TNO Signals Start of Photonic Chip Pilot Line: Week in Brief 6/13/25
TNO, a Netherlands-based scientific research organization, plans to develop a manufacturing line for photonic chips in collaboration with Photonic Integration Technology Centre, Eindhoven University of Technology, and the University of Twente. The initiative will enable the industrial-scale production of indium-phosphide-based chips and the transition from 4-in to 6-in wafers, which, TNO said, will make production more efficient. The chips will be produced at the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven, a €153 million ($177 million) photonic chip pilot plant. The EU Chips Act, PhotonDelta, the Ministry of Defense (Netherlands), the Ministry of Economic Affairs (Netherlands), and TNO are funding the initiative, which is part of the European initiative PIXEurope.
An initiative of the TNO and Eindhoven University seeks to enable industrial-scale production of indium-phosphide based chips on 6-in. wafers. Courtesy of TNO.
PLANEGG, Germany — AMS Technologies, an optical technologies, thermal management, and power electronics company, and VIAVI, a network testing, measurement, and security technology company, will extend their partnership to include equipment for the inspection and testing of photonics integrated circuits (PICs). According to Matthew Adams, senior product manager for VIAVI Solutions’ Fiber Optic Production & Lab, through the expansion the companies aim to bring their combined expertise in optical measurement technology to European customers in the growing PIC market.
AMS Technologies and VIAVI expanded an ongoing partnership. The companies will work together to offer combined expertise in optical measurement for the development and manufacturing of photonic integrated circuits. Courtesy of AMS Technologies.
PARIS — Orange Business, a telecommunications and IT company, and electronics company, Toshiba Europe, have launched Orange Quantum Defender, the first commercial quantum-safe networking service in Paris, combining quantum key distribution and post-quantum cryptography. The service is now commercially available in the greater Paris area.
NEUCHÂTEL, Switzerland — Avalon ST, an LED-based solar simulation and photovoltaic metrology company, acquired PASAN SA, a xenon-based solar simulator and precision measurement systems manufacturer.
WETTENBERG, Germany — PVA TePla, a materials and inspection technology company, and SENTECH Instruments, a provider of plasma technology and ellipsometry, have formed a strategic cooperation. As part of this partnership, which supports the launch of a jointly developed pilot product, the companies are developing metrology systems for ellipsometry that address the volume market for silicon-based semiconductors. Broadly, the collaboration expands the companies’ product portfolio with a non-destructive optical measurement method for the thickness and homogeneity of semiconductor coatings.
SAN DIEGO — Quantum Design, a cryogenic systems and characterization instrument developer, acquired the nanoscience division of Oxford Instruments. The combined businesses will serve customers in a wide range of material science research, applications from next-generation memory storage to condensed matter physics, quantum computing, and many more, according to a press release. The acquisition is expected to close by the end of September, pending regulatory approvals.
OXFORD, England — Infleqtion, a quantum information technology company, announced a second grant from the U.K. government of £2.2 million ($3 million) toward its neutral atom quantum computing platform, SQALE. The supported 12-month program, named SQALE2, will be developed in collaboration with institutions including the Fraunhofer Centre for Applied Photonics, the National Physical Laboratory, the University of Strathclyde, and the National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC)’s Quantum Software Lab at the University of Edinburgh. The funding will specifically support the development of new optical and control technologies that allow multiple quantum operations to run at the same time. This parallel processing approach is expected to increase the effective rate of gate execution by 10–100x, a critical improvement for running complex quantum algorithms more quickly and efficiently.
Infleqtion’s SQALE system: The first quantum computer testbed at the UK’s National Quantum Computing Centre. Courtesy of Infleqtion.
BENGALURU, India — Pixxel, a space and hyperspectral imaging technology company, signed a second agreement with the Innovations for Defence Excellence, Ministry of Defence, Government of India. The grant supports the development of advanced hyperspectral and mid-IR payloads for the Indian Air Force. The payloads aim to enhance India’s airborne and space-based imaging capabilities across various applications.
GRENOBLE, France — Officials with the FAMES Pilot Line, an initiative that promotes semiconductor technologies in Europe, announced the official launch of the FAMES Academy, an educational initiative designed to support the European Union’s (EU)’s commitment to developing chips. The FAMES Academy aims to support and expand a skilled workforce equipped to use the technologies developed within the FAMES Pilot Line. It will be focused on three objectives: The FAMES Academy will be focused on three critical objectives: supporting the transfer of competencies to European industry to exploit next-generation semiconductor technologies; attracting scientists and engineers into the EU microelectronics workforce to reinforce technological sovereignty; and equipping engineers and researchers with the expertise required to design and characterize advanced semiconductor nodes.
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