Chip manufacturer SMART Photonics will receive a substantial financial injection of one hundred million from the government and a group of large companies from the Eindhoven region. The substantial amount is for the further development of so-called photonic chips. And you will notice a lot of that in the future. By investing in SMART Photonics, the government and Eindhoven companies hope that the Netherlands will play an even more important role in the chip industry.
Of the loan of 100 million euros, 60 million comes from the government’s wallet. The remainder is matched by, among others, chip machine manufacturer ASML, chip producer NXP and industrial group VDL Groep. These companies firmly believe in the mission of SMART Photonics.
First of all: what are photonic chips? These chips work with light particles instead of electrical currents. As a result, the data is processed up to a thousand times faster and more economically than in the electronic chips. Photonic chips are currently mainly used in the telecom sector and in data centers, but can also be used in other sectors.
Ambition
“We have the ambition to become the number 1 in the world as a producer of the new generation of chips,” says Thomas van der Zijden, spokesperson for SMART Photonics. “For this we have to invest even more in facilities, machines and knowledge. For this we hire five new employees every month.”
By way of comparison: tens of billions of euros are now involved in the world of electronic chips. “We are talking about a hundred million euros. That is quite an amount for us, but SMART Photonics is still at the beginning of that journey.”
The ordinary electronic chips can be found in all devices nowadays. Such as in TVs, computers, refrigerators and smartphones. Van der Zijden: “A lot of data is transmitted via the electronic chips. This used to be done via a copper cable. Nowadays entire households are watching Netflix and it is done via fiber optic. The information enters through that cable via the light. In the future we will place a photonic chip on it so that even more information comes in faster and more energy-efficiently.”
Applicable
According to Van der Zijden, photonic chips will be applicable in many areas in the future, such as healthcare. “For example, a patient has to have blood drawn. The sample goes to a specialized laboratory where there are devices that cost millions. The results follow two days later. By placing a chip with a light sensor in a smartphone or a wristband, the patient can are continuously monitored, which makes care more personal.”
Another area is combating food waste. Sensors can be used to gauge whether a part of a field is too dry. That part of the field may need to be sprayed more or receive more nutrients. “In the supermarkets, light sensors on the shelf will soon be able to detect changes in the meat. In that case, the meat can be sold earlier. That sensor may soon be in your smartphone.”
The spokesperson foresees even more applications for the photonic chips in the future. “There are already cars with cameras. Soon, crossing wildlife will be visible hundreds of meters away or we will step into a self-driving car. Sensors can also indicate that a bridge needs maintenance or that the wing of an airplane is sagging.”
Van der Zijden expects a lot from the photonic chip: “Others make the application and we provide the photonic chip.”