More than 500 leaders from the semiconductor and integrated photonics industry including the EU Commission, IBM, Sony, Nokia Bells Labs, Airbus, Unilever and Nvidia will gather in The Netherlands in one of the largest meetings of its kind to discuss the future of photonic chips. Aim is to discuss global approach to the development of advanced semiconductors, standardized manufacturing, and design processes.

PIC Summit Europe, organized by photonic chip industry accelerator PhotonDelta, will take place for the third time on the 15th and 16th October in Eindhoven. It attracts many of the top thought leaders in the photonic chip industry and is fast becoming the industry’s most influential event. This year’s summit will cover a range of issues and opportunities surrounding photonic chip technology and its applications. It will see senior leaders debate how photonic and electronic integrated circuits industries can work together to further integrate chips by standardizing processes and breaking down barriers across various sectors, including healthcare, agriculture, and the automotive industry.

Photonic chips – also known as photonic integrated circuits (PICs) – pave the way for the development of smaller, faster, and more energy-efficient devices. Crucially, they have the potential to overcome the limitations of traditional semiconductor technology, which is crucial for driving the innovation necessary for the sustainable development of AI.

PIC Summit Europe will play host to major businesses, startups, academics and government representatives. They will take part in a series of talks and debates on options for closer collaboration, how industry standards can be created and enforced, and the business and funding models that will help the integrated photonics industry meet its full potential.

Eelko Brinkhoff, CEO of PhotonDelta, said: “A flourishing photonic chip industry will contribute to Europe’s ambition towards technology leadership in key enabling technologies and strategic autonomy. However, we still have some challenges in bringing the technology to the market. A strong cooperation with the semicon industry will accelerate this process and will help to solve the challenges the semicon industry faces.”

The summit will feature a host of keynotes and panels with leaders including the Deputy Director General of the EU Commission Thomas Skordas, Dutch Minister 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.

Further reading: Call on the EU to support building a resilient supply chain for PICs – Europe’s largest integrated photonics companies announced their proposal at this week’s PIC Summit held in Eindhoven, wileyindustrynews.com, 07 November 2023