Rapid Photonics B.V., a start-up based in Amsterdam, has received a convertible loan of €300,000 from the Innovation Fund Noord-Holland. With this funding, the company is developing a technology for the production of integrated photonic chips in lithium niobate, a next-generation material for integrated photonic chips.
The use of lithium niobate in integrated photonic chips makes it possible to drastically increase the speed of fiber optic connections and at the same time greatly reduce the power consumption of data traffic. Unfortunately, it has so far been very challenging to produce photonic chips in lithium niobate. This stands in the way of a broad commercial application of lithium niobate in photonic chips.
Rapid Photonics has developed a technology that solves this production problem. The technology uses manufacturing processes used in the semiconductor industry. This makes the technology well-suited for industrial-scale production in existing chip factories.
The financing from Innovation Fund Noord-Holland enables Rapid Photonics to develop a demonstrator for the telecom market.
Steven Tan, Co-founder of Rapid Photonics: “For many years, research has been conducted on photonic chips in lithium niobate. Fantastic results have been achieved in terms of data speed and energy efficiency. Unfortunately, until now, it has not been possible to produce photonic chips in lithium niobate on an industrial scale. Our technology is going to change that. We are very pleased with the support of the Innovation Fund Noord-Holland which enables us to take the first steps towards commercialization.“
Wouter Keij, director of the Innovation Fund Noord-Holland: “Rapid Photonics is developing an innovative technology for an etchless production process of lithium-niobate-based photonic chips. Due to its compatibility with current chip production processes, Rapid Photonics’ technology can be applied in a scalable way. In this way, Rapid Photonics makes an important contribution to the technological position of the Netherlands in the field of photonics.“
About the Innovation Fund Noord-Holland
The Noord-Holland Innovation Fund is an initiative of the Province of Noord-Holland, the University of Amsterdam, the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, Amsterdam UMC and Sanquin, with support from the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund. The Fund supports entrepreneurs in the Province of Noord-Holland by financing innovation in the Proof-of-Concept phase. The Fund shall grant convertible loans.
About Rapid Photonics
Rapid Photonics aims to revolutionize the development and application of photonic integrated chips in lithium niobate. Our unique manufacturing technology enables phonic chip designers to develop lithium niobate chips in a short time and at a low cost. Rapid Photonics is a start-up of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and is located at the Science Park Amsterdam.