Innovative Advanced Materials (IAMs) for photonics, enabling low-power and ultra-broadband performance for telecommunication (RIA) (Innovative Advanced Materials for Europe partnership)

Expected Outcome

Project results are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:

• Demonstrated added value of Innovative Advanced materials (IAMs) such as Two-dimensional materials and EO polymers for integrated photonic devices and systems, with focus on low power consumption, enabling future telecommunication networks in which Europe can build competitive value chains.
• IAMs for miniaturized and outperforming photonic integrated technologies e.g. in terms of performance, power, cost, novel functionality enabling the development of future-proof, scalable, low-power and high-bandwidth devices.

Scope

IAMs can be the ideal candidate for several applications in photonics and optoelectronics. These include ultrafast integrated photonic circuits, with modulators, waveguides, detectors, emitters and switches, which play a crucial role in the ongoing quest to increase the speed of data transmission in telecommunications networks. In addition, they find utility in high-frequency transmitter modulators and receiver demodulators, which are essential for advancing wireless telecommunications technologies. They can also serve as integral components in optical interconnects for data centers, high-performance computing (HPCs), and artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) computing systems.

The main objective of this topic is to explore innovative solutions based on IAMs, including 2DMs, that offer state-of-the-art performance and low power consumption, while demonstrating scalability for volume production, thus exploiting the semiconductor manufacturing infrastructure. The envisioned compact devices are expected to be designed to be compatible with low-power driving electronics and thus reduce energy consumption. Solutions should be compatible with existing photonic integrated platforms and low-voltage electronics.

Proposals are expected to integrate the value chain and include relevant manufacturing technologies required to bring the developed devices to market. Prototypes are expected to be developed using packaged devices, including electronics, to enable testing in relevant environments.

Efforts should be focused on envisioning optimized routes for electronic and photonic design, fabricating photonic circuits, producing IAMs, conducting testing, executing wafer-scale fabrication, and performing co-integration and co-packaging, ultimately leading to demonstrations of the developed technologies and their added values.

Where relevant, proposers are encouraged to take advantage of and connecting to European analytical research infrastructures and services such as the ones in the ARIE network [1].

Proposals should also consider building their innovations on top of relevant existing standards and consider standardisation as part of innovation and dissemination activities.

In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.

This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership Innovative Advanced Materials for Europe (IAM4EU). Proposals funded under this topic are part of the IAM4EU partnership portfolio and are expected to develop synergies with the related stakeholder community and contribute actively to the objectives of the partnership. Proposals should seek collaboration, with existing projects and develop synergies with other relevant European, national, or regional initiatives, funding programmes such as the Graphene Flagship [2] for proposals investigating 2D materials. In addition, outreach to relevant national projects in EU Member States and Associated Countries is encouraged. Adequate resources for all these synergies should be foreseen in the proposal.

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Activities are expected to start at TRL 3 and achieve TRL 6 by the end of the project – see General Annex B

[1] https://arie-eu.org/

[2] Graphene Flagship: https://graphene-flagship.eu/