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PI Expands German Production Site: Week in Brief: 11/22/24

Photonics.com
Nov 2024MALTA, N.Y., Nov. 22, 2024 — The U.S. Department of Commerce has awarded semiconductor manufacturer GlobalFoundries up to $1.5 billion in direct funding through the CHIPS and Science Act to expand its essential chip manufacturing and technology development in the U.S. The funding will support the expansion of GlobalFoundries’ Malta, N.Y., fabrication site; the modernization of its fabrication site in Essex Junction, Vt.; and the construction of a new fabrication site on its Malta Campus. The New York State Green CHIPS Program will contribute an additional $550 million to these projects. In parallel with the award, the company has also partnered with chip developer Lightmatter to mass produce its Passage 3D photonics engine.

DUBLIN — The Innovative Optical and Wireless Network Global Forum has entered into a collaboration with the Telecom Infra Project to advance the development of optical technologies, principles, approaches, and designs. The initiative is designed to accelerate the innovation of energy-efficient, low-latency network infrastructure, supporting the next generation of data-driven and communication-intensive applications.

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Representatives from both Rosenheim’s local government and Physik Instrumente's executive team in front of the expanded site. Courtesy of PI.

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AUBURN, Mass. — Physik Instrumente (PI) has completed the construction of additional electronics production space at its Rosenheim, Germany, site. The expansion accounts for a 30% increase of space and will enable production capacities of precision motion control and nanopositioning technology products to be further increased in order to meet the demand from the semiconductor, photonics, laser processing, and life sciences industries. An additional investment of $2 million has been approved for 2025. This comes after PI opened a new €20 million (~$21 million) production facility in Eschbach, Germany, in September.

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Infineon technical project lead Silke Auchter holding an Infineon wafer with Quantinuum ion trap chips. Courtesy of Infineon Technologies.

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NEUBIBERG, Germany — Infineon Technologies AG, a developer of semiconductor solutions, and Quantinuum, a full-stack quantum computing company, have entered into a strategic partnership to drive the acceleration of quantum computing and enable progress in fields such as generative chemistry, material science, and artificial intelligence. The collaboration builds on Quantinuum's trapped-ion quantum computers, which hold world records in benchmarks such as 2-qubit gate fidelity, quantum volume, and cross-entropy benchmark fidelity. Engineers from the two companies have been working together for more than a year and will continue to develop ion traps for Quantinuum’s next-generation quantum computers.

GOLETA, Calif. — Semiconductor company Aeluma, Inc. has been awarded a contract by NASA to develop quantum dot photonic integrated circuits (PICs) on silicon. The PICs will leverage quantum dot technology to enhance optical performance in challenging environments for a range of aerospace functions by delivering high-precision, low-power solutions essential for space missions and autonomous systems.

AUSTIN, Texas — The first Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund grant of $4,120,000 has been extended to Intelligent Epitaxy Technology, Inc., a manufacturer of epi-wafers on gallium arsenide and indium phosphide substrates, for its new 30,000 sq ft wafer production facility in Allen, Texas. The facility is expected to create more than $41 million in capital investment and triple the company’s annual wafer production.

FRANKFURT, Germany — GPU-accelerated computation engine developer Dyndrite has entered into a strategic partnership with selective laser melting (SLM) company Nikon SLM Solutions to integrate Dyndrite’s LPBF Pro software into Nikon’s metal 3D printer portfolio. Nikon’s customers will gain access to toolpath strategies that maximize the capabilities of the open-architecture SLM platform. This partnership introduces capabilities, such as scalable slicing, low-angle support-free printing, optimized multi-laser coordination, and on-the-fly laser manipulation.

BOSTON — QuEra Computing, a neutral-atom quantum computing company, has launched a comprehensive full-stack quantum algorithm co-design program. The program offers a structured, collaborative environment where participating organizations can work closely with QuEra’s science, applications, and hardware teams to develop and implement tailored quantum solutions. Participants will have access to early simulations and priority hardware, allowing for accelerated innovation cycles that bridge research to real-world applications.

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Amcor and Power Roll will collaborate on the development of lightweight solar photovoltaic film. Courtesy of Amcor.

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ZURICH — Producer of responsible packaging solutions Amcor has signed a memorandum of understanding with flexible photovoltaics technology distributor Power Roll Limited for the development of a lightweight solar photovoltaic film that can deliver a low-cost alternative to silicon solar panels. The companies will hold further discussions on final terms and arrangements for Power Roll’s ongoing funding round, which will be subject to respective internal approvals.

TOKYO — Quantinuum, an integrated quantum company, together with Mitsui & Co., Ltd., a trading and investment company, and NEC, an IT and network integration company, has successfully delivered quantum tokens across a 10 km fiber optic network in Japan. Quantum tokens are financial instruments that take advantage of the properties of quantum physics to meet the demands of asset trading without the communication overheads required by traditional financial systems. The tokens are designed to use quantum physics to prevent forgery, while ensuring transactions can be settled near-instantly.More news & features