IPIC Industry partner, Rockley Photonics, have gone live with the below Press Release sharing details of their development of what is believed to be the ‘world’s first micro-transfer-printed (mTP) silicon-photonics-based laser for commercial applications.’ Aaron Zilkie (CTO Rockley Photonics) commented on some particular fruits of engagement with IPIC referencing the ‘development of mTP lasers, work which started with Brian Corbett’s group – and the pitch shrink – innovation from Frank Peters, which impacts miniaturizing the size of and increasing the density of our laser arrays.’
‘This groundbreaking achievement is expected to allow Rockley to further increase the density and reduce the size of its high-density spectrophotometer chips — which are already the world’s smallest for broadband infrared wavelength laser spectrometry (covering 1000 nanometers of spectrum) and are smaller in area than LEDbased solutions currently used in wearables.
This advancement could potentially have a significant impact across a wide range of applications, including the design of exceptionally small wearable devices for the detection and measurement of multiple biomarkers. New silicon-photonics-based biosensing chips using mTP technology are expected to be available in the first half of 2024. The new chip technology should have no impact on the upcoming launch of Rockley’s Bioptx™ biosensing band nor on any current-generation products that Rockley and its customers are developing.
With this breakthrough in the mTP of silicon-photonics-based lasers, Rockley has dramatically increased the laser density of its photonics integrated circuits (PICs) for biosensing, creating what it believes to be the world’s highest-density broad-wavelength laser spectrophotometer chip, surpassing its own previous achievements. Moreover, the mTP process is expected to reduce manufacturing costs and enable thinner, smaller footprint and higher-density chip designs. These attributes are powerful benefits for use in consumer and medtech devices and could facilitate the integration of Rockley’s biosensing technology into future tiny wearables.
Leveraging the mTP process, the new PIC technology will integrate a laser-generating “membrane” with a thickness of only 4 microns. The potential applications for this higherdensity and smaller-footprint chip technology extend beyond biosensing and health monitoring into other areas, such as ultra-small wearables, clothing, or XR/VR/AR headsets and glasses.
This mTP breakthrough is the direct result of Rockley’s multi-year partnership with the Tyndall National Institute at University College Cork in Ireland, X-Celeprint Limited, and the Irish Photonics Integration Centre (IPIC), with funding support from the Irish government’s Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (DTIF). The project started five years ago with a focus on developing a custom mTP process for Rockley’s silicon photonics platform and has involved a multidisciplinary team of world-class engineers and researchers. This technology, along with many other Rockley innovations, is backed by a robust multidisciplinary patent portfolio of over 200 issued patents and 295 pending patents in total.’
“Applying the micro-transfer printing process to the production of integrated lasers is a huge breakthrough that we believe will have a tremendous impact on wearable biosensing and on the photonics industry as a whole,” said Dr. Andrew Rickman, chairman and chief executive officer of Rockley. “We arguably have some of the most sophisticated photonics technology in the world, and this unprecedented level of miniaturization raises the bar even further. By creating biosensing chips that are smaller, lower-cost, and more efficient, we can continually improve our wearable biosensing products and deliver novel, relevant, and more powerful ways to monitor our health.”
“I believe that this next-gen, heterogeneous integration platform will lead to several significant technological advancements, including higher densities of lasers, increasingly smaller chip sizes, and ultra-high-volume manufacturing,” said Aaron Zilkie, chief technology officer of photonics at Rockley. “The team has been working on this project for years, and we are extremely excited to have reached this important milestone. We are grateful for the close collaboration we’ve had with our research partners and for the funding support from the Irish government and its Science Foundation Ireland and Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund.”
For further information on Rockley Photonics see rockleyphotonics.com
News & Events
FAME – First International Workshop on Fundamentals and Advances of MOVPE processes
The first edition of FAME (2023) – First International Workshop on Fundamentals and Advances of MOVPE processes will be held in Cork (Ireland) on July the 13-14th 2023.
For the epitaxy community this workshop will focus on the fundamental processes in MOVPE (and other close enough epitaxial techniques). Motivation being to stimulate debate in the community about the physical processes’ unknowns which need deeper understanding to advance our research field(s). In this sense the workshop aims to be a hardcore epitaxial forum, merging growth, theory and characterization, and focusing more on “why something is possible” than on the devices that are made possible, which remain, unquestionably, a strong motivating avenue.
The workshop will be structured with approximately 20 invited talks delivered by senior researchers and experts over two days. The aim is to have an informal but vibrant discussion forum, capable of stimulating ideas and dialogue between experts in the field, concentrating on the specifics of the “science” and less on the application overview aspects.
There are no fees associated to this event. The organizing committee will arrange and cover lunches, coffee breaks and social events (workshop dinner), but will not be in the position to cover accommodation and travel.
Invited Speakers (more to be confirmed)
1 Christophe Durand – CEA
2 Andre Strittmatter – Magdeburg University
3 Dimitri Vvedensky – Imperial College
4 Erik Bakkers – Eindhoven Tech. Univ.
5 Menno Kappers – Cambridge University
6 Bernardette Kunert – IMEC
7 Michael Jetter – Stuttgart Univ.
8 Heinz Schmid – IBM Zurich
9 Arnab Bhattacharya – Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai
10 Emanuele Pelucchi – Tyndall National Institute
11 Lucia Sorba – CNR Pisa
12 Elisa M Sala – Sheffield University
13 Elizaveta Semenova – DTU Orbit
14 Peter Parbrook – Tyndall/UCC
15 Francesco Montalenti – University Bicocca Milano
16 Laetitia Vincent – University Paris-Saclay
17 Blandine Alloing – CNRS-CRHEA Valbonne
18 Hannah J. Joyce – Cambridge University
To register your seat please follow this link
The organising committee are:
Emanuele Pelucchi, Peter Parbrook, Michael Jetter, Erik Bakkers, Christophe Durand
IPIC attend Photonics West 2023
IPIC host the Photonics Ireland Pavilion at the SPIE BiOS and Photonics West conference & exhibition 2023. This event is attracting thousands of attendees keen to engage with industry partners and technologists, with over 1100 exhibiting companies. You will find Photonics Ireland Pavillion at booth 4645. We have a strong representation from Ireland across Tyndall, IPIC and industry colleagues from BioPixS; Eblana Photonics; mBryonics; Pilot Photonics; X-Celeprint and iSLight.
Many of our colleagues have also presented papers at the conference, below are members of the Biophotonics team.
Please reach out if you’d like any further information info@ipic.ie
Explorer Pre-Accelerator Programme now accepting applications for 2023
We are happy to announce that the Explorer Pre-Accelerator Programme is now accepting applications for 2023!
Explorer 2023 has been launched as a collaboration between the Irish Photonic Integration Centre (IPIC) with Tyndall, international high-tech photonics ams OSRAM, Confirm SFI Research Centre for Smart Manufacturing, CONNECT Centre and with support from Atlantic Bridge, Intel Corporation, IPCEI, MIDAS Ireland, NovaUCD and Science Foundation Ireland.
We are looking for impressive ideas at an early stage that seek to make a real difference and address the societal and environmental changes that we face today. Up to 8 ideas will be selected to participate on fifteen half-day workshop sessions, culminating in a programme showcase.
Applications close on January 23rd.
Find out more: https://www.tyndall.ie/explorer
There were lots of influences in my choice to become a scientist…
Sometimes it’s hard to pursue the career you like, but that’s worth it…
Photonics100: listed IPIC’s Prof Liam Barry and Dr Frank Smyth of Pilot Photonics
Electro-Optics Magazine recently launched the inaugural Photonics100 list of the most innovative people in Photonics, we are delighted to see Prof. Liam Barry from IPIC@DCU and Dr. Frank Smyth from Pilot Photonics, an IPIC Industry Partner included in the list. This listing honours those that are the driving force behind the evolution of photonics technologies.
The team in DCU has been developing innovative comb laser technologies for almost two decades. These technologies played a key role in the formation of Pilot Photonics in 2011 and the company has now developed miniaturized comb lasers based on photonic integration that it is using to target high growth, mass markets. “Our journey towards the photonic integration of our technology started through a series of meetings and early projects with IPIC researchers back in 2014. Unlike most comb lasers our technology is well suited to monolithic photonic integration which means that single-chip PICs enhanced with comb laser capabilities can be mass produced at wafer scale today. This opens up large opportunities in the telecoms, satellite comms, and aerospace markets.” commented Dr. Smyth, CTO at Pilot Photonics.
The research teams in DCU and Pilot continue to innovate collaboratively in the comb laser space and are now focused on energy efficient data centres and satellite communication technologies through an IPIC targeted project, a Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund project, and an EU Training Network Programme.
Commenting on the inaugural Photonics100 list, Prof. Barry from IPIC@DCU noted that “the inclusion of Irish based researchers is clear evidence of the innovative work being carried out in Photonics in Ireland, and puts the country in a strong position to benefit both socially and economically from the growth in the photonics sector over the coming decades”.
Useful links:
Dr Frank Smith and Pilot Photonics
Prof Liam Barry
Electro Optics
IPIC research aligns to United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
IPIC’s, David McGovern (SDG Champion) has been working with our Researchers to assist in mapping our research to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. The 17 goals are a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015. IPIC research is currently impacting goals SDG 3-Good Health & Well-being; SDG7-Affordable & Clean Energy and SDG 9-Industry Innovation & Infrastructure. There is also good progress being made to tackle SDG6-Clean Water & Sanitation; SDG12-Responsible Consumption & Production and SDG8-Decent Work & Economic Growth.
To discover more, see UCC’s activities here and the UN’s site here.
Should you have any questions don’t hesitate to reach out to us at info@ipic.ie
Funding success in Europe for early stage researchers in Tyndall
IPIC, is pleased to announce the participation of two of its early stage researchers in 2 newly started Horizon Europe projects. The Lolipop project with Tyndall lead Dr Padraic Morrissey from the Photonics Packaging group will deal with the integration of Lithium Niobate (LiNB) on Insulator (LNoI) and Silicon Nitride as a hybrid but disruptive platform, to take advantage of the excellent electro-optical properties of LiNb. This disruptive platform will offer the highest integration, modulation and second order nonlinear performance in the entire spectrum from 400 up to 1600 nm, based on the combination of the LNOI and the silicon-nitride technology. As the global market of bulk LN modulators is huge, significant impact can be expected due to the integration of the two complementary material systems.
Dr Morrissey commented “Our main role is in the design and optimization of micro transfer printing for the transfer of LNOI films onto a TriPlex platform, which will enable a dramatic miniaturization of the device footprint”
The Lolipop project is coordinated by the Institute of Communication and Computer Systems in Greece and runs from September 2022 to February 2026.
The Phormic project, with leads Dr Padraic Morrissey from the Photonics Packaging group and Dr Cleitus Antony from the Photonic Systems Group, will establish a European platform for next-generation programmable photonic chips with a low adoption threshold for product developers in diverse application domains. e.g. in data center communication, sensing and mm-wave wireless beamforming.
Dr Antony stated, “Control electronics is an essential part of the architecture to realise a multipurpose photonic processor. We will develop the electronic interface and digital control circuits to tune hundreds of programmable photonic elements on a single chip.”
The project is coordinated by IMEC in Belgium and runs from October 2022 to March 2026. The proposed multipurpose programmable photonic processors will accelerate photonic prototyping, will be cost-effective for low-volume products, and will provide a low-barrier entry point for photonics innovators, including SMEs. The platform will provide opportunities for the integration of on-chip tuneable lasers with large spectral coverage, increased functionality of photonic circuits, due to lower power consumption and therefore enable the adoption and innovation of research-oriented photonic chips. This acceleration of development could have a significant impact on the use of photonics across European industry, including reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions thanks to e.g. fibre-optic links and environmental and industrial sensors. Both groups have received over 1M€ in total funding to fulfil their roles in these projects.
Martin O’Connell, Head of EU Programmes in IPIC, welcomed the award stating “The participation of both Drs Morrissey and Antony is testament to our efforts in developing the next generation of future research leaders and is thus aligned with our Tyndall 2025 strategy”
Being a scientist as a job could help me connect some of my personal desires…
The only way you can grow is by educating yourself in any field you wish to (Part 2)
The only way you can grow is by educating yourself in any field you wish to (Part 1)
For me, learning other concepts and skills weren’t straightforward, but I always kept the motivation to persist and continue…
The thing that inspires me is I can add to our knowledge of the world…
I was absolutely inspired by the fast-evolving technology and inventions…
UCC scientist becomes first Irish person to win major US physics award
A warm congratulations to our esteemed colleague Prof Séamus Davis for his fantastic achievement of becoming the first Irish recipient of the prestigious Buckley Physics Prize for his work in the field of quantum physics, to read more follow this link to UCC article. You can listen to Prof Davis on our episode “Quantum Worlds” as part of our IPIC Podcast series “A Little Light Listening”. There you will also find other episodes covering the exciting world of photonics.
My vision of higher education includes accessibility of education to all sections of society…
Research is easily the most exciting job a curious person can do…
A glimpse into developing new technology…
I was born in a small village. No one in my family has a degree or been to school before…
I can remember listening to stories of famous scientists from my father when I was 12…
There is always so much to learn, so much to explore that one can ever be satisfied…
I showed all the signs of a creative mind, but being a scientist was the least of my interests…
Find your path…
Rockley Photonics Unveils Next-Generation, Higher-Density Laser Spectrophotometer Chip for Wearable Health Monitoring
IPIC Industry partner, Rockley Photonics, have gone live with the below Press Release sharing details of their development of what is believed to be the ‘world’s first micro-transfer-printed (mTP) silicon-photonics-based laser for commercial applications.’ Aaron Zilkie (CTO Rockley Photonics) commented on some particular fruits of engagement with IPIC referencing the ‘development of mTP lasers, work which started with Brian Corbett’s group – and the pitch shrink – innovation from Frank Peters, which impacts miniaturizing the size of and increasing the density of our laser arrays.’
‘This groundbreaking achievement is expected to allow Rockley to further increase the density and reduce the size of its high-density spectrophotometer chips — which are already the world’s smallest for broadband infrared wavelength laser spectrometry (covering 1000 nanometers of spectrum) and are smaller in area than LEDbased solutions currently used in wearables.
This advancement could potentially have a significant impact across a wide range of applications, including the design of exceptionally small wearable devices for the detection and measurement of multiple biomarkers. New silicon-photonics-based biosensing chips using mTP technology are expected to be available in the first half of 2024. The new chip technology should have no impact on the upcoming launch of Rockley’s Bioptx™ biosensing band nor on any current-generation products that Rockley and its customers are developing.
With this breakthrough in the mTP of silicon-photonics-based lasers, Rockley has dramatically increased the laser density of its photonics integrated circuits (PICs) for biosensing, creating what it believes to be the world’s highest-density broad-wavelength laser spectrophotometer chip, surpassing its own previous achievements. Moreover, the mTP process is expected to reduce manufacturing costs and enable thinner, smaller footprint and higher-density chip designs. These attributes are powerful benefits for use in consumer and medtech devices and could facilitate the integration of Rockley’s biosensing technology into future tiny wearables.
Leveraging the mTP process, the new PIC technology will integrate a laser-generating “membrane” with a thickness of only 4 microns. The potential applications for this higherdensity and smaller-footprint chip technology extend beyond biosensing and health monitoring into other areas, such as ultra-small wearables, clothing, or XR/VR/AR headsets and glasses.
This mTP breakthrough is the direct result of Rockley’s multi-year partnership with the Tyndall National Institute at University College Cork in Ireland, X-Celeprint Limited, and the Irish Photonics Integration Centre (IPIC), with funding support from the Irish government’s Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (DTIF). The project started five years ago with a focus on developing a custom mTP process for Rockley’s silicon photonics platform and has involved a multidisciplinary team of world-class engineers and researchers. This technology, along with many other Rockley innovations, is backed by a robust multidisciplinary patent portfolio of over 200 issued patents and 295 pending patents in total.’
“Applying the micro-transfer printing process to the production of integrated lasers is a huge breakthrough that we believe will have a tremendous impact on wearable biosensing and on the photonics industry as a whole,” said Dr. Andrew Rickman, chairman and chief executive officer of Rockley. “We arguably have some of the most sophisticated photonics technology in the world, and this unprecedented level of miniaturization raises the bar even further. By creating biosensing chips that are smaller, lower-cost, and more efficient, we can continually improve our wearable biosensing products and deliver novel, relevant, and more powerful ways to monitor our health.”
“I believe that this next-gen, heterogeneous integration platform will lead to several significant technological advancements, including higher densities of lasers, increasingly smaller chip sizes, and ultra-high-volume manufacturing,” said Aaron Zilkie, chief technology officer of photonics at Rockley. “The team has been working on this project for years, and we are extremely excited to have reached this important milestone. We are grateful for the close collaboration we’ve had with our research partners and for the funding support from the Irish government and its Science Foundation Ireland and Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund.”
For further information on Rockley Photonics see rockleyphotonics.com
IPIC Industry Event – Photonics 4 Disruptive Innovation
IPIC’s Annual Industry Workshop 2022 was held at UCC’s, Devere Hall, on Thursday, 19th May 2022. Along with welcoming colleagues from academic centres across Ireland, we welcomed many of our industry collaborators to share details of our ongoing research projects, meet PhD and Postdoc poster presenters, and hear about our emerging start-up opportunities.
During the mainstage presentations we heard from Dr. Helen McBreen (IPIC Governance Committee Chair and Partner Atlantic Bridge) on the outcome of IPIC’s SFI review in late 2021. In summary a lot achieved, with the reviewers commenting that IPIC’s impact for Ireland as being ‘outstanding’ and also reflecting positively on IPIC’s Education & Public Engagement programme, encouraging further growth and expansion of the activities. The audience heard from Prof. Paul Townsend, IPIC’s Centre Director on the Centre’s forward momentum, which was followed by updates from Prof. Louise Bradley (Trinity College Dublin) on the new Catalyst Theme – Nanophotonics, and from Paul on the Catalyst Theme – Quantum, which will be led by Dr. Emanuele Pelucchi. We heard from Emerge@IPIC awardees, Xing Ouyang on ChirpComm and Zhi Li on Monolithic Integration Based on Pyramidal InGaN Micro-LEDs for AR/VR Displays. A call for applications to 2022 Emerge@IPIC was opened, with a closing date 19th August 2022, any queries should be addressed to Dr. Patrick Morrissey, IPIC Operations Manager.
Dr. Carl Jackson (Entrepreneur) shared with us his journey from Tyndall labs to start-up formation and exit, and how to learn from all experiences, successes and challenges, within the tech innovation space. We heard from Explorer programme 2022 participants, Lorenzo Niemitz on his project Medguide, and Celina L. Li on her project OTMD and experience on the programme.
The event was closed with awards for Best Publications, Impact, EPE and Best Posters.
After 2 years of mostly remote connections, it was great to meet colleagues and friends in-person, we look forward to many more in-person events.
National Broadband Ireland – Imagine the Future competition
IPIC’s Paul Townsend is delighted to meet with young artistic minds in participating on a panel of judges (along with RTE’s Ryan Tubridy) in assessing primary school children’s creative responses to National Broadband Ireland’s (NBI) competition ‘Imagine the Future’. The students interpretation can be via a piece of sculpture, a photo, a painting, a song, a short movie or even a dance! The concept is asking the children to think about how they see us living our lives in the future, how they see transport, school, community, hospitals, etc. evolving.
Paul Townsend leads our Optical Communications Theme of 30 researchers, if you would like to know more please contact us at info@ipic.ie
If you would like to know more about this and other NBI competitions, please click here.
World Quantum Day 2022
Today, we are delighted to join quantum scientists from all over the world, to celebrate World Quantum Day.
Building on the success of last year’s event, this year we are delighted to share our podcast A Little Light Listening, hosted by Dr David McGovern, IPIC’s Senior Business Development Manager. This special episode dedicated to Quantum Worlds will delve into quantum technologies, their impact on our future and the quantum landscape in Ireland.
David will host the following special guests:
Prof. Seamus Davis, Professor of Quantum Physics, University College Cork, Oxford University & Cornell University
Prof. Elena Blokhina, Associate Professor, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University College Dublin
Dr Emanuele Pelucchi, Head of Epitaxy and Physics of Nanostructures (EPN) Group, IPIC and Tyndall National Institute-UCC
Listen to the podcast here.
World Quantum Day aims to promote the public understanding of Quantum Science and Technology.
independent.ie ‘Ireland’s photonics industry continues to grow at pace’
On 3rd April, Anna-Marie Turley of Enterprise Ireland reported on independent.ie detailing how Ireland’s photonics industry is developing vital technology innovations, in areas of robotics, high speed broadband and technologies in the health-tech space, thus positioning photonics as a vital part of our lives now and into the future.
She comments “Globally, photonics is a critically important sector and an area in which Irish companies and educational institutions continue to thrive.
From playing a pivotal role in AI and security, the role of photonics in our daily lives will become increasingly pronounced.
With the right environment and supports in place, Irish-based companies delivering innovative solutions in this space are perfectly positioned to become market leaders, and Enterprise Ireland is proud to support them.”
Anna-Marie is the department manager for Retail, Consumer and Online at Enterprise Ireland.
To view this news piece in full follow this link.
Photonics 4 Disruptive Innovation
This workshop, taking place in-person in Cork on Thursday, 19th May, will present the latest disruptive developments in photonics research, industrial collaborations, new ventures and training. It is organised by the Irish Photonics Integration Centre at Tyndall National Institute, in collaboration with Photonics Ireland.
The workshop will include a networking lunch and a presentation session followed by a networking/poster session, where our researchers and engineers will share the latest breakthroughs and emerging market opportunities.
Applications areas will include displays, marine, MedTech, optical communications, sensing, as well as many others.
For more details please contact info@ipic.ie
DCU spin-out, Pilot Photonics raise funding of €1.8m
Congratulations to DCU spinout Pilot Photonics, on successfully raising €1.8m funding. This success is built on the commitment and collaboration of research teams within Dublin City University, Tyndall and the Irish Photonic Integration Centre.
The Irish Times have reported, Pilot Photonics’ ‘novel “comb laser” technology, using its patented “gain switching” technique allows for the generation and manipulation of waves of light with exceptional precision and the creation of multiple lasers from a single device. Combining this with a semiconductor processing known as photonic integration, means Pilot’s devices are suitable for mass production and offer performance, size, cost, power, and stability advantages over traditional single wavelength lasers. The technology has multiple applications across the communications, energy, and aerospace sectors globally’.
For more details on this success, please click here to access Irish Times article.