chip technology organizations and is a global leader in the development of indium phosphide and silicon nitride-based photonic chips. The United States, on the other hand, is at the forefront of silicon photonics technology, benefiting from its extensive infrastructure and large-scale production capabilities compatible with traditional semiconductor manufacturing.
Silicon photonics technology requires indium phosphide support because active components cannot be integrated on silicon. Silicon nitride, on the other hand, is particularly well suited for sensing applications and quantum computers due to its extremely low loss characteristics. In short, depending on the application, a combination of different platforms is required to unlock the best features and functionality.
PhotonDelta's North American Center Ecosystem
PhotonDelta's new center, located in Silicon Valley, brings the Netherlands' world-class photonic chip capabilities to North American organizations.
The PhotonDelta ecosystem now reaches more than 70 organizations, forming a complete value chain that includes design services, multiple photonic chip fabricators, packaging, assembly and test services, and a growing number of fabless companies using PIC technology for innovative solutions.
We look forward to entering the North American market and working with industry leaders to accelerate the development of this critical technology," said Jorn Smeets, Managing Director of PhotonDelta North America. As we expand our international value chain, we need to capitalize on each other's strengths and bring our expertise, operations and capital to North America."
International Integrated Photonics Systems Roadmap (IPSR-I)
PhotonDelta and the MIT Center for Microphotonics' International Integrated Photonics Systems Roadmap (IPSR-I), provides a technology roadmap and a clear way forward to build a global, coherent integrated photonics industry with the ability to help solve major societal challenges.
A global network of industry and R&D partners work together to create the technology and system requirements for photonic integrated circuits (PICs). By integrating the entire supply chain, from research to end-user, the integrated photonics industry will be able to drive the volume production of photonic integrated circuits (PICs).
The combination of photonics and electronics is a key factor in creating smaller, faster, and more energy-efficient devices. This integration has the potential to extend functionality and create a plethora of new applications and contribute to significant advances in many areas such as self-driving cars, data telecommunications and healthcare. Integrated photonics is also the technology that generates, processes and detects light for sensing and communication applications.