PIC Summit Europe

📽️ We’re excited to share the full wrap-up of PIC Summit Europe 2024! With some 700 influential stakeholders from government, the semiconductor and photonic chip industries, and academia joining us in Eindhoven, this year’s event marked a huge milestone for the PIC community! 🌍✨ A strong sense of urgency resonated throughout the event, with an emphasis on driving revenue and accelerating the growth of photonic technology. Centred around the theme “Fading Boundaries,” PIC Summit Europe 2024 showcased the powerful integration of photonics and electronics, paving the way for a more interconnected future. Thank you to everyone who made it and unforgettable event! We’re already looking forward to PIC Summit Europe 2025! 👏 Pre-register for 2025 here: https://lnkd.in/ehmzeX7M

What a fantastic day two at PIC Summit Europe 2024! Day two was all about real-world applications, with sessions diving into optical computing, biosensing, imaging, and the wireless revolution. The insights from these talks were incredible, but the best part? The conversations happening outside the sessions—it's clear that collaboration in our industry is no longer just a dream but something actively happening. We’re feeling inspired and excited about what the next year will bring. Can’t wait to see everyone back here next year! Pre-register for 2025 here: https://lnkd.in/ec4yZQ9q #PICSummitEurope2024 #PICs #DayTwoWrap

And that is officially a wrap for PIC Summit Europe 2024! It has been great to bring together so many people from across the PIC industry under one roof. There’s a clear sense of community around the technology, and it’s part of the reason the PIC Summit Europe continues to be such a success. This afternoon we looked into ‘seeing without seeing’ and how imaging can help us better understand the world around us. It’s a diverse field, with a growing number of viable applications. There was also a major announcement from PhotonDelta about the launch of a Global Engineering Contest with prizes of €50000 and up to €2 million in pre-seed funding.      During the final session in the Philips Hall, Mark Gunther from Signify explained the main advantages and current use cases of LiFi while Sytze Kampen of Airbus Netherlands covered some of the challenges facing the transmission of lasers through the Earth’s atmosphere. Not only have the presentations provided great insight into PIC applications now and in the future, but the conversations that have been going on outside the talks really give a sense that collaboration isn’t just an industry pipe dream, but something people are actively working toward right now – which is extremely encouraging for the sector. We certainly can’t wait to see what happens in the next twelve months, and we definitely want to see each and every one of you next year! To pre-register for PIC Summit Europe 2025, click here: https://lnkd.in/eGDaFhu6

With day two well underway, we’ve gone deep into application focused sessions, starting with optical computing and biosensing as key themes. Running in parallel to these sessions are a variety of in-depth technical discussions on topics such as quantum computing and demos of active research in a variety of photonics applications. Peter van Arkel of PhotonDelta, co-hosting alongside Irene Rompa, said, “AI can deliver big things, but it consumes a lot of energy. With integrated photonics, we can reduce energy consumption in data centres by 50%.” These are the sorts of tangible benefits that we all want to see from an increased adoption of PICs. Manfred Aben of Unilever captured the state of play for integrated photonics in the food tech sector: “Don’t fall in love with the solution. Fall in love with the problem.”. He went on to call for more collaboration and said that sensing powered by integrated photonics can revolutionise the food industry. The final morning session saw speakers focus on the role of integrated photonics in biosensing devices – from both an agrifood and a MedTech perspective. So, with the morning session done, we have had a quick bite to eat and are back together to explore the final two themes of the event: imaging and wireless revolution. We’re also looking forward to some in-depth technical poster sessions exploring ongoing integrated photonics research. Looking for some more details about PIC Summit Europe Day 2? Check out the full round-up of the morning session here: https://lnkd.in/e_uSWtKj

In case you missed any of yesterday (or you want to try and spot yourself), check out our quick recap video from day one of PIC Summit 2024! If you were there, you will know there was a great atmosphere in every session that carried right through to the post-conference dinner and drinks. It’s safe to say that that atmosphere is going to continue on day two, and we have a great line-up in store for you all. Stay tuned for more updates throughout the day! #PICSummitEurope2024 #PICSummitDayOne #EventRecap #DayOneWrapUp

With everyone refuelled and recharged ahead of the afternoon, it was time to deep dive into some key topics and open up several panels. A fantastic panel covering both sides of the photonics landscape saw an end user, Sytze Kampen from Airbus Netherlands B.V., and a photonics developer, Cees Links from SuperLight Photonics discuss breakout applications for photonics products on the horizon. In a session on heterogeneous integration – chaired by Martijn Heck from Eindhoven University of Technology – panellists Amr Helmy, Vikas Gupta, Joni Mellin, Gordon Harling, and Philippe Soussan broadly agreed that when it comes to fabrication, nobody can do everything on their own – you need expertise from different partners: a theme consistent throughout the day.   Another session chaired by Abdul Rahim from PhotonDelta saw Wim Bogaerts from Ghent University and ePIXfab - the European Silicon Photonics Alliance discuss the need for fewer but faster iterations and rapid prototyping, outlining the success of accessible consumer products like Arduino for electronics and how photonics requires a similar platform for greater PIC adoption. This was just a taste of all the fantastic PIC coverage we had in the afternoon, where the key takeaways were that Europe is strong in integrated photonics but still needs to grow in terms of cooperation, industrialisation, and productisation to achieve its goals. The final session of the day saw delegates reconvene in the main hall to hear the key learnings from the panel moderators before Irene Rompa and Peter van Arkel, CTO of PhotonDelta, gave a sneak peek on what we can expect to see tomorrow. Read the full wrap-up here: https://lnkd.in/gdEN9hVS With that, day 1 has officially come to a close. But fear not, tomorrow’s line-up is just as stacked, so we look forward to seeing you bright and early at the Evoluon!

More than 700 leaders from governments and the semiconductor and photonic chip industry are meeting in Eindhoven during PIC Summit Europe 2024 to discuss the future of the industry. The summit features keynotes and panels with leaders including the Acting Director Enabling and Emerging Technologies of the EU Commission Gustav Kalbe, Acting Director-General of Economic Affairs Tjerk Opmeer, Airbus Head of Technology Sytze Kampen, Principal Technology Analyst at Sony Faisal Kamran, and Head of Silicon Photonics at Nokia Bell Labs Nicolas Fontaine. Gustav Kalbe said, “You can see how ubiquitous applications for integrated photonics are becoming. They’re becoming a fundamental building block. The need is ever-increasing, and ever-critical because photonics underpins so many other technologies.” Eelko Brinkhoff, CEO of PhotonDelta, said: “Photonic chip technology offers solutions to big societal challenges in areas such as mobility, energy, climate change, food, and health. The hurdle we need to overcome is bringing these solutions to market faster. To do this, we need a holistic approach that combines public and private funding, entrepreneurship, and international cooperation. This is why PIC Summit Europe has placed a strong focus on stimulating cooperation between photonic and electronic chip industries, academics, industry leaders, policymakers, and value chain partners, from material suppliers to end-users. Read more in the press release: https://lnkd.in/eS5BuicP

After a quick round of coffee, we’re back in the main hall for some fantastic presentations from a stacked line-up including Sony, GlobalFoundries, X-FAB, and New Origin. Faisal Kamran, Principle Tech Analyst at Sony, explored the topics of sustainable adoption of photonics and how quantum solutions are a key enabler for sustainability targets. “How can we enlighten Europe’s photonics future?” asked Rudi De Winter from X-FAB, explaining that we need less risk-averse VCs and industry-led programs to accelerate the adoption of PICs by major OEMs. Vikas Gupta from GlobalFoundries outlined that to achieve high-volume manufacturing for Silicon Photonics, foundries need to address the main cost challenges – stemming primarily from packaging and supply chains. Photonic chip design and manufacturing are now part of the semiconductor industry, said Twan Korthorst of New Origin. PICs cannot live in isolation: fibres, lasers, electronics, fluidics, software, and more are needed to achieve their potential. Want more information about the morning session? Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/ePy9Ne23 Stay tuned for the afternoon recap coming soon!

PIC Summit Europe 2024 started with a real bang, and following a great musical intro demonstrating the power of light, the on-stage action began. Outlining broader industry commentary, PIC Summit Europe host, Irene Rompa, said that the photonics sector needs to abide by the realities of the market – and rather than focus on innovation, the industry must focus on product. The ecosystem needs to be standardised. PhotonDelta’s CEO, Eelko Brinkhoff, then spoke of the need for collaboration and that a sense of urgency will help get products to market faster, off the back of robust fundamental research and innovative start-ups. Tjerk Opmeer from the Ministry of Economic Affairs highlighted the need for high performance and transmission speed as well as the reduction of energy requirements, whether it’s in healthcare, automated mobility, AI, or quantum computing. Echoing that collaborative approach, the European Commission’s Gustav Kalbe noted a need to strengthen EU research and tech leadership, build capacity to innovate, create a framework for production capacity, address an acute skills shortage, and better understand the global semiconductor supply chain. Rounding off the first group of sessions was NVIDIA’s Paraskevas Bakopoulos, who built on the event's theme of ‘Fading Boundaries' by discussing some of the practical applications of photonics in improving power consumption and reducing costs in scale-out systems, particularly in AI. More updates to come!

PIC Summit Europe 2024 started with a real bang, and following a great musical intro demonstrating the power of light, the on-stage action began. Outlining broader industry commentary, PIC Summit Europe host, Irene Rompa, said that the photonics sector needs to abide by the realities of the market – and rather than focus on innovation, the industry must focus on product. The ecosystem needs to be standardised. PhotonDelta’s CEO, Eelko Brinkhoff, then spoke of the need for collaboration and that a sense of urgency will help get products to market faster, off the back of robust fundamental research and innovative start-ups. Tjerk Opmeer from the Ministry of Economic Affairs highlighted the need for high performance and transmission speed as well as the reduction of energy requirements, whether it’s in healthcare, automated mobility, AI, or quantum computing. Echoing that collaborative approach, the European Commission’s Gustav Kalbe noted a need to strengthen EU research and tech leadership, build capacity to innovate, create a framework for production capacity, address an acute skills shortage, and better understand the global semiconductor supply chain. Rounding off the first group of sessions was NVIDIA’s Paraskevas Bakopoulos, who built on the event's theme of ‘Fading Boundaries' by discussing some of the practical applications of photonics in improving power consumption and reducing costs in scale-out systems, particularly in AI. More updates to come!