PIXEurope will establish a sustainable Open Access Pilot Line, addressing key technological and production challenges associated with Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs). The PIXEurope consortium comprises 14 Hosting and 6 Non-Hosting Site partners. It is a distributed Pilot Line, built on a collaboration between world-class research organisations using state-of-the-art equipment to develop breakthrough technologies and processes across the complete PIC supply chain. PIXEurope’s concept is to create a uniquely unified research, training, open access platform, providing well-coordinated services to develop and de-risk advanced PIC technology and production processes, giving Europe unprecedented control, sovereignty and a competitive advantage in this critical technology.

PIXEurope will work with European manufacturers to transfer breakthrough technologies and processes for scale-up, creating a unique research and industrial ecosystem to increase PIC production capacity. PIXEurope will also support research organisations to bridge the gap between lab and fab, accelerating research commercialisation.

PIXEurope will establish centralised operations managed by a single contact point, Pilot Line Gateway. The Gateway will synchronise the distributed Pilot Line partners and offer increasing services. During the first year of operation, PIXEurope will offer 23 PIC chip and 10 Hybrid Integration MPW runs, 6 multi-project packaging, 40 Test and 20 Reliability service runs annually, and specialised services beyond standardised MPW runs. PIXEurope will also establish in-depth training courses on advanced PIC manufacturing, ensuring companies can access the high-skills workforce they need to grow their businesses. Training includes 28 online, 18 hands-on and specialised courses, targeting 1000 attendees annually, and linked to the European Competence Centres and Design Platform. PIXEurope will create a unique ecosystem to exploit the vast potential of PIC technologies globally.