Project description
Intelligent chips for next-generation imaging
Modern scientific and industrial applications generate vast streams of optical data that require fast processing speeds and high energy efficiency. This demand for ultrafast, intelligent data analysis is rapidly outpacing available hardware. Meeting this challenge requires fundamentally new approaches to chip design. The EIC-funded PHINDER project proposes to build a new generation of microchips that detect light and make intelligent decisions with unprecedented speed and minimal energy consumption. Researchers draw inspiration from how the brain processes information to rethink chip architecture. The new chips will work thousands of times faster than conventional systems, opening new doors in medical imaging, fundamental science and sustainable industrial processing.
Objective
Advanced applications—ranging from 5D-imaging particle detectors and proton beam therapy computed tomography, to adaptive chemical process control—generate vast streams of optical data. Whether produced by particle interactions in scintillator materials or by spatiotemporal chemical variations captured in sensor arrays, these data require compression and sub-nanosecond, energy-efficient processing within an integrated system enhanced by artificial intelligence (AI)—capabilities that current technologies cannot deliver.
PHINDER’s ambitious goal is to deliver disruptive hardware innovations enabling sub-nanosecond monitoring and real-time data analysis, addressing the unmet needs of next-generation imaging, sensing, and control technologies. PHINDER pioneers a new class of optoelectronic devices that combine picosecond-scale detection with on-chip intelligence by advancing the state of the art in: (i) optoelectronic neuromorphic algorithm-hardware co-design and (ii) multiscale integration of III-V semiconductor nanowire neuromorphic circuits and sensor arrays with programmable on-chip InP photonic integrated circuits.
A transdisciplinary team with access to leading cleanroom and high-performance computing facilities will integrate early-stage research components into radically new chip architectures delivering (1) sub-100 ps temporal resolution and latency, (2) ultra-low-energy photonic interconnects below 1 fJ per spike, and (3) unprecedented spatiotemporal resolution beyond current state-of-the-art systems.
This high-risk, high-gain vision of a sub-nanosecond event camera with on-chip intelligence addresses Europe’s critical need for low-energy, ultrafast data processing and AI at the edge. By leveraging Europe’s strengths in photonics, PHINDER will enable transformative applications in fundamental science, biomedical technology, chemical processing, and high-speed production—contributing to sustainability, competitiveness, and strategic autonomy.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering electronic engineering sensors optical sensors
- natural sciences physical sciences electromagnetism and electronics semiconductivity
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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)
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.
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-2025-PATHFINDEROPEN
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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.
971 87 LULEA
Sweden
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.