Netherlands and Taiwan unveil projects to scale integrated photonics
Four joint R&D projects selected under the Netherlands–Taiwan TechBridge programme have been announced at PIC Summit Europe 2026 in Eindhoven.
The projects combine Dutch expertise in photonic chip design and packaging with Taiwan’s strengths in semiconductor manufacturing and electronics integration to develop technologies that can be manufactured and deployed at scale.
HEROIC brings together SMART Photonics, Eindhoven University of Technology, Formerica OE and Hon Hai Research Institute to develop a 3.2 Tbps optical transceiver for AI data centres, targeting 400 Gbps per lane and using immersion cooling.
PhoDAS pairs Sabratha and TMYTEK to develop millimetre-wave radio units for future indoor 5G and 6G networks, using photonics to carry signals between the radio units and the wider network.
QSPAD brings together QuiX Quantum and Brillink to develop integrated single-photon detectors designed to operate near room temperature for fault-tolerant quantum computing.
MAP-Connect pairs MicroAlign and Largan to develop 40-channel fibre arrays that connect photonic chips with minimal optical loss and can be manufactured in volume.
The TechBridge call was launched by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency and Taiwan’s Industrial Development Administration to support joint research with commercial potential and a route to high-volume production.
Now in its fifth year, PIC Summit Europe brought together more than 800 participants from industry, government and academia on 3 - 4 November, up from 300 at its first edition in 2022. Under the theme Scaling integrated photonics for global impact, the Summit focused on what it takes to move photonic chips from development to commercial deployment, including advances in packaging, testing, manufacturing yield and standardisation.
