About the technology
Lighting the way to a better world / Photonic chips harness the power of light to enable breakthroughs in key industries ranging from AI to food production. Discover how this cutting-edge technology is developing smarter, more sustainable solutions for the digital world and beyond.
About photonic chips:
Photonic chips are like electronic chips, but instead of electrons, they use photons to transfer information – which is much faster and more energy efficient. Photonic chips are exceptionally effective at processing and transmitting data, and sense with the highest levels of precision. They already power advances in lasers, sensors, and fibre-optic networks, but with their innovative technology, anything is possible.
How do they work?
- Photons (light) are used to transfer information.
- Photonic (and electronic) components with different functions are combined to form a photonic integrated circuit (PIC).
- PICs make up photonic chips that are placed in electronic products and services.
Photonics vs. electronics / The big difference is that photonic technology detects, generates, transports and processes light. By combining two or more photonic functions into a single chip (that still contains electronics), we can make devices that process and transmit data much more effectively than their micro-electronic counterparts.
Photonic chips in everyday life / Photonic chips are already upgrading today’s world: they enable smartwatches to monitor biometrics and make self-driving cars safer. Want to learn more? Check out the Dutch Photonic Chip Industry page.
The best is yet to come / Traditional microchips can’t keep up with the rapid growth in data generation and sensing devices. By building on the amazing breakthroughs we’ve already achieved with photonic chips, we’ll realise further groundbreaking innovations in the world of technology and beyond.
