I graduated in engineering (applied physics) at Ghent University in June 1998. He joined the Photonics Research Group of Ghent University-IMEC for a PhD, building the design and technology foundations for IMEC’s first silicon photonics technology platform on 200mm CMOS tools. This led to collaborations with tens of partners, growing into a silicon photonics multi-project-wafer service in IMEC, eventually known as ePIXfab. To enable the design of these photonic chips, I and my colleagues develeoped the software package IPKISS, a parametric design framework for photonic circuits.

In 2010, I became Professor at Ghent University, specializing in advanced design methodologies for integrated photonics, tackling the challenges that form the design gap for silicon photonics. With the growing industrial interest in silicon photonics, this know-how became ever more relevant for a larger community. In June 2014, I co-founded Luceda Photonics, a Ghent University – IMEC- VUB spin-off to bring the IPKISS software and other advanced design tools to the rapidly growing photonics market.

With Luceda Photonics successfully established in the Integrated photonics market, I returned full-time to my fundamental research interest. Since October 2016, I am again full-time at Ghent University and IMEC with a growing research activity in large-scale silicon photonics and programmable photonic circuits. On this topic I received the consolidator grant PhotonicSwarm from the European Research Council (ERC).

I am a very strong adept of Agile and Lean philisophies, with a passion to apply them to the peculiar ecosystem of academic research, as well as my personal life.

I am co-author of over 200 publications in the field of silicon photonics and design methodologies, including many invitations to international conferences. He holds several patents in the field of photonics and its applications. I am a member of IEEE, OSA, SPIE and the Scrum Alliance.

ePIXfab is the European Silicon Photonics Alliance. Its mission is to promote silicon photonics science, technology and applications. ePIXfab represents the European Silicon Photonics at the global scale and enables access to European silicon photonics technology to industry and academia through by training, workshops and road mapping activities. More information at: www.epixfab.eu

The photonics research group of Ghent University, headed by Prof. R. Baets, is actively working on the design and fabrication of SOI and SiN-based photonic devices using standard lithographic techniques compatible with CMOS-processing. 100- members of the group are working on the various application of silicon photonics ranging from information and communication technology to sensing and life sciences.

Luceda Photonics wants photonic IC engineers to enjoy the same first-time-right design experience as electronic IC designers. Luceda Photonics’ IPKISS tools and services are rooted in over 50 years of experience in photonic integrated circuit (PIC) design. IPKISS assures that Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC) designers have full control of their design framework to make sure that what they fabricate matches exactly how they designed it.

www.lucedaphotonics.com

The Australian Silicon Photonics team has been designing and fabricating integrated optics devices for more than 15 years. For the last decade, the group has focused on mass-manufacturable silicon photonics device fabrication using the leading-edge electron-beam lithography (EBL) and wafer processing equipment at the Australian National Fabrication Facility’s (ANFF) Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication (MCN) and RMIT’s MicroNano Research Facility (MNRF).

Australian Silicon Photonics has developed a capability to reliably design, fabricate and characterise Silicon Photonics devices with similar geometries as the imec SiPhotonics passives technology.