Presentations | PIC Summit Europe

Welcome & Introduction Host & CEO

Introduction and insightful interview led by the host Irene, alongside Eelko Brinkhoff, CEO of PhotonDelta. Together, they set the stage with a comprehensive market overview, exploring the critical importance of scaling and the key strategies behind successful growth.

Irene Rompa

Host PIC Summit Europe

(De Foundary)
Irene Rompa

Host PIC Summit Europe

De Foundary
Irene Rompa studied Psychology at VU University. Her love for sustainability led her to the US in the year after her graduation (2011), where she led the international expansion of Dutch reusable waterbottle company Dopper.
After returning back home in 2015, she worked in the Dutch tech ecosystem in a wide variety of roles, leading accelerators, facilitating Dutch startups' international expansions and organizing large innovation events.
Until recently, she served as the Head of Communication at Quantum Delta NL, a public-private partnership that scales the Netherlands' quantum technology ecosystem.
Currently, she's a mediator and facilitates family constellations next to her work as an event host.
Eelko Brinkhoff

CEO

(PhotonDelta)
Eelko Brinkhoff

CEO

PhotonDelta
Eelko Brinkhoff has been working for 25 years in economic development before joining PhotonDelta in February 2024. In his previous role as Managing Director Internationalisation at the Brabant Development Agency (BOM) he gained a lot of experience and knowledge in the field of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI), internationalisation of SME's, innovation cooperation and economic development. He has built a strong network in the Netherlands and abroad towards business, government, knowledge institutes and universities. In his role as CEO of PhotonDelta the challenge is to mature the organisation after a period of rapid growth and to become an internationally recognised accelerator for the photonic chip industry. PhotonDelta plays a key role in making the integrated photonics ecosystem indispensable for the goals and challenges that we face today. Photonic chips will become critical in various applications such as quantum computing, robotics, sustainable agriculture and autonomous driving. PhotonDelta as a Dutch world leading ecosystem will be a driving force to make this happen.

Keynote: Public-Private Collaboration in Integrated Photonics

This keynote delves into the vital role of government in shaping the integrated photonics industry, focusing on policy, public-private collaboration, and driving innovation at scale.

Gustav Kalbe

Acting Director in DG Communications Networks, Content and Technology

(European Commission)
Gustav Kalbe

Acting Director in DG Communications Networks, Content and Technology

European Commission
Dr. Gustav Kalbe studied Applied Physics at the Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium. In 1991 he studied Applied Optics at the Imperial College of Science in London. In 1995 he completed his studies and earned a PhD in Physics, Molecular Spectroscopy, at the UCL, Belgium.
He started his professional career as a project manager in photonic networks at the incumbent telecom operator in Belgium. He was R&D manager when he left the company.
In 1998 he joined the Directorate General Information Society & Media of the European Commission where he started working as Project Officer managing research projects of the European Framework Programs for Research. Over the years he had several assignments in quantum technologies, photonics, and cybersecurity.
In 2014 Gustav Kalbe became HoU for Administration & Finance in the European Commission, in DG Connect.
In 2016 he was appointed HoU of the newly created High Performance Computing and Quantum Technology unit in DG Connect.
In 2018 he became responsible for the establishment and operation of the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking. He occupied the post of Interim Executive Director of the JU until its autonomy by the end of 2020.
In January 2021, he was appointed Deputy to the Director of DG Connect C “Digital Excellence and Science Infrastructure”.
Since May 2022 Gustav is the Acting Director of DG Connect C “Digital Excellence and Science Infrastructure”.

Keynote: Innovations in the semiconductor industry to continue scaling and meet AI demand

This talk addresses developments shaping the semiconductor industry in addressing global demand for AI and data. The growing convergence of photonics and electronics, especially in high-performance applications, determines the requirements for photonics and its production techniques. ASML will share a holistic litho perspective covering scanners, Optical Proximity Correction (OPC) and e-beam metrology.

Anne Hidma

Senior Vice President EUR & US

(ASML Executive Team)
Anne Hidma

Senior Vice President EUR & US

ASML Executive Team
Anne is responsible for ASML’s customer and research partnerships, as well as business operations across these regions. As such, Anne’s team addresses customers’ future technology roadmaps, application challenges, and operational requirements.
Next to the financial and operational management of our customer business, she drives improvements in ASML’s products and services together with the broader ASML organization to better meet customer needs.
Anne is a member of the Executive Team of ASML.
Prior to ASML, Anne was a Partner at McKinsey & Company. She led the Advanced Industries practice in the Benelux and was a core part of the Strategy & Corporate Finance practice in Europe.
Anne obtained her MSc degree in Nanoscience at the faculty Applied Physics of Delft University of Technology. She holds an MBA degree from Columbia University in New York.

Keynote: Next-Gen Tech Drives Semiconductor Expansion

Advanced technologies and innovation are driving the ongoing expansion of the semiconductor industry, which is set for robust growth in 2025 and beyond. Key trends include rising demand in AI, data center, automotive, and IoT, with significant investments in advanced manufacturing, packaging, and materials advancing performance, efficiency, and integration. Chipmakers are increasing capital expenditures to expand capacity and address surging needs in logic, memory, and high-bandwidth connectivity, spurred by generative AI and next-generation compute architectures.

Solutions built on advanced process nodes such as 7nm, 5nm, 3nm, and beyond along with silicon photonics, COUPE (COmpact Universal Photonics Engine), co-packaged optics, breakthroughs in 3D stacking and new materials form essential building blocks for next-generation applications at TSMC. By strategically combining diverse innovations and investing in scalable foundry platforms, TSMC is setting the stage for the next wave of semiconductor industry growth and driving transformative advances in global digital infrastructure.

Wenchi Chang

Senior Technical Manager

(TSMC)
Wenchi Chang

Senior Technical Manager

TSMC
Wenchi has spent over 25 years at TSMC, growing from process integration and product engineering into his current role as Senior Technical Manager in Field Technical Support and Marketing. He has been working closely with customers on advanced semiconductor technology, helping resolve complex issues and translate advanced process know-how into practical solutions.
Wenchi’s current work includes collaborations with leading industry companies on cutting-edge CMOS technologies, silicon photonics integration, and TSMC’s COUPE platform. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Keynote: A Success Story of PIC Applications

Expanding the application space of terrestrial wireless optical communications with photonic integrated circuits

Devin Brinkley

SVP & Engineering Lead

(Taara)
Devin Brinkley

SVP & Engineering Lead

Taara
Devin Brinkley is SVP, Engineering at Taara, and he leads our Engineering team. He has been active in developing advanced optical communication technologies and products for nearly two decades, and previously led multiple Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) programs, a high-production Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement Systems (MILES) program, and the Wireless Optical Communication hardware development on Project Loon.

Keynote: PIXEurope - From Pilotline to Factory

This keynote will present the newly launched Chips JU Pilot Line on Advanced Photonic Integrated Circuits. PIXEurope will develop cutting-edge technological platforms, transfer them to the European industry and provide open access for accelerating the introduction of products to the market.

Valerio Pruneri

ICFO & ICREA

(Director PIXEurope)
Valerio Pruneri

ICFO & ICREA

Director PIXEurope
Valerio Pruneri is Corning Inc. Chair leading the Optoelectronics group at the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO). Previously he worked for Avanex, Corning, Pirelli, and the University of Southampton. He is inventor in more than 65 patent families and has given more than 110 invited talks. With his group he has developed technologies for the photonics, quantum, sensing and display industries. These include multifunctional optical surfaces for antireflection and antimicrobial applications, low voltage integrated modulators and tunable lasers for DWDM, quantum random number generators, quantum phase imagers, quantum key distribution systems for cryptography, His work has led to numerous industrial collaborations (e.g. Corning Inc. and Carl Zeiss) and the creation of three spin offs, Quside, ShinePhi Technologies and Luxquanta.

Keynote: Recent Progress of CPO for AI Data Center in Taiwan

As AI technology surges, Taiwan’s data centers face soaring demand for high-speed signal transmission, pushing beyond the limits of electrical methods and toward optical solutions. Taiwan excels in silicon photonics and nanophotonics, utilizing Photonic Integrated Circuits (PIC) for miniaturization and high integration to advance Co-Packaged Optics (CPO) for AI data centers. From device simulation to chip packaging and validation, Taiwan has established a complete in-house workflow. By adopting thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) and organic materials for silicon-organic hybrid (SOH) modulators, the target is per-lane 200Gbps and beyond. Recent chip tests show PAM4 TDECQ around 1.6dB, indicating strong performance. Collaborative efforts include integrating nanophotonics into silicon platforms and developing WDM technology with self-designed DFB lasers for 3.2T throughput. Highlights feature monolithic meta surface integration on photonic crystal lasers for spatial sensing and optical communications, supported by numerous papers and patents, underscoring Taiwan’s leadership in global CPO advancements.

Dr. Hao-Chung Kuo

Director Semiconductor Research Centre

(Hon Hai Research Institute)
Dr. Hao-Chung Kuo

Director Semiconductor Research Centre

Hon Hai Research Institute
Dr. Hao-Chung Kuo received the B.S. degree in physics from the National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, the M.S. degree in electrical and computer engineering from Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, in 1995, and the Ph.D. degree from the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Urbana, in 1999. From 1993 to 1995, he was a Research Consultant in Lucent Technologies, Bell Laboratories, and from 1999 to 2001 he was a Member of Technical Staff in Fiber-Optics Division at Agilent Technologies. From 2001 to 2002, he was with LuxNet Corporation. Since October 2002, he has been a Faculty Member of the Institute of Electro-Optical Engineering, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan. His current research interests include semiconductor lasers, vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers, blue and UV LED lasers, quantum-confined optoelectronic structures, optoelectronic materials, and solar cell. He has authored or coauthored more than 400 journal papers and holds 35 granted and 20 pending patents.
Prof. Kuo’s service to the III-V community is multifaceted. He was elected as the Chairman of IEEE/Photonics Taipei Chapter (since 2012). In addition, he was in the Technical Program Committee for several major technical conferences for the IEEE, the OSA, and the SPIE, which include IEEE/OSA CLEO (2009 – Present), SPIE Photonics West (2009 – Present), and others. He serves as a Panel Member for Taiwan National Science Council (Photonic Program- especially in semiconductor lasers and LEDs). He was the Guest Editor of the IEEE JSTQE (2009) and was an Associate Editor of the OSA/IEEE Journal of lightwave technology (2008-2013) and Associate Editor of the OSA Photonics Research (2019-now). He was the recipient of The Optical Engineering Society of Taiwan (SPIE Taipei Chapter) – Young Researcher Award in 2007. NSC of Taiwan- Dr. Ta-You Wu Award in 2007. Faculty Research Award of NCTU in 2010, 2011. Micro-optics Conference (MOC) Contribution Award-10th MOC Program-committee Chairman (2011). He was recognized by the Photonics community and received OSA(2012), IET (2012), SPIE (2013), IEEE (2015) and IAAM Fellow (2021).

Keynote: Challenges of supporting dynamic Photonic IC market for foundries

The ultimate goal of lowering complexity, cost and power consumption leads to multiple integration schemes for Photonic Integrated Circuits. Tower’s challenge is providing flexibility for individual companies to differentiate while providing a robust manufacturing environment. We explore our vision of market directions and technology required to support innovative solutions.

Todd Mahlen

CMO & VP of Sales

(Tower Semiconductor)
Todd Mahlen

CMO & VP of Sales

Tower Semiconductor
Todd Mahlen was appointed Vice President of North America Sales and General Manager of TowerUSA in May 2013. He has served as Vice President of APAC Sales and Power Business Development since March 2010.
Previously, he served as Director of Marketing for TowerJazz's Specialty Business Unit and was brought into Jazz Semiconductor in 2006 toestablish a power technology business focus.
Prior to Jazz, Mr. Mahlen worked at Polarfab, Inc., where he was one of the founding members orchestrating the change from an IDM to a Pure-play foundry in 2000.
Prior to PolarFab, he contributed as an Application Engineering Manager/Engineer focused on ICs for the hard disk drive market, primarily preamplifiers, servo demodulators and PRML channels since 1993.

Keynote: Advanced Integrated Photonics Packaging Break-out 1: Philips Hall

The demand for higher performance, lower power consumption, miniaturization and low latency data transmission is driving the need for advanced integrated photonics packaging. This talk explores the multifaceted challenges and opportunities in pushing the boundaries of integration density. Equally critical is the transformation of the equipment ecosystem required to support these advancements. This talk will highlight the enabling tools and infrastructure necessary to maintain yield, reliability, and cost effectiveness at scale.

Azmina Somani

Vice President, R&D

(Jabil)
Azmina Somani

Vice President, R&D

Jabil
Azmina Somani is Jabil's Vice President of Research and Development leading a global, multidisciplinary team dedicated to delivering cutting-edge photonics solutions for Jabil customers. Recognized as a trail blazer in the optical components industry with exceptional strategic skills as a technologist, Azmina has more than 30 years of experience and expertise developing and delivering state-of-the-art subsystems and modules to the market.
Before joining Jabil in July 2024, Azmina served as Senior Vice President of R&D at Infinera where she oversaw the creation of Coherent ASICs, DSP algorithms, and photonic integrated circuits. Prior to her tenure at Infinera, Azmina held several key positions at Lumentum and JDSU between 2004 and 2020.
Notably, as Senior Vice President of Operations for Lumentum, she successfully transitioned manufacturing operations from Shenzhen, China, to a newly established facility in Thailand. Also, while serving as Senior Vice President of R&D, Azmina broadened the company’s 3D sensing, telecom transmission, datacom, and high-power pump solutions, contributing significantly to Lumentum’s product development strategy and business growth.
Azmina holds an Executive MBA from Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management, Ithaca, New York and an MBA from Queen's University, the leading, research-intense university in Canada. She also earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Alberta. Residing in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Azmina balances her professional endeavors with a passion for community service and mentorship.

Keynote: Bottlenecks in development of reliable integrated graphene photonics platform Break-out 1: Philips Hall

Photonic interconnects are gaining significant traction in AI computing because they address several critical bottlenecks that electronic interconnects struggle with at the massive scales required for modern AI workloads. Major AI companies are driving adoption because their training clusters and inference systems have reached scales where the advantages of photonics clearly outweigh the costs. The economics make sense when you're building systems with tens of thousands of GPUs that need to communicate efficiently. SiPh is the “State Of The Art” for mass produced photonics, but SiPh is incompatible with BEOL (back end of line) integration, reason is temperature budget, process compatibility and availability of materials. Integrated Graphene photonics allows high speed and high efficiency modulators and detectors and is one of the only material system that has the temperature budget, devices, and compatibility to allow BEOL integration. It allows to bring photonics on every chip and fundamentally rethink computer system architectures. Nonetheless, Graphene is not available in any semiconductor foundry ecosystem and has only been explored in Lab environments. In this talk we tell the journey of Black Semiconductor to close this gap.

Cedric Huyghebaert

CTO

(Black Semiconductor)
Cedric Huyghebaert

CTO

Black Semiconductor
Cedric Huyghebaert is currently Chief Technology Officer at Black Semiconductor, a German start-up that aims to develop technology to inspire the semiconductor world to rethink data transfer in advanced computing systems. He got his master degree in Physics from the UGhent. He started in 1999 as a junior researcher in the Materials and Component Analyses group at imec. He received his PhD in Physics in 2006 at the KULeuven in Belgium. In 2005 he joined imecs pilot line as a support integration engineer, especially dealing with the process contamination control. He was part of the packaging group from end 2007 till begin 2010, working as a senior integration engineer dealing with 3D-stacked IC integration. From 2010 to 2019, he led the nano-applications and –material engineering (NAME) group at imec. He guided the transition for 2D materials from lab to fab. From 2019 to 2022 he worked as Program manager of exploratory processes and modules, dealing with material exploration and early module integration for functional applications. He was the technical lead of the 2D experimental Pilot line division in the Graphene Flagship. He (co-)authored more than 200 journal and conference papers.

Applied Materials Photonics Platform: Catalyzing Photonics for AR Break-out 2: Philips Hall

In this presentation, we will discuss how Applied Materials’s Photonics Platform is scaling various photonic applications from lab to HVM scale. The main focus will be on our efforts in Augmented Reality and how we see this product and our role in it scaling to true High Volume Manufacturing, leveraging Applied Materials’s experience.

Rutger Thijssen

Director

(Applied Materials)
Rutger Thijssen

Director

Applied Materials
After obtaining a PhD in nanophotonics at FOM Institute AMOLF in Amsterdam and two years at TNO studying subsurface AFM metrology, in 2016 Rutger joined the Office of the CTO at Applied Materials as one of the founding members of what would become the Photonics Platforms Business. He’s fulfilled many roles in the PPB group, from integration engineer and manager to his current role as Director of Technical Marketing.

The sweetspot for photonic IC manufacturing standardization Break-out 2: Philips Hall

This panel discussion will explore how standardization can help scale the integrated photonics industry while maintaining opportunities for innovation.

Thomas Hessler

CEO

(Ligentec)
Thomas Hessler

CEO

Ligentec
Ivan Nikitski

Technology Expert

(EPIC)
Ivan Nikitski

Technology Expert

EPIC
Dr. Ivan Nikitski serves as a Photonics Technology Expert at EPIC, the European Photonics Industry Consortium, which stands as the world's largest association of photonics companies with over 800 corporate members. Ivan earned his Ph.D. with honors in photonics from ICFO, the Institute of Photonic Sciences.
After successfully transitioning to an expert role in the semiconductor industry in France, he now provides a special blend of academic and industrial views on integrated photonics, optoelectronics, advanced materials, and quantum technologies.
Michiel Boermans

Sr. Product Marketing Manager

(SMART Photonics)
Michiel Boermans

Sr. Product Marketing Manager

SMART Photonics
Michiel Boermans began his photonics journey in 1985 at Philips Nat.Lab, pioneering GaAs/AlInGaP lasers with breakthroughs in red and green light. At TE Connectivity, he managed high-speed optical interconnects for supercomputers and wireless systems. After roles in technical marketing and sensors, Michiel returned to transceivers at EFFECT Photonics. He now serves as Senior Product Marketing Manager at SMART Photonics, driving success in InP technologies for AI/data centers, telecom, passive optical networks, and optical sensing markets.
Sander Roosendaal

Senior R&D Leader

(Synopsys)
Sander Roosendaal

Senior R&D Leader

Synopsys
Sander Roosendaal is a senior R&D leader at Synopsys, where he drives the development of the Photonic Integrated Circuit design suite.
With a Ph.D. in Physics from Utrecht University, Sander began his career as a scientist at Philips Research, contributing to and leading industrial R&D in the fields of Liquid Crystal Displays and electronic paper.
From 2008 to 2020, Sander served as a program manager and technical leader at Honeywell Aerospace, overseeing Honeywell’s involvement in the Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) joint undertaking.
In this role, he managed EU-funded projects and consortia and led a team of 50+ R&D engineers, honing his expertise in large-scale program management and cross-disciplinary collaboration.
Since 2020, Sander has been the R&D leader for Photonic Systems at Synopsys, where he bridges the gap between physics (photonics) and professional software development. His interests span program management, industrial R&D, innovation, numerical simulation, and software development, with a particular passion for projects where these fields intersect to create cutting-edge technologies.

Keynote: Shaping the Future of the Photonics Industry with Sustainable Innovation

The plenary closing keynote explores imec’s crucial role in accelerating and scaling integrated photonics technologies, showing how sustainable innovation and strong ecosystem collaboration are driving the industry forward.

Patrick Vandenameele

Executive Vice President & CEO-elect

(imec)
Patrick Vandenameele

Executive Vice President & CEO-elect

imec
Patrick Vandenameele serves as Executive Vice President and CEO-elect of imec, a world-leading R&D center in nanoelectronics and digital technologies, where he leads and defines the organization’s R&D strategy and its execution. As chief architect of imec’s research direction, Patrick is responsible for shaping and driving the center’s innovation agenda, ensuring the alignment of research initiatives with emerging market needs, partner priorities and technological frontiers. Previously, as chief portfolio officer at imec until early 2024, he spearheaded strategic initiatives spanning business development, portfolio management, and venture creation.
His leadership underpins imec’s commitment to addressing market-driven application challenges while advancing its world-class technology platforms through targeted internal investments and external collaborations.
Holding a PhD from KU Leuven, Patrick began his journey with imec in 1996, contributing to the wireless communications program. In 2000, he transitioned to entrepreneurship, founding and leading several deep-tech ventures, three of which were built on imec technology.
Throughout his career, Patrick has demonstrated exceptional leadership, serving in senior roles at industry-leading semiconductor companies such as Qorvo and Hisilicon/Huawei. His innovative efforts have culminated in 11 successful product launches and the shipment of over 100 million units globally.
Returning to imec in 2017, Patrick has been instrumental in scaling its venture development activities, working closely with the deep-tech venturing fund imec.xpand to strengthen imec’s position as a pioneer in technology-driven solutions.

Keynote: Celebrate innovation: PhotonDelta Innovation Award PIC Application Day: Philips Hall

Perceptra, a US-based startup, winner of the PhotonDelta Global Photonics Engineering Contest, earning funding in services to accelerate the development of the first ultra-compact, PIC-based Raman analyser - 1,000x smaller and 100x more affordable than current systems. Their groundbreaking technology enables real-time molecular sensing for bio-manufacturing, solving inefficiencies in R&D and production that currently delay life-saving innovations.

Amir Atabaki

Co-Founder and CEO

(Perceptra Technologies)
Amir Atabaki

Co-Founder and CEO

Perceptra Technologies
Amir Atabaki is the co-founder and CEO of Perceptra, a sensor technology startup developing chip-scale AI-enabled Raman spectrometers for industrial process automation. Prior to founding Perceptra, Amir was a research scientist at MIT, where he developed system-on-a-chip solutions for optical interconnects and sensing applications. His work has led to breakthroughs in the monolithic integration of photonics and electronics on CMOS platforms. He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech and received the Sigma Xi Best Ph.D. Thesis Award.

Fireside chat: PICs through-out multiple application area's (Flexibility vs Cost) PIC Application Day: Philips Hall

This fireside chat explores how the versatility of PIC technologies can shape the industry’s future, particularly given its high-mix, high-value nature. Beyond datacom, where volumes are still more varied than in semiconductors, the discussion will focus on strategies to optimize for this reality while highlighting the key opportunities and threats that come with these dynamics.

Joost van Kerkhof

COO & Co-founder

(PHIX)
Joost van Kerkhof

COO & Co-founder

PHIX
Joost van Kerkhof started PHIX in 2018 together with Albert Hasper. He has more than 25 years of experience in the micro-nano technology industry. His experience in producing high tech products in scalable volumes already started when he held positions as Director R&D and Director Operations within Texas Instruments (which became Sensata Technologies in 2006). Joost continued in automotive sensing at Sensata Technologies as Director Business Integration. Prior to starting PHIX, Joost was the CEO of XiO Photonics and COO of LioniX International.
Joost holds M.Sc and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering, specialized in micro-nano technology and (bio)sensors.
Iñigo Artundo

CEO

(VLC Photonics)
Iñigo Artundo

CEO

VLC Photonics
Iñigo Artundo (M) received the M.Sc. in Telecom Engineering at the Universidad Pública de Navarra (Pamplona, Spain) in 2005, and received his Ph.D. on Applied Physics and Photonics at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Brussels, Belgium) in 2009. He holds MBA specializations in Business Financing, Commercial Management and Research, and Strategic Marketing.
He has been involved in several national and European research projects and networks of excellence focused on reconfigurable optical interconnects, development of micro-optic devices and photonic integrated circuits, and on flexible access and in-building fiber network architectures. Since 2011 he has been involved in VLC Photonics, and he is currently the CEO.
He has worked as a reviewer for several scientific journals and national funding agencies, including being a member of the high-level steering committee set up by the European Commission for the establishment of the Quantum Technologies Flagship program.
Pieter Dumon

CEO & Co-founder

(Luceda Photonics)
Pieter Dumon

CEO & Co-founder

Luceda Photonics
Pieter Dumon is CEO of Luceda Photonics. He obtained the EE MSc and PhD degrees from Ghent University in 2002 and 2007, respectively, with a dissertation on silicon photonics wavelength filter devices. Pieter contributed to the imec silicon photonics platform and coordinated ePIXfab, the first multi-project wafer service for photonic ICs, from 2007 to 2014. He grew ePIXfab to a network of partners offering chips, packaging, and design services to worldwide industry and academic customers. Being fascinated by software, semiconductor technology, and manipulating light on tiny chips, Pieter co-founded Luceda in 2014.

Keynote: Market opportunities for PICs: from interconnects to sensors PIC Application Day: Philips Hall

Photonic integrated circuits (PICs) are key elements in optical interconnects wiring AI Clusters. These PICs are getting faster and more complex. Some of them are being integrated with switching ASICs and XPUs. This is a great market, but if there more to expect from confluence in development of more sophisticated PICs and new Ai applications? Optical sensors powered by AI may be the next opportunity for PIC suppliers. Such sensors have to be designed with “AI in mind” to take full advantage of it. Sensor data does not have to make sense to a human, as long as an AI model can be trained to interpret the data. A process of co-designing PIC sensors and AI models for them is reminiscent to natural evolution of living organisms, except it is all done in silicon.

Vladimir Kozlov

CEO

(LightCounting)
Vladimir Kozlov

CEO

LightCounting
Vladimir Kozlov is the founder and CEO of LIGHTCOUNTING, an optical communications market research company.
LightCounting was established in 2004 with an objective of providing in-depth coverage of market and technologies for high speed optoelectronic interfaces employed in communications. By now, the company employs a team of industry experts and offers comprehensive coverage of optical communications supply chain.
Dr. Kozlov has more than 20 years of experience in optoelectronics, optical communications and market research. Dr. Kozlov held market analyst, product development and research staff positions at RHK Inc., Lucent Technologies and Princeton University.
Dr. Kozlov holds several US patents and has numerous publications in the area of optoelectronics. He received M. Sc. at Moscow State University in Russia and Ph. D in Physics at Brown University in the United States.

Keynote: Lasers On-PIC or Off-PIC? The Billion-Dollar Question for CPO PIC Application Day: Philips Hall

This presentation addresses the critical question of whether lasers should be placed on-PIC or off-PIC in the context of Co-Packaged Optics (CPO) architectures. While off-PIC solutions are currently favored for near-term deployment, many companies are pursuing highly integrated on-PIC photonic solutions. I will analyze both approaches with a focus on yield, power consumption, and, most critically, reliability. A key question is whether the cumulative MTBF contribution of all optical links based on modern electro-optical assemblies can align with the ~1,000,000-hour MTBF typically expected from high-quality switch motherboards . Finally, I will highlight how Quantum Dot (QD) lasers, with their inherent reliability, manufacturability and ease of integration, could shift the paradigm toward fully integrated solutions for scalable datacom and AI systems.

Alexey Kovsh

Co-founder

(Innolume GmbH)
Alexey Kovsh

Co-founder

Innolume GmbH
Alexey Kovsh is co-founder of Innolume GmbH, and CEO of Alfalume Inc. Alexey received his scientific degrees, PhD and Dr.Sci. (Habil) under the guidance of Prof.Zhores Alferov, who won Nobel Prize 2000 for the invention of semiconductor double heterostructure and demonstration of the first room temperature diode laser at Ioffe Institute, known as "Soviet Union Bell Lab". From 2000 till 2003 he was a visiting scientist in ITRI, Taiwan.
Together with his colleagues from Ioffe Institute, Alexey started and brought to success two photonics companies Innolume GmbH (2003) and Optogan Oy (2004) serving them in executive positions. Alexey's team at Innolume demonstrated the first semiconductor comb-laser and 10Gbps error-free transmission on each lasing line in 2007. Innolume produces and ships worldwide a broad range of photonics components based on self-assembled semiconductor Quantum Dots.
Today Optogan, renamed to Klever-LED after the acquisition in 2019, is the biggest manufacturer of white LED packages in Europe. From 2015 and till Alfalume foundation in 2022 Alexey served several Tier 1 US companies in leading technical roles.

Keynote: Spectral Sensing for Health and Agrifood Insight PIC Application Day: Philips Hall

MantiSpectra envisions a world where material analysis and health insights are available anytime, anywhere, empowering a healthier and smarter life. In this talk, we present how MantiSpectra’s miniaturized spectral sensing products enable accessible and scalable material analysis for real-world applications. By capturing and interpreting light at the molecular level, our sensors provide real-time monitoring of food quality, raw ingredients, and human health indicators. Compact, affordable, and easy to integrate, they deliver fast and reliable insights directly where decisions are made, from production lines to consumer devices and wearables. This presentation highlights how MantiSpectra’s scalable spectral sensing platform transforms advanced photonics into practical solutions for healthcare and agrifood, shaping a more sustainable and informed future through the power of light.

Kaylee Hakkel

COO

(MantiSpectra)
Kaylee Hakkel

COO

MantiSpectra
Kaylee Hakkel is the COO of MantiSpectra, where she leads operations to bring the company’s advanced sensor technology to the market. Her expertise lies in transforming deep-tech innovations into scalable, mass-producible products, with a strong focus on building an efficient and resilient supply chain. She obtained her Ph.D. in Applied Physics at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), where her research on the design, fabrication, and characterization of novel sensors laid the foundation for MantiSpectra’s current technology. During her Ph.D., she also founded and served as the first president of the Photonics Society Eindhoven, promoting optics and photonics among young researchers.

Keynote: Bringing the Lab Home PIC Application Day: Philips Hall

Today, billions of hours are wasted annually on blood draws, lab visits, and delayed results. These are barriers that keep preventative healthcare out of reach for many. SiPhox Health is pioneering a new category of at-home diagnostics by integrating silicon photonics, microfluidics, and advanced biochemistry into a compact reader the size of a coffee maker.

Diedrik Vermeulen

Co-founder & CEO

(SiPhox Health)
Diedrik Vermeulen

Co-founder & CEO

SiPhox Health
Diedrik Vermeulen is a co-founder of SiPhox and serves as its Chief Executive Officer. Diedrik brings more than 13 years of experience and pioneering work in integrated photonics to SiPhox. Prior to co-founding SiPhox, Diedrik was the Director of Engineering at Analog Photonics commercializing chip-scale LiDAR and tunable lasers. He was a research scientist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and previously worked at Acacia Communications bringing the first silicon photonics-based coherent transceiver for long-haul and metro optical fiber communication to market.
Diedrik holds over 20 patents and has published more than 100 papers and conference contributions in letters, journals, and conferences which have received thousands of citations.

Keynote: Photonics in Agriculture: Lely’s Vision for Smarter, Sustainable Farming PIC Application Day: Philips Hall

This presentation explores Lely’s pioneering role in agricultural automation and its strategic vision for integrating photonics technology into dairy farming. It highlights how photonic sensors can revolutionize precision agriculture by enabling real-time monitoring of for instance ammonia, soil health, milk quality, and feed efficiency. The presentation outlines key farmer requirements for sensor robustness, affordability, and system integration, and emphasizes the importance of deeptech partnerships and ecosystem development.

Martijn Boelens

CTO

(Lely)
Martijn Boelens

CTO

Lely
Martijn Boelens is Chief Technology Officer at Lely, where he leads the technological strategy and integrates innovative solutions within the agricultural sector. With a strong focus on digitalization, artificial intelligence, and sensor technologies, he plays a key role in accelerating sustainable agricultural innovations.
Martijn is actively involved in the PhotonDelta ecosystem and serves on the agrifood advisory board, where he is committed to connecting deep tech with practical applications in food production. His mission: to leverage technology for a more efficient, sustainable, and future-proof agriculture.

Keynote: Integrated optics in the age of artificial intelligence PIC Application Day: Philips Hall

Artificial Intelligence is changing the way we live faster than any technology that came before it. In this talk we’ll dive into the compute infrastructure on which this revolution is built. We’ll review how unprecedented scaling is at the core of the ever-growing capabilities of our AI companions and how photonic integrated circuits may be one of the key technologies necessary to enable continued growth. More specifically we’ll take a look at where optics is used in today’s AI factories and how it will penetrate deeper and deeper into the networking fabric.

Yannick de Koninck

Senior Engineer

(NVIDIA)
Yannick de Koninck

Senior Engineer

NVIDIA
After his PhD on heterogeneous laser integration for silicon photonics in 2014, Yannick moved to San Diego, CA to join Luxtera as device designer. At the time, Luxtera was one of the first companies to commercialize Silicon Photonics. In 2018, Yannick joined imec in Leuven, BE to work on a wide variety of laser integration technologies. In 2021, Yannick joined Nvidia where he is working on silicon photonics based optical engines for next generation AI factories.

Keynote: Integrated Photonics for Quantum Technology in Space PIC Application Day: Philips Hall

Quantum communication and quantum technologies are rapidly advancing toward operational deployment, with space platforms playing a key role in enabling global-scale quantum networks and secure infrastructures. A central enabler in this roadmap is integrated photonics. In this talk, we highlight the impact of photonic integrated chips on quantum technology development by showcasing the design, testing, and qualification approaches for a space-ready Quantum Random Number Generator (QRNG) based on a photonic integrated circuit. We will conclude by presenting the outlook and key requirements for integrated photonics to meet the quality and reliability standards for space applications, paving the way for higher maturity and broader adoption.

Matteo Rossetto

Space Systems Engineer

(OHB System AG)
Matteo Rossetto

Space Systems Engineer

OHB System AG
M. Sc. in Telecommunication Engineering with expertise in Communication Networks, Quantum Communication, Optical Communication, and (Integrated) Photonics. Extensive research experience on Programmable Photonic Integrated Circuits, from designing to developing automated testing and calibration procedures.
Since 2024, I'm working at OHB System AG as Systems Engineer in the Quantum Communication Networks department. Here, my duties range from being responsible for the performance evaluation of the photonic assembly of EAGLE-1 QRNG to technically leading internal R&D projects related to QKD. I'm also project and technical manager for the Next-Gen QRBG project, aiming for designing and assembling a breadboard to support the development of the next generation space QRNGs.

Keynote: LiDAR-on-a-Chip: The Path to Mass-Market 3D Sensing PIC Application Day: Philips Hall

LiDAR is an essential perception technology for autonomous systems, from passenger cars to long-haul trucking. Achieving the required levels of safety and availability is not possible with vision-based systems alone. For LiDAR to achieve widespread adoption, however, it must follow the path of cameras and radar: silicon-level integration. Voyant Photonics is leading this transition, developing scalable LiDAR-on-a-chip solutions to unlock a new generation of applications in mobility and beyond.

Chris Phare

CSO

(Voyant Photonics)
Chris Phare

CSO

Voyant Photonics
Chris Phare is the co-founder and Chief Science Officer of Voyant Photonics, where he leads architecture and roadmaps for complex silicon photonic LIDAR. Before founding Voyant, Dr. Phare received his PhD from the Lipson Nanophotonics Group at Cornell University and served as a postdoc at Columbia University, where he worked on high speed modulators and heterogeneous integration of new materials into photonic circuits.

Keynote: PICs: a change of paradigm for functions and systems in Thales PIC Application Day: Philips Hall

Advances in Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC) technology support the expanding use of photonics and optoelectronics, enabling new possibilities for compact photonic-based military capabilities. Their potential application in military equipment offers innovative engineering approaches to integrated optoelectronic sensors and communication systems, reducing size, weight, and power consumption. Applications of PIC technology in military systems include the future development of optical communications, coherent sensors, integrated RF photonic systems, and positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT).

Jérôme Bourderionnet

Optical Scientist

(Thales Research & Technology)
Jérôme Bourderionnet

Optical Scientist

Thales Research & Technology
Jérôme Bourderionnet (Dr.) holds a PhD in laser physics. Since 2001, he has been working in the Physics Dept. at Thales Research and Technology, in charge of the development of innovative concepts for radar and active optronic systems and also for fiber based sensors, including non-mechanical beam steering, slow light signal processing… In the past decade, he is particularly involved in the integrated photonics activity, for a various range of applications, including LiDAR, coherent beam combining for high power sources, free space communications, and microwave photonics for signal processing.

Roadmap

Peter van Arkel

CTO

(PhotonDelta)
Peter van Arkel

CTO

PhotonDelta
Peter van Arkel is Chief Technology Officer at PhotonDelta. He has a background in both physics and business. After working as R&D engineer in an electrotechnical company, he worked at Berenschot as consultant Integrated Photonics. He has been working as the roadmap director of the Integrated Photonics Systems Roadmap -International (IPSR-I) for seven years. Furthermore he wrote many Integrated Photonic project proposals, did project management in multilateral R&D collaborations and performed ecosystem analysis for regional and national governments.

Official closing of PIC Summit Europe 2025

Irene Rompa

Host PIC Summit Europe

(De Foundary)
Irene Rompa

Host PIC Summit Europe

De Foundary
Irene Rompa studied Psychology at VU University. Her love for sustainability led her to the US in the year after her graduation (2011), where she led the international expansion of Dutch reusable waterbottle company Dopper.
After returning back home in 2015, she worked in the Dutch tech ecosystem in a wide variety of roles, leading accelerators, facilitating Dutch startups' international expansions and organizing large innovation events.
Until recently, she served as the Head of Communication at Quantum Delta NL, a public-private partnership that scales the Netherlands' quantum technology ecosystem.
Currently, she's a mediator and facilitates family constellations next to her work as an event host.
Eelko Brinkhoff

CEO

(PhotonDelta)
Eelko Brinkhoff

CEO

PhotonDelta
Eelko Brinkhoff has been working for 25 years in economic development before joining PhotonDelta in February 2024. In his previous role as Managing Director Internationalisation at the Brabant Development Agency (BOM) he gained a lot of experience and knowledge in the field of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI), internationalisation of SME's, innovation cooperation and economic development. He has built a strong network in the Netherlands and abroad towards business, government, knowledge institutes and universities. In his role as CEO of PhotonDelta the challenge is to mature the organisation after a period of rapid growth and to become an internationally recognised accelerator for the photonic chip industry. PhotonDelta plays a key role in making the integrated photonics ecosystem indispensable for the goals and challenges that we face today. Photonic chips will become critical in various applications such as quantum computing, robotics, sustainable agriculture and autonomous driving. PhotonDelta as a Dutch world leading ecosystem will be a driving force to make this happen.

Keynote: Large-scale integrated photonics for next-generation AI infrastructure Break-out 1: Philips Hall

As artificial intelligence scales toward ever-larger models and clusters, the underlying infrastructure faces critical bandwidth, cost and energy bottlenecks. Photonic integrated circuits (PICs) provide a transformative solution, enabling fast, efficient data movement and processing by harnessing light. Tracing two decades of photonic evolution, we identify scalability laws driving exponential growth in actuator counts, projected to surpass 10⁵ within six years. This talk explores how advances in photonics, tightly coupled with electronics and software, are unlocking the next generations of AI hardware. We emphasize ecosystem maturity and highlight how large-scale integrated optics are reshaping cluster architectures for AI at scale.

Ana González

Vice President

(iPRONICS)
Ana González

Vice President

iPRONICS
Dr. Ana González is currently VP of Business at iPRONICS. Former R&D Manager at EPIC (European Photonics Industry Consortium), she has a solid network at the photonic industry with a large experience reaching out commercial partners and new adopters of photonic integrated technologies. Her expertise lies in the development of optical systems and investigation of applications for datacom and AI clusters. She received her PhD degree in photonic integrated circuits from the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2).

Taiwan Eco-system Networking Session Break-out 2: Jupiter

A new initiative for building deeptech startups PIC Application Day: Philips Hall

Laurens Weers

CFO

(PhotonDelta)
Laurens Weers

CFO

PhotonDelta
Laurens Weers is an executive board member of PhotonDelta, where he oversees (amongst others) the foundation's funding activities. With a substantial part of his career dedicated to M&A and fundraising for technology scaleups, Laurens brings a wealth of experience to the table with respect to the challenges in fundraising and growing scaleups. He holds a degree from the University of Tilburg and Nyenrode, where he earned his certification as a Certified Public Auditor (Registeraccountant).
Stephan Botz

Co-Founder

(Gritd)
Stephan Botz

Co-Founder

Gritd
Stephan Botz is the co-founder of Gritd and one of the driving forces behind milestone-driven startup development in Europe. Having contributed to the launch of over 1,000 startups, Stephan brings a decade of experience in guiding founders toward product–market fit and investment readiness. His data-driven approach to venture building helps reduce risk and accelerate growth. Driven by the belief that Europe’s next wave of innovation will come from ventures built on real market demand, he continues to push startup development toward measurable impact.

Breaking the Bottleneck: High-Volume Manufacturing of TFLN PICs for Telecom & Datacom Side-event: Future of Integrated Photonics | Jupiter

As demand for AI, cloud computing, and data-intensive applications are increasing exponentially, the demand for faster, more efficient data optical interconnects skyrockets. Traditional silicon or III-V semiconductor-based transceivers are hitting an upper physical limit, creating critical bottlenecks in telecom and datacom infrastructure. Thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) photonic integrated circuits (PICs) have emerged as a new platform to offer a breakthrough—combining ultra-high performance such as 400G/lane with lower power consumption. However, scaling the manufacturing of this game-changing technology for high-volume production hasn’t happened yet.
In this talk, Lightium's CEO, Dr. Amir Ghadimi, will explore the challenges and opportunities of the TFLN platform, from material processing to CMOS-compatible fabrication and Lightium's journey to set up a production-grade foundry for the TFLN platform in a 200mm commercial silicon line. Learn how cutting-edge advancements in production are paving the way for the next generation of high-speed, energy-efficient optical networks.

Amir H. Ghadimi

CEO & Co-Founder

(Lightium)
Amir H. Ghadimi

CEO & Co-Founder

Lightium
Dr. Amir H. Ghadimi co-founded Lightium AG in Sep 2023 and is leading Lightium’s development to advance thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) photonic integrated circuits (PICs) technology for high-volume production. With 15+ years of expertise in integrated photonics, MEMS, and micro/nano technology, he previously led PIC research activities at CSEM. He is the recipient of several awards and grants such as Swiss national funding (SNF) Sinergia grant (2021), SNF Bridge discovery grant (2020), Swiss Physical Society (SPS) 2019 young scientist award, Swiss Nanotechnology best PhD award (2018) to name a few. He has secured significant funding from private investors and public grants, including the coordination of several large H2020 and HorizonEurope international projects such as ELENA, PATTERN, INGINIOUS (Xecs) to name a few. Holding a PhD from EPFL (2018), he drives Lightium to redefine high-speed, energy-efficient photonics for datacenters, Al, quantum computing, and telecom.

From UV to IR: Al₂O₃ Waveguides and 3D Printed micro optics for a broad range of Applications Side-event: Future of Integrated Photonics | Jupiter

Al₂O₃ is an emerging waveguide platform offering ultra-low loss from UV to IR and high rare-earth ion solubility for high optical gain. This presentation will cover its fabrication and applications, including optical amplifiers, biosensors, and on-chip lasers. Furthermore, I will introduce the integration of 3D-printed micro-optics on this platform, which enables efficient broadband light coupling and unlocks a new level of system integration and performance.

Lantian Chang

Assistant Professor

(University of Twente)
Lantian Chang

Assistant Professor

University of Twente
Dr. Lantian Chang is an Assistant Professor in the Integrated Optical Systems group (IOS) at the University of Twente and a member of the MESA+ Institute. He received his Ph.D. degrees from the University of Twente in 2016. His research focuses on integrated photonics, particularly the development of advanced on-chip sensors and coupling techniques for biosensing and environmental monitoring. He also contributes as the deputy head of education for the department of Applied Nanophotonics (ANP), overseeing academic programs and mentoring students.

Novel materials reshaping integrated photonics: implications for packaging and co‑packaging Side-event: Future of Integrated Photonics | Jupiter

Novel photonic materials and heterogeneous integration enable new device functions but introduce packaging, thermal, mechanical, and testability challenges. This talk reviews materials-driven design and assembly trade-offs, shares lessons learned from our research and innovation projects, and outlines practical strategies to simplify packaging and enable reliable co‑packaged systems.

Milan Milosevic

Director of Research & Innovation

(PHIX)
Milan Milosevic

Director of Research & Innovation

PHIX
Milan Milosevic is Director of Research and Innovation at PHIX Photonics Assembly, leading R&I for next‑generation products and services. He has 18 years of experience in technology innovation, leadership, intellectual property, and product development across optical datacom, communications, and photonics. He has worked in the UK, US, and Japan in various roles, pioneering high‑speed optical transceivers for datacom and mid‑infrared silicon photonics for sensing and biomedicine. He holds a Diplom‑Ingenieur in optoelectronics from the University of Belgrade and a PhD in silicon photonics from the University of Surrey.

Challenges of integrated photonics for Cold-atom based quantum technology Side-event: Future of Integrated Photonics | Jupiter

Cold atoms form the backbone of a rapidly expanding ecosystem of quantum technologies, spanning precision timekeeping, inertial navigation, gravitational sensing, quantum simulation, and quantum computing. However, the optical architectures required to trap, cool, and manipulate atoms remain large, sensitive, and poorly suited for scalable or field-deployable systems. Overcoming these limitations demands a fundamental rethinking of how light is generated, shaped, and delivered near atoms.

Integrated photonics offers a promising route toward compact, stable, and reconfigurable light–atom interfaces. Recent advances in ultra-low-loss platforms such as silicon nitride and glass-based waveguides open pathways toward chip-scale implementations of optical trapping and control. Yet translating photonic integration into the cold-atom domain introduces profound challenges, including multi-wavelength operation across the visible and near-infrared, vertical beam emission, sub-micron focusing, power handling, and ultra-high vacuum compatibility.

This talk reviews the current state of integrated approaches to cold-atom control and the critical requirements imposed by atom interferometry and neutral-atom quantum computing. Particular attention will be given to use cases—from spaceborne quantum sensors to autonomous navigation systems—where integrated platforms can enable scalable deployment. I will discuss key technological hurdles and outline emerging strategies for achieving fully integrated, robust cold-atom systems for sensing, timing, and quantum information processing.

Philippe Bouyer

Professor

(TU Eindhoven)
Philippe Bouyer

Professor

TU Eindhoven
Philippe Bouyer is a Professor, Board Member, and Chair at Quantum Delta NL (QDNL), where he provides strategic leadership to advance the Dutch quantum technology ecosystem. A leading expert in quantum physics and precision measurement, he also serves as Editor-in-Chief of AIP-AVS Quantum Science. His career spans academia, research, and entrepreneurship—he co-founded one of the first startups in quantum sensing, served as Research Director at CNRS, and held senior positions at prestigious institutions including Institut d’Optique Paris-Saclay and Stanford University.

Integrated photonics for scalable atomic systems Side-event: Future of Integrated Photonics | Jupiter

Photonic integration offers a powerful route to scalability in atomic platforms, opening the door to architectures far beyond what free-space optics can support. In addition to tailored beam delivery to large-scale 2D arrays without crosstalk, grating outcouplers can provide stable structured light fields for faster, higher-fidelity quantum operations, integrated fluorescence collection directly on chip, and even circularly polarized emission crucial for atomic state control. This talk will present recent progress on ion and neutral atom trap systems leveraging these technologies in the ultraviolet, visible, and infrared spectra simultaneously, and advancing their feasibility for deployment in scalable quantum computing applications.

Gillen Beck

Doctoral Student

(ETH Zurich)
Gillen Beck

Doctoral Student

ETH Zurich
Gillenhaal Beck is in his final year as a doctoral student in Physics at ETH Zurich in Switzerland, where his work in Prof. Jonathan Home’s Trapped Ion Quantum Information Group has focused on the design and operation of next-generation ion trap devices. In particular, this has included the development of versatile design workflows for rapid flexibility across foundries and material stacks, new packaging approaches for fiber-chip interfacing of UV light at cryogenic temperatures, and spearheading developments in integrated laser modulation and control. Gillenhaal holds a Master’s degree in physics from ETH Zurich, and a Bachelor’s of Science in both physics and mathematics from Washington and Lee University in the United States.

Hardware authentication for quantum communication Side-event: Future of Integrated Photonics | Jupiter

For secure communication you need authentication as much as you need encryption. This is usually achieved through asymmetric cryptography or pre-shared keys. An alternative approach involves the use of physical unclonable functions, essentially hardware based “fingerprint” keys. These provide authentication by direct quantum-secure readout of the hardware keys via standard optical communication infrastructure. QSA technology is developing PIC-based implementations of such optical PUFs.

Daan Stellinga

CTO

(QSA Technology BV)
Daan Stellinga

CTO

QSA Technology BV
Daan Stellinga has a broad background in optics and photonics. From a PhD in silicon photonics and metasurfaces, through postdocs in computational imaging and complex media. After several years as research scientist in the R&D department of MSquared Lasers he recently joined QSA Technology as CTO and cofounder, where he drives the development of fully optical hardware authentication modules for telecommunication in a quantum age.

Customized Photonic Integrated Circuits for Neuromorphic Photonics and Brain-Inspired Computing Side-event: Future of Integrated Photonics | Jupiter

Neuromorphic photonics provides a pathway to surpass the energy and bandwidth constraints of conventional electronics by leveraging the inherent parallelism and ultrafast behavior of light. Recent advances demonstrate how customized photonic integrated circuits (PICs) can be engineered to enable neuromorphic architectures. Tailored layouts are employed to replicate neural operations with high connectivity and minimal latency. Emphasis is placed on device–system co‑optimization, scalable fabrication strategies, and performance evaluation relative to electronic implementations. Fraunhofer IMS’s customized PIC platform thus supports flexible realization of photonic neurons and synapses, opening opportunities for next‑generation brain‑inspired information processing systems.

Anne Lena Schall - Giesecke

Professor

(Fraunhofer IMS University of Duisburg)
Anne Lena Schall - Giesecke

Professor

Fraunhofer IMS University of Duisburg
Anna Schall-Giesecke is Professor at the University of Duisburg‑Essen and Head of the Technology Department at Fraunhofer IMS, Duisburg. Her research focuses on semiconductor and photonic technologies, with emphasis on electro‑optical devices, heterogeneous material integration, and photonic–electronic co‑integration. She studied Physics at Leibniz University Hannover (Diploma 2009) and obtained her PhD from Heinrich‑Heine‑University Düsseldorf (2013) on ultrafast laser–plasma interactions.
Following work in ultrafast laser physics, she joined AMO GmbH in Aachen (2014–2021), where she became Head of the Nanophotonics group, advancing CMOS‑compatible photonics and realizing the first integrated perovskite laser. At Fraunhofer IMS she established photonic structure integration, forming the foundation for her current role.
Her research combines material processing, device integration, and photonic circuit design for applications in photonic computing, biosensing, quantum technologies, and communication. She is active on international program committees (ECOC, ECIO, CLEO), advisory boards (cluster of excellence, DFG, Quantum Computing Board), has coordinated EU and national projects, and serves as Associate Editor of Optica Continuum.

Integrated Neuromorphic Photonics at TU/e’s Photonic Integration Group Side-event: Future of Integrated Photonics | Jupiter

Neuromorphic photonics is a rapidly evolving and promising field where the functionalities of biological neurons are mimicked using photonic integrated circuits. Developments in this field are driven by the demand for energy-efficient artificial intelligence (AI) accelerators. At the Photonic Integration Group, various approaches to developing AI accelerators are currently being researched. These range from integrated all-optical spiking laser neurons to opto-electronic computational nodes and vector-matrix multipliers using phase-change materials. In this talk, these various approaches will be addressed to showcase the developments in this exciting field.

Lukas Puts

Postdoctoral Researcher

(Eindhoven University of Technology)
Lukas Puts

Postdoctoral Researcher

Eindhoven University of Technology
Lukas Puts is a postdoctoral researcher in the Photonic Integration Group at TU/e’s Casimir Institute. His research involves laser dynamics, laser modeling and design, photonic neural networks, and extensive optical lab measurements, all focused on developing spiking laser neurons on the generic InP-based photonic technology platform. After finalizing his PhD on this topic, Lukas continued his research on spiking laser neurons and how these integrated laser neurons can be cascaded on chip-level. He is actively involved in the development of novel neuromorphic photonic hardware and is passionate about the exciting developments in this field.

Sustainable PICs through Smarter Designs and Affordable Fast Prototyping Side-event: Future of Integrated Photonics | Jupiter

In this talk, I will present our group’s journey in developing photonic integrated circuits (PICs) with a focus on fast, cost-effective, and sustainable prototyping. We started with polymer-based devices, which allowed simple fabrication and rapid design iterations. Building on this foundation, we explored more advanced materials and complex device architectures, typically challenging to process. To enable fast iteration cycles, we developed in-house fabrication capabilities, including a direct laser writing platform. I will discuss how these approaches, combining material choice, innovative design, and accessible instrumentation, accelerate PIC development while reducing cost and environmental impact.

Imran Avci

Assoc. Prof.

(VU Amsterdam)
Imran Avci

Assoc. Prof.

VU Amsterdam
Imran Avci received her Ph.D. in 2012 from the Integrated Optical Microsystems Group at the University of Twente, The Netherlands, where she developed on-chip optical coherence tomography (OCT) systems. From 2013 to 2015, she was a postdoctoral researcher in Prof. Yun’s laboratory at Harvard Medical School, working on OCT vibrography for assessing corneal biomechanics. She is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at VU Amsterdam. Her group pioneers multimodal biophotonics, creating photonic instruments that sense, image, and stimulate biological systems to reveal new biomarkers.

Nanophotonics for diagnostics in healthcare Side-event: Future of Integrated Photonics | Jupiter

I will describe recent developments at TU/e that exploit nanophotonics and photonic integration for diagnostics in healthcare. Nanophotonics provides unique opportunities to amplify the inherently weak signals of biomolecules thereby improving sensitivity and response time. I will describe the underlying nanophotonic detection principles and highlight applications in the area of point-of-care diagnostics and continuous monitoring biosensing. Finally, I will discuss the role that PICs can play in terms of miniaturization and broad deployment.

Peter Zijlstra

Professor

(TU Eindhoven)
Peter Zijlstra

Professor

TU Eindhoven
Peter Zijlstra is a Professor of Molecular Plasmonics at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), where he leads a research group focused on nano-optical biosensing. His work combines nanophotonics, optical microscopy, and electromagnetic modeling to detect and study biomolecules for applications in biobhysics and diagnostics.

Towards sustainable photonic integrated circuits and systems Side-event: Future of Integrated Photonics | Jupiter

Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs) are central to communication, mobility, artificial intelligence, and other emerging applications, offering high-speed, low-power, and compact solutions. Yet, PICs themselves are not inherently sustainable. This talk explores how system-level thinking—spanning circuit design, component trade-offs, integration, and packaging strategies—can guide more energy- and material-efficient photonic development. Drawing from imec’s experience in hybrid and heterogeneous photonic integration, I will highlight practical challenges and design choices in applications such as optical connectivity and mobile sensing. The goal is to encourage a sustainability mindset early in the design process, balancing performance, cost, and environmental impact.

Wenjing Tian

Researcher

(imec Netherlands)
Wenjing Tian

Researcher

imec Netherlands
Dr. Wenjing Tian is a researcher at imec with expertise in photonic integration and packaging technologies. She currently leads laser integration and packaging efforts at imec. Her work focuses on the development of lasers, modulators, and versatile integrated photonic circuits for a wide range of optical systems. She earned her Ph.D. from Eindhoven University of Technology, where she collaborated with Microsoft Research and industry partners on scalable photonic assembly. She has authored multiple peer-reviewed publications and received recognitions, including the IEEE Women in Photonics Travel Grant, Microsoft Research PhD Fellowship, and Best Poster Award at PIC Summit Europe.

Programmable Photonics in Thin Film Lithium Niobate Side-event: Future of Integrated Photonics | Jupiter

Thin film lithium niobate (TFLN) is an emerging integrated photonic platform with great potentials in various sectors including programmable photonics and computing. In this talk, I will focus on our recent works on linear on nonlinear programmable photonics in TFLN for applications in optical and radio-frequency (RF) photonic signal processing.

David Marpaung

Co-founder & Chief Scientist

(Sabratha Photonics)
David Marpaung

Co-founder & Chief Scientist

Sabratha Photonics
David Marpaung is a co-founder and the chief scientist of Sabratha Photonics. He is a full professor leading the Nonlinear Nanophotonics group at the University of Twente, the Netherlands. He is a fellow of Optica (formerly OSA). He was awarded the 2022 ERC Consolidator grant on the topic of 3D photonic circuits for Brillouin scattering and the 2023 ERC Proof-of-Concept on the topic of Brillouin-Kerr frequency combs. His research interests include integrated photonics, nonlinear optics, and microwave photonics.