Photonics Driving Economic Growth in Europe - Photonics21

64 Towards 2020 – Photonics driving economic growth in Europe
The primary goal is to employ CMOS technology
for the integration of 2D arrays of charge detectors
offering sub-electron readout noise, with suitable
inorganic/organic material systems, and resulting in
affordable single-photon resolution image sensors
covering a large part of the NIR spectral range. Such
CMOS-based single-photon NIR image sensors with
one Megapixel should cost less than €100.
Low-cost, high-performance micro-coolers
A miniature refrigeration device is an indispen-
sable element for any stable EIR light source and
low-noise detector. Many physical methods are
known for transporting heat, involving mechanical,
magnetic, electrical, acoustic, incoherent/coherent
radiation or thermal energy. In photonics, the pre-
dominant refrigeration device is the thermo-electric
cooler (TEC), based almost exclusively on bismuth-
telluride. Today’s TECs are highly inefficient, typi-
cally exhibiting only 5–8% of the Carnot efficiency,
compared to the 40–50% of a vapour-compressor.
Novel solid-state concepts, such as the thermi-
onic converter, can potentially go beyond 50%
efficiency, and they can be manufactured with
well-established microelectronics fabrication tech-
nology; their production can be very cost-effective
and high levels of integration with other photonic
elements can be achieved.
The primary goal is to develop affordable, miniature
TEC devices capable of removing waste heat
between 0.1 W (for EIR detectors) and 10 W (for
EIR light sources), with an efficiency of close to
50% of the Carnot value, and at prices below €10
(0.1 W) or below €100 (10 W).
Passive optical devices
Development of optical instruments in the UV / VIS /
NIR spectral domain is aided significantly by the
availability of many passive optical elements such
as lenses, mirrors, beam-splitters and gratings.
For large volumes, manufacturers in Asia provide
such elements with unit prices well below €1. The
materials and technologies used for correspond-
ing devices in the MIR spectral range are much
more expensive. Therefore, optical designers are
significantly limited in their design optimisation,
and the prices of the resulting system are increased
correspondingly. Hence a large demand exists for
a complete set of cost-effective passive optical
devices for the MIR spectral range, produced with
affordable materials, and making use of Europe’s
advanced precision manufacturing technologies.
The goal here is to develop high-precision yet lowcost
fabrication and coating technologies for the
production of the passive optical elements, suitable
for the efficient design of optical instruments working
in the EIR spectral domain. The long-term aim
is to provide large volumes of such components
for prices around €1 per element.
Optical fibre light-guides and sensors
Low-loss optical fibres are ideal devices for the
efficient guided transportation of NIR/MIR light,
for accurate and minimally invasive probing, for
the con struction of NIR/MIR laser sources, as well
as for the realisation of complete distributed fibre
sensors. In addition, functionalised optical fibres
can be very sensitive as chemical, biological or
medical sensor systems, and the use of the NIR/
MIR spectral range offers additional benefits for the
performance of such cost-effective, simple-to-use
biosensor systems.
The goal here is to develop a range of novel optical
fibre sensors for distributed low-cost sensing in
safety and security applications with enhanced
sensitivity and functionality, and making use of
advances in microstructured fibres, optofluidics
and nanotechnology.
Measurement techniques for processes and
production lines
Industrial exploitation of multi-band photonic sensing
requires the development of comprehensive
measurement techniques, making use of the advantageous
properties of new photonic components.