News & Events

Public engagement @IPIC, on Thursday 10th October, researchers from Dublin & Cork’s Optical Communication department visited Valentia Island in County Kerry as part of the Valentia Island Subsea Cable Symposium at the Valentia Island Transatlantic Cable Station. Researchers engaged in presentations on the history, security and geopolitics of subsea cables.

Furthermore, they then met with the CEO of the Valentia Island Development Company to discuss potential future collaborations on initiatives being run on the island.

In the midst of all this, they were also able to visit the primary school on the island, where they provided some light educational engagement with the 4th, 5th and 6th class children, where the children learnt about light and got the opportunity to create their own spectroscopes.

Our Researchers have many opportunities to engage with members of the public, outreach events and school visits.  We recently asked colleague Walter Messina, Biomedical Engineer for feedback on his Education & Public Engagement work –
For me it’s a great opportunity to introduce to kids some scientific concepts at an early age to trigger their curiosity to explore science and want to know more. I always want to add a fun element to the experience while adding some practical experiments to be done in class in front of their own eyes to see their excitement. I am always amazed to learn how they see science from their perspective and discover the points of view of a young mind, which makes me, in turn, see science from a different angle.

Should you have any queries on our Education & Public Engagement activities you can contact us at info@ipic.ie

We are delighted to congratulate our colleague Prof. Frank Peters on receipt of SFI Industry Partnership Award 2023.  This is in recognition of his work with IPIC in partnership with Rockley Photonics, University College Cork & Tyndall National Institute. Frank has been working  in photonic research for over 30 years, he has filed over 80 patents. He has been part of three start-ups including, most recently, Rockley Photonics and the creation of the Irish research division of Rockley.  On the award Frank responded “I am delighted to receive the SFI Industry Partnership Award. None of this would have been possible without the outstanding IPIC team at Tyndall, who provided the support, encouragement and hard work required to enable the research and development projects – thank you to David McGovern, Patrick Morrissey, Ann Heffernan, Anna Kaar, Paul Townsend (IPIC), and Anthony Morrissey (UCC Innovation). Thanks to Rockley Photonics and the wonderful research partnership with them. I am also thankful to the School of Physics, and SEFS for providing the flexibility to let me spend extended time working with industry.” 

Paper III-V-on-Si DFB Laser With Co-Integrated Power Amplifier Realized Using Micro-Transfer Printing published by IEEE is currently in the top 3 downloaded in IEEE Photonics Technology letters this year.   This work was supported in part by both the European Union and Science Foundation Ireland (SFI).   Credit goes to a number of Researchers, including IPIC’s own Brian Corbett and Emanuele Pelucchi.  Follow this link to read the paper.

IPIC host the Photonics Ireland Pavilion at the SPIE BiOS and Photonics West conference & exhibition 2023. This event is attracting thousands of attendees keen to engage with industry partners and technologists, with over 1100 exhibiting companies.   You will find Photonics Ireland Pavillion at booth 4645.  We have a strong representation from Ireland across Tyndall, IPIC and industry colleagues from BioPixS; Eblana Photonics; mBryonics; Pilot Photonics; X-Celeprint and iSLight.

Many of our colleagues have also presented papers at the conference, below are members of the Biophotonics team.

Please reach out if you’d like any further information info@ipic.ie 

Electro-Optics Magazine recently launched the inaugural Photonics100 list of the most innovative people in Photonics, we are delighted to see Prof. Liam Barry from IPIC@DCU and Dr. Frank Smyth from Pilot Photonics, an IPIC Industry Partner included in the list. This listing honours those that are the driving force behind the evolution of photonics technologies.

The team in DCU has been developing innovative comb laser technologies for almost two decades. These technologies played a key role in the formation of Pilot Photonics in 2011 and the company has now developed miniaturized comb lasers based on photonic integration that it is using to target high growth, mass markets. “Our journey towards the photonic integration of our technology started through a series of meetings and early projects with IPIC researchers back in 2014. Unlike most comb lasers our technology is well suited to monolithic photonic integration which means that single-chip PICs enhanced with comb laser capabilities can be mass produced at wafer scale today. This opens up large opportunities in the telecoms, satellite comms, and aerospace markets.” commented Dr. Smyth, CTO at Pilot Photonics.

The research teams in DCU and Pilot continue to innovate collaboratively in the comb laser space and are now focused on energy efficient data centres and satellite communication technologies through an IPIC targeted project, a Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund project, and an EU Training Network Programme.

Commenting on the inaugural Photonics100 list, Prof. Barry from IPIC@DCU noted that “the inclusion of Irish based researchers is clear evidence of the innovative work being carried out in Photonics in Ireland, and puts the country in a strong position to benefit both socially and economically from the growth in the photonics sector over the coming decades”.

Useful links:

Dr Frank Smith and Pilot Photonics

Prof Liam Barry

Electro Optics

IPIC, is pleased to announce the participation of two of its early stage researchers in 2 newly started Horizon Europe projects. The Lolipop project with Tyndall lead Dr Padraic Morrissey from the Photonics Packaging group will deal with the integration of Lithium Niobate (LiNB) on Insulator (LNoI) and Silicon Nitride as a hybrid but disruptive platform, to take advantage of the excellent electro-optical properties of LiNb. This disruptive platform will offer the highest integration, modulation and second order nonlinear performance in the entire spectrum from 400 up to 1600 nm, based on the combination of the LNOI and the silicon-nitride technology. As the global market of bulk LN modulators is huge, significant impact can be expected due to the integration of the two complementary material systems.

Dr Morrissey commented “Our main role is in the design and optimization of micro transfer printing for the transfer of LNOI films onto a TriPlex platform, which will enable a dramatic miniaturization of the device footprint”

The Lolipop project is coordinated by the Institute of Communication and Computer Systems in Greece and runs from September 2022 to February 2026.

The Phormic project, with leads Dr Padraic Morrissey from the Photonics Packaging group and Dr Cleitus Antony from the Photonic Systems Group, will establish a European platform for next-generation programmable photonic chips with a low adoption threshold for product developers in diverse application domains. e.g. in data center communication, sensing and mm-wave wireless beamforming.

Dr Antony stated, “Control electronics is an essential part of the architecture to realise a multipurpose photonic processor. We will develop the electronic interface and digital control circuits to tune hundreds of programmable photonic elements on a single chip.”

The project is coordinated by IMEC in Belgium and runs from October 2022 to March 2026. The proposed multipurpose programmable photonic processors will accelerate photonic prototyping, will be cost-effective for low-volume products, and will provide a low-barrier entry point for photonics innovators, including SMEs. The platform will provide opportunities for the integration of on-chip tuneable lasers with large spectral coverage, increased functionality of photonic circuits, due to lower power consumption and therefore enable the adoption and innovation of research-oriented photonic chips. This acceleration of development could have a significant impact on the use of photonics across European industry, including reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions thanks to e.g. fibre-optic links and environmental and industrial sensors. Both groups have received over 1M€ in total funding to fulfil their roles in these projects.

Martin O’Connell, Head of EU Programmes in IPIC, welcomed the award stating “The participation of both Drs Morrissey and Antony is testament to our efforts in developing the next generation of future research leaders and is thus aligned with our Tyndall 2025 strategy”