€30m photonics centre launched

The €30million Irish Photonic Integration Centre (IPIC) will bring together four research institutes, 100 researchers and 18 industry partners to develop and commericlaise new photonic technologies. Over the next six years, the centre will enable the creation of 200 new jobs through 30 different research projects. The centre's work will focus on revolutionising the speed of data transfer, creating more energy efficient devices and delivering new smart medical devices for improved diagnosis and treatment of disease. IPIC director Paul Townsend said: "The launch of IPIC represents an exciting new chapter in photonic research in Ireland.The centre brings together a full research value chain with expertise that spans from semiconductor and bio-materials, through integrated photonic and microelectronic circuits, to fully packaged photonic systems. "As a result, IPIC will be uniquely placed to drive new advances in photonic science and technology and to harness these innovations to solve some of the key challenges facing our industry partners."