PIC4TB (Red temática TEC2015-69787-REDT) - Photonic Integrated Circuits for Telecom and Bio

Photonics is the discipline dealing with the applications of light and it addresses the generation, emission, transmission, modulation, signal processing, switching, amplification and detection/sensing of light. Photonic integrated circuits (PICs) combine multiple of these functionalities into an optical chip, and enable myriad of applications, owing to small size and stability, compared to the assembly of systems with discrete optical components. PICs are of great importance in market and job opportunities: for every person working in the photonics component industry, around seven jobs are generated in bringing the end product to the market; two key applications addressed by this proposal, telecom & bio, represent one third of the worldwide market.

This thematic network of excellence addresses photonic integrated circuit design and is motivated by: a) photonic integrated circuit design is a widely transversal competence that is creating an enormous amount of research and business opportunities b) Spain has strong worldwide leading research groups on photonic integrated circuits and its applications and c) in a highly competitive R&D and market, joining efforts is a must.

The general goal of this network of excellence is to integrate the research efforts in Spain on photonic integrated circuits design for telecom and bio applications, broken into four objectives: 1) to educate the next generation of photonic integrated circuit designers 2) to integrate the research groups and their technical activities 3) to create a common pool of resources 4) to raise awareness on these technologies and their applications. Therefore this proposal will have a profound impact in three of the pillars identified by national and EU programs: i) to educate specialized and skilled human resources ii) to engage research and industry in general, and SMEs in particular iii) to infuse entrepreneurship on the new generations of young graduates.