Brolis to start silicon photonics R&D in Belgium
New division will design integrated photonic systems combining III-V technology and CMOS-compatible PIC technology
Brolis Semiconductors, based in Lithuania, has announced a new R&D division - Brolis Semiconductors BVBA in Ghent, Belgium - that will focus on the design and development of novel cutting-edge integrated photonic systems. These will combine Brolis' proprietary III-V technology of long-wave infrared light sources and CMOS-compatible photonic integrated circuit (PIC) technology.
Special emphasis will be directed towards development of a new OEM GaSb/Silicon-on-insulator system-on-a-chip laser sensor technology for sensing applications in the 1.5 - 3.5 micron spectral range and beyond for healthcare and industrial markets.
"Brolis is delighted to add photonic integrated circuit technology to the existing technology portfolio - we believe it provides a new dimension to our existing III-V semiconductor technology. The addition of silicon technology to GaSb is expected to pave the way to an integrated hybrid chip technology with completely new functionality "“ such as OEM remote laser sensors for industrial and healthcare applications with a footprint of few mm2, which could enter any handheld, wearable device platform offering features not available today," said Augustinas Vizbaras, co-founder and head of chip technology at Brolis Semiconductors.
"We are particularly happy to land in Ghent - a world famous location for silicon photonics technology research. Successful cooperation with the Photonics Research Group provided a decisive push towards making directional efforts in commercialisation of GaSb/SOI technology. We feel like we're in good company in Ghent," he added.
"Over the years Brolis has managed to bring GaSb-based laser diode technology to an industrial level with beyond state-of-the art device performance and scale. The next big step is to merge these GaSb chips as key components with photonic integrated circuit technology based on CMOS compatible silicon-on-insulator technology. Moreover, we should bring it to an industrial level, suitable for consumer market applications", said Andreas De Groote, who is to lead the design effort of the PIC technology at the new location.
"While silicon photonics has predominantly been studied for optical transceivers, there are fantastic opportunities in the field of sensing as well. We believe the combination of GaSb III-V opto-electronics and silicon photonics can enable many applications in this domain." says Gunther Roelkens from the Photonics Research Group at UGent - Imec.
Thomas Castrel, economic counsellor at the Vilnius office of Flanders Investment and Trade, the export and investment promoting agency of the Flemish government (Belgium), welcomes the opening of an R&D unit of Brolis Semiconductors in the Flemish city of Ghent: "this investment testifies of the strong reputation of Flanders in photonics R&D. Companies are choosing the Flemish region for R&D activities because of the presence of world class universities and research institutes combined with a friendly fiscal environment for research driven businesses. We are very happy that Brolis Semiconductors, a flagship company of Lithuania, has been developing fruitful cooperation with the university in Ghent for many years and that this is now resulting in a new office in Flanders."
