Integrated Photonics as a Service: Streamlining Photonic Component Development

光子集成电路(PIC)是一种能够引导、操纵和探测光的微芯片。PIC将支持对本世纪的进步至关重要的关键技术，从用于大气监测的高精度气体传感器到有助于缓解NHS压力的微型芯片实验室设备。正如计算机中的CPU需要高质量、可靠的组件来处理信息一样，PIC革命需要高质量、可靠的组件作为这些技术的构建块。英国的PIC市场正在迅速增长，预计到2026年将达到29亿美元。然而，英国目前对PIC组件的投资不足。这种投资不足迫使企业承担自己开发零部件的成本。在这个项目中，光线跟踪光电子公司将评估一项名为集成光电子即服务(IPaaS)的创新服务的可行性，该服务将显著降低风险，并加快依赖PIC的技术的上市时间。IPaaS将处理所有基础组件级别的开发(例如，过滤器、功率分配器、光纤耦合器)，让客户可以自由地将他们的时间和金钱集中在开发更复杂、更有影响力的PIC系统上，这些系统将实现改变游戏规则的技术应用，如全市范围的联网空气质量监测和下一代计算。作为该可行性项目的一部分，我们将与英国的半导体PIC制造设施建立关系。该项目包括市场研究、技术可行性、用户体验和定价策略方面的工作包，以确保我们的产品信息灵通，并为英国半导体PIC供应链和英国经济提供绝对最佳的性价比。

Photonic integrated circuits (PICs) are microchips capable of guiding, manipulating, and detecting light. PICs will enable key technologies critical for progress in this century, ranging from high-precision gas sensors for atmospheric monitoring to miniaturised lab-on-chip devices that will help alleviate NHS pressures.Just as the CPU in your computer requires high-quality, reliable components to process information, the PIC revolution requires high-quality, reliable components as building blocks for these technologies. The UK's PIC market is rapidly growing and is expected to reach $2.9 billion by 2026\. However, the UK is currently underinvesting in PIC components. This underinvestment forces companies to bear the costs of developing their components themselves. A costly process that is threatening to derail growth.In this project, Light Trace Photonics will assess the feasibility of an innovative service we call Integrated Photonics as a Service (IPaaS) which will significantly de-risk and accelerate the time-to-market for technologies that rely on PICs. IPaaS will handle all fundamental component-level development (e.g. filters, power-splitters, fibre-couplers), leaving the customer free to focus their time and money on developing more complex and impactful PIC systems that will enable game-changing technological applications such as city-wide networked air-quality monitoring and next-generation computation.As part of this feasibility project, we will build relationships with semiconductor PIC fabrication facilities in the UK. The project includes work packages on market research, technical feasibility, user experience, and pricing strategy to ensure that our offering is well-informed and delivers the absolute best value for money to the UK semiconductor PIC supply chain, and the UK economy.