Welcome to ePIXfab

ePIXfab is a not-for-profit open alliance of academic and industrial organizations with a mission to promote silicon photonics science, technology and applications in Europe and the world. ePIXfab acts as a catalyst for European academia and industry to strengthen the worldwide silicon photonics ecosystem.

ePIXfab promotes silicon photonics through advocacy of the latest developments in this field, by representing the silicon photonics community as a whole, through workforce development for industry and academia, by providing non-commercial consultancy, by liaising with overseas organizations, and by roadmapping the silicon photonics technological trends and evolutions.

What is ePIXfab?

ePIXfab is a European alliance of organizations that promotes silicon photonics science, technology, and its applications.

The mission of ePIXfab is to build a future for silicon photonics in Europe through the development of a fabless model for the fabrication of silicon photonic circuits relying on European know-how.

ePIXfab is an open alliance in which any organization with an interest in the mission of ePIXfab is welcome. ePIXfab respects neutrality with respect to the ambitions of the member organizations and never expresses an opinion about the capabilities of its members.

Silicon photonics is evolving at an unprecedented pace. This technology provides solutions for a wide spectrum of applications such as high-speed transceivers, sensing, medical diagnostics, LiDAR, 5G, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and many others. ePIXfab is trying to help companies, R&D organizations and universities in developing and adopting this low-cost, high-yield and mass-manufacturable PIC technology. Through its activities ePIXfab is targeting to enable a more widespread adoption of silicon photonics technologies.

2004-2008

ePIXfab started as a collaboration between imec (Belgium) and CEA-LETI (France) to realize the Silicon Photonics Platform within the framework of ePIXnet, the FP6 Network of Excellence on photonic integrated components and circuits. The silicon platform was one of six technology platforms in ePIXnet (the others were the InP platform JePPIX, the nanostructuring platform NanoPIX, the packaging platform ePIXpack, a high-speed test platform and a high-performance computing platform).

2008-2011

Further development of ePIXfab was pursued within the FP7 PhotonFAB project, co-funded by the European Union. PhotonFAB significantly reduced the barriers to access and has brought many improvements to ePIXfab such as the start of access to active (thermo-optic) devices, training including hands-on CAD software training, and development of a design kit, a more mature operation, and a roadmap of silicon photonics evolution. Users without prior silicon photonics expertise and first companies started to use our services.

2012-2015

From 2012-2015, became a consortium of 7 partners within the framework of the EU FP7 project – ESSenTIAL. During this project, the activities were broadened to a wider series of services that support the supply chain for silicon photonics, including variants of silicon photonics technology and packaging services for silicon photonics. To this end, the ePIXfab partnership was extended with IHP, VTT, TNO, and Tyndall Institute.

In 2011, ePIXfab started a collaboration with Europractice IC service. In 2015 the MPW services provided by ePIXfab were completely transferred to Europractice IC service. Before this transfer ePIXfab had successfully completed 50 MPW runs.

2016 & onwards

Today when the MPW services are completely transferred to Europractice, ePIXfab will continue to devote itself to its much broader role of representing the European silicon photonics community. ePIXfab has now become an open alliance of organizations that promote the science, technology and application of silicon photonics. The core activity of ePIXfab will be the promotion of the science and technology of silicon photonics by grooming the workforce for future uptake of this technology, providing non-commercial consultancy, and roadmapping the silicon photonics technological trends and evolutions.

Contact us

  • info@ePIXfab.eu

  • +32(0) 9331 4843

  • ePIXfab
    C/O Ghent University
    INTEC department – Photonics Research Group
    Technologiepark-Zwijnaarde 126 iGent
    9052 Ghent
    BELGIUM

ePIXfab activities

ePIXfab is playing an active role in the field of silicon photonics since 2006. ePIXfab has a rich track record of promoting silicon photonics through its activities. ePIXfab started its activities in 2006 as the provider of world’s first open-access Multi Project Wafer (MPW) service for silicon photonics prototyping. After the handover of brokerage service to Europractice in 2014, ePIXfab has redefined itself with a much broader scope. In this new role ePIXfab promotes silicon photonics through various activities

Click the link to see the menu

Promoting and representing silicon photonics
Silicon Photonics Summer Schools, workshops and symposiums
Hands-on design training
Develop roadmaps of technology evolution

Our Members