Project description
An innovative optical circulator for any photonic platform
Photonic integrated circuits (PICs), harnessing photons rather than electrons, have an advantage over electronic circuits in that they enable ultra-high processing capacity with low power consumption. Despite rapid progress in development, PICs still face challenges in moving from lab to market, partially due to difficulties and costs associated with testing, packaging and mass fabrication. Funded by the European Innovation Council, the CIRCULIGHT project aims to lay the foundations for a pioneering new class of components for PICs that are not only power efficient, highly functional and miniaturised but also easy to manufacture cost effectively. The key will be an integrated ‘optical circulator’ based on magneto-optical nanoparticle-composite sol-gel material and on the magneto-biplasmonic effect, enabling it to be integrated monolithically into any photonic platform.
Objective
The new technology envisioned in CIRCULIGHT will establish a breakthrough in Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC) capabilities, with impact across a wide range of applications of high economic and societal value. It will lay the foundations of a new class of PICs which are highly functional, miniaturized and low power-consuming, as well as being manufacturable at low cost, thereby contributing significantly to environmental protection and related quality of life. The essential building block that will be created in this project is a truly integrated optical circulator, which protects active and passive integrated functions from each other, distributes light between them, and finally allows very large scale integration of photonic components within diversified PIC architectures. The practical realization of such a structure will be a world-first and a breakthrough in PIC technology.
CIRCULIGHT technological decisive progress is based on magneto-optical (MO) nanoparticle-composite sol-gel material and on magneto-biplasmonic (MBP) effect, which will enable the monolithic insertion of circulators on any photonic platform. Within the project, a demonstration will be made on two of them, based on InP and Si respectively, operating at 1.3 or 1.5 µm. While PIC foundries rely on specific and independent technologies, our solution will bypass these specificities, thanks to a universal integration of functional materials. In addition, our interdisciplinary approach is based on the analysis of real world needs, feeding the co-creation of an exploitation roadmap together with end users, industrial and societal stakeholders, in preparation for the scaling up of our technology developments to transform society for the better.
To reach these objectives, our consortium of nine partners encompasses competencies in material sciences, photonics, plasmonics, PICs technology and social science, and includes two SMEs.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.3.1 - The European Innovation Council (EIC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-EIC - HORIZON EIC Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-EIC-2023-PATHFINDEROPEN-01
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
75794 PARIS
France
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.