IMDEA Networks is already working on the development of photonic integration technologies that will revolutionize the next generations of communications within the framework of the PIXEurope project. Together with other Spanish entities (ICFO, project coordinator; Polytechnic University of Valencia, CSIC, and the University of Vigo), as well as a consortium of European research centers and universities, they are joining forces to establish in Europe a pilot line for advanced integrated photonic circuits. This infrastructure will foster innovative and disruptive processes and technologies that will enable the creation of new generations of photonic circuits and accelerate their industrial adoption.
The goal is to promote the use of cutting-edge technologies in one of the semiconductor industry’s critical sectors, integrated photonics, and subsequently offer them as services to encourage the creation of new Deep-Tech companies, generate highly qualified jobs, and attract talent to Europe.
“This is a vital initiative for Europe, as forecasts indicate that the production of photonic integrated circuits (PICs) will grow by more than 400% over the next 10 years due to the needs of the digital society, which demands devices in sectors as diverse as telecommunications, artificial intelligence, imaging and sensing, autonomous vehicles, medicine and healthcare, environmental protection, renewable energy, and even defense and security,” explains Guillermo Carpintero, professor at UC3M and part-time research professor at IMDEA Networks.
The performance required for these applications will be provided by the combination of microelectronic chips and photonic chips. While the former process information using electrons, the latter use photons, enabling them to process and transfer information at extremely high speeds and with lower energy consumption. A recent example is the step taken by NVIDIA, which will manufacture the chips used to train the most advanced Artificial Intelligence models in data centers, incorporating photonic circuits alongside its graphics processors to increase computing speed.
IMDEA Networks serves as the PIXEurope node in the Madrid region, receiving nearly €9 million to establish a pilot line for assembling and characterizing high-speed photonic chips. PIXEurope’s advances will be validated through various demonstrator devices. Among them, IMDEA Networks will lead the highest-speed demonstrator: an SPF (Small Form Pluggable) transceiver, used to send data through fiber-optic links in data centers and communication networks. Currently, these devices allow data transfer rates of 16 million bits per second, with the aim of reaching between 800 and 1,600 million in the coming years. To achieve this, the institute will work on assembly and packaging technologies that combine photonic and electronic chips, where the main bottlenecks currently limiting speed are found. This will help relieve data communication congestion between chips, a decisive factor in data centers and AI algorithm training.
Access to the technologies developed in the Pilot Lines represents a key opportunity for the Spanish microelectronics sector, especially for SMEs and start-ups, which dominate the industry but face major challenges in chip assembly and packaging. Today, according to the Global Photonics Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly association, 80% of assembly requests are rejected, either because they involve small production volumes or non-standard processes.
These pilot lines offer advanced infrastructure and expert support, enabling the creation of new packaging solutions, prototypes, and small production runs without prohibitive costs. Their relevance grows considering that, according to Ametic, only 10% of Spanish companies currently use heterogeneous integration, although more than half plan to adopt it. Initiatives such as PIXEurope, with investments of around €400 million, will facilitate the adoption of advanced technologies and boost the creation of innovative products in Spain.
PIXEurope is co-funded by the European Commission through the Chips Joint Undertaking, as well as by the national funding authorities of the participating states. In particular, it is co-funded by Spain, through the Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Administration, under reference CJU-010000-2025-0008, within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR).