VLC Photonics secures €5.38 million for PIC design and testing
The company plans to use the grant, awarded by the Spanish government under an EU programme, to advance its capabilities for modelling, simulation, and design of III-V epitaxies, fab processes, and advanced photonic components, as well as scaling up its back-end capabilities for chip- and wafer-level testing
VLC Photonics, a Hitachi High-Tech group company specialising in engineering services for PICs, has announced it has secured significant funding to advance PIC design and testing, focusing on research, upgraded infrastructure, and industry collaborations to accelerate commercialisation and innovation in optical communications, signal processing, and sensing.
The company has been officially selected to receive a €5.38 million grant as an associate partner under the Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) on Microelectronics and Communication Technologies. This funding has been awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Industry and Tourism under the second call of the Strategic Project for Economic Recovery and Transformation in Microelectronics and Semiconductors. Moreover, VLC Photonics has also secured additional funding from the Hitachi High-Tech group to complement the IPCEI grant.
With the funding, the company plans to reinforce its capabilities for modelling, simulation, and design of III-V epitaxies, fab processes, and advanced photonic components, including lasers, modulators, and filters, for process design kits (PDKs) in silicon, silicon nitride, indium phosphide, and other emerging materials. Simultaneously, VLC Photonics also aims to scale up its back-end capabilities for chip- and wafer-level testing at multiple wavelengths and very high speeds, while expanding towards thermal reliability testing.
“This funding is a significant milestone for VLC Photonics and the broader Spanish semiconductor ecosystem,” said Iñigo Artundo, CEO at VLC Photonics. “It enables us to further enhance our R&D capabilities in photonic design and test, to develop groundbreaking technologies and solutions for our customers, and ultimately to reinforce Europe’s ambitions in the global semiconductor landscape.”
The IPCEI framework is designed to support ambitious, cross-border innovation and industrialisation efforts of strategic relevance to the EU. Through this project, VLC Photonics says it continues to support its strategic growth roadmap on its two main business lines of PIC design and test, expanding its role as a critical enabler in the European photonics supply chain.
