PIXAPP - Photonic Integrated Circuits Assembly and Packaging Pilot Line

Objective

PIXAPP will establish the world’s first open access Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC) assembly & packaging Pilot Line. It combines a highly-interdisciplinary team of Europe’s leading industrial & research organisations. PIXAPP provides Europe’s SMEs with a unique one-stop-shop, enabling them to exploit the breakthrough advantages of PIC technologies. PIXAPP bridges the ‘valley of death’, providing SMEs with an easy access route to take R&D results from lab to market, giving them a competitive advantage over global competition. Target markets include communications, healthcare & security, which are of great socio-economic importance to Europe. PIXAPP’s manufacturing capabilities can support over 120 users per year, across all stages of manufacturing, from prototyping to medium scale manufacture. PIXAPP bridges missing gaps in the value chain, from assembly & packaging, through to equipment optimisation, test and application demonstration. To achieve these ambitious objectives, PIXAPP will; 1) Combine a group of Europe’s leading industrial & research organisations in an advanced PIC assembly & packaging Pilot Line facility.2) Develop an innovative Pilot Line operational model that coordinates activities between consortium partners & supports easy user access through a single entry point. 3) Establish packaging standards that provide cost-efficient assembly & packaging solutions, enabling transfer to full-scale industrial manufacture. 4) Create the highly-skilled workforce required to manage & operate these industrial manufacturing facilities.5) Develop a business plan to ensure Pilot Line sustainability & a route to industrial manufacturing.
PIXAPP will deliver significant impacts to a wide stakeholder group, highlighting how industrial & research sectors can collaborate to address emerging socio-economic challenges.