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September 23, 2020

International tech talent shift focus towards Eindhoven Brainport region

Today, the United States is closed to foreign tech talent. Fortunately for those who were…

Today, the United States is closed to foreign tech talent. Fortunately for those who were considering careers in Silicon Valley, the Dutch Eindhoven Brainport region now offers an appealing alternative option. It is a world-class, high-tech region with exceptional innovative strength, the world’s highest patent density per capita, and above average private R&D expenditure. This technology ecosystem consists of OEMs, SMEs, suppliers, contract manufacturers and knowledge institutes that cooperate closely and have access to physical and fiscal facilities for cost-efficient development. Eindhoven is strategically located in Europe and has the second-largest Dutch airport, along with a highly educated, multi-lingual workforce. What is more, its relatively low cost of living makes it an ideal choice for both business and students.

Brainport Development is an organisation whose aim is to support the ‘innovative manufacturing industry’ of the region and to attract international talent for the tech companies in and around Eindhoven – including businesses like Philips and ASML, but also less well-known names such as EFFECT Photonics. These businesses normally ‘fish’ in the same talent pool as their large rivals from Silicon Valley. EFFECT Photonics is going through major growth and is seeking everything from apprentices and trainees to highly specialized professionals, manufacturing staff, and administrative and business personnel: https://effectphotonics.com/about-us/careers/

Recently, the recruitment battle suddenly changed. At the end of June, US President Donald Trump announced that his country would remain closed to foreign talent until at least the end of this year. It means that in the near future Amazon, Google and Apple will be unable or unlikely to hire employees from abroad.
Brainport decided to take advantage of the situation with a new campaign, which was launched in early July. Its messages present Eindhoven as an attractive alternative to working in Silicon Valley, using the slogan: Come to where the magic happens. A special video delivers further one-liners and battle-cries, like “pioneering spirit” and “launch your career in Europe’s most innovative region”.

These events have been a huge disappointment for many students, according to Marietje Schaake, a lecturer at Stanford and a columnist for Dutch newspaper NRC. “Top graduates could often choose between many dream jobs in the US.” Now that American dream is falling apart, European companies must seize the opportunity, she writes in a recent column. According to Schaake, students at Stanford are amongst “the world’s best” and companies should be welcoming them.Currently there are more than 1,000 vacancies for English speakers in the Eindhoven region. Unfortunately, there are not enough people graduating from technical universities in the Netherlands to fill all those positions. As a result, high-tech companies are looking for talent from abroad. The UWV (Dutch unemployment agency), which monitors shortages in the labour market, noticed a slight change in the demand for ICT personnel due to the coronavirus crisis. Now the UWV says it is “receiving signals” that the number of vacancies is picking up again – although official statistics will not be available until this autumn.

Large-scale unemployment in the US
President Trump’s decision to stop issuing certain types of work visa aims to protect the US labour market. At a time when many people are unemployed, you should not fill vacancies with people from outside, he argues.
Unemployment in the US is high due to the impacts of coronavirus. In the last week of June alone, nearly 1.5 million people in the United States claimed unemployment benefits. In June as a whole, an average of over 19 million people received such assistance. At the peak of the pandemic in May, it was even more than 25 million.
Visa categories that will no longer be issued until the end of 2020 include the one for au pairs, trainees and teachers. Another which cannot be applied for at this time is the so-called H-1B visa: the type which large tech companies rely on to bring knowledge into the US. Amazon, Google and Apple applied for most of the H-1B visas last year!
In a response to the American tech website Geekwire, Amazon said it was very disappointed with the President’s “short-sighted decision”. The company believes that hiring international talent actually “strengthens” the US economy. Top executives from Google and Apple also said they were very unhappy with the decision.

Suddenly the game has changed
Marije van der Togt is involved in the Brainport campaign on behalf of Philips. In an interview at nrc.nl she says that from a recent graduate perspective Trump’s decision has had a huge impact. You might have decided to work and study in the US and suddenly the whole situation is different. Making choices for the next five years of your life, or perhaps longer, involves much more than just the company where you will be working. The region is also important.

Theo Reijnen, senior recruiter at EFFECT Photonics, recognises this. The company is a young, dynamic and ambitious international business with an absolute passion for developing cutting-edge photonic technologies. It now has around 140 employees, but is “increasing production”. That means that a lot of new staff are needed. “We make the world’s first integrated photonic product, and employees who have experience within this specialised field are hard to find. The company often searches for suitable employees in other countries”, says Reijnen. “To get the required level of response from candidates who are interested and open to a change, we approach quite a large number of people internationally.”The company has been on the Brainport website since last year. “We wanted to show who we are and make ourselves visible to international talent. We may be small and less famous than the large names, but we are certainly not less attractive as far as the job content is concerned. That’s why we want to present ourselves out there. There’s quite a lot of talent in the US for whom EFFECT Photonics might just be that opportunity of a lifetime.”

If you are interested in becoming part of this vibrant tech environment and joining the cutting-edge technology of photonics, we invite you to find out what our colleagues are saying about working at EFFECT Photonics: https://effectphotonics.com/about-us/careers/employee-stories/. We are sure you will soon share their enthusiasm!

—–

This article is an adaption of a piece published in the Dutch NRC in July 2020. ©

https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2020/07/15/voor-werk-moet-techtalent-nu-niet-in-silicon-valley-maar-in-eindhoven-zijn-a4006026

Tags: #JobsNetherlands, Brainport, EFFECT Photonics, Engineering Careers, Photonics

Read about the latest technology trends, events, news, announcements and press releases regarding EFFECT Photonics.

Insights

July 30, 2020

EFFECT Photonics driving a flourishing photonics ecosystem in the Netherlands and the UK

Fiber-optic technologies are a thing of the present, yet not accessible to all considering the…

Fiber-optic technologies are a thing of the present, yet not accessible to all considering the requirements and complexities of different applications in a wide range of contexts. Making photonics applications universally accessible, affordable, and sustainable requires more than the unwavering commitment and concerted efforts of people in a single entity such as a company or an institution. Such a goal calls for the development of a sustainable ecosystem that promotes knowledge and experience sharing and can have a significant impact on customers, investors, and future applications.

PhotonDelta is a growth accelerator for the integrated photonics industry by providing its partners with funding, network and knowledge. Its European network consists out of chip designers, module companies, foundries, researchers, software developers as well as potential offtakers. As an ecosystem, it aims to accelerate the development and manufacturing of integrated photonics solutions through innovation, reducing time-to-market, and creating economy of scale. In the Netherlands, it operates to very high standards regarding photonics applications in R&D. Its strong link to the Technical University of Eindhoven (TU/E) through EFFECT Photonics and the University of Twente, provides access to knowledge and innovation – an indisputable advantage for the whole ecosystem.

At the end of April 2020, EFFECT Photonics proudly joined the “PhotonDelta Flagship project“. The project connects and involves the main Dutch industry players in integrated photonics, which are now jointly collaborating in the PhotonDelta ecosystem to make space quality communication modules, reaching for the highest grade in the industry. The consortium is chaired by LioniX International, BRIGHT integrated Photonics, EFFECT Photonics, SMART Photonics, PHIX Photonics Assembly, Technobis, VTEC Lasers & Sensors and TNO. The companies cover the entire supply chain from chip design, manufacturing, assembly, packaging, and testing.

EFFECT Photonics is a frontrunner in the photonics industry with an impressive track record of innovation, sharing, collaboration and growth over the last decade. Initially a spin-off of the TU/E, the company is now a global market leader in optical transceivers, a key player in the telecoms industry and one of the founding members of PhotonDelta. “The network is aimed at building all parts of the supply chain together in the spirit of the semiconductor electronics model, with a number of specialist companies working together on different application areas,” President EFFECT Photonics Dr. Boudewijn Docter says.

EFFECT Photonics’ focus is on telecom applications with a view to offering an integrated, adjustable, and holistic product. From the outset, the company has consistently responded to ensuing market challenges with remarkable speed and resourcefulness. As a result, when packaging became an issue in the past, the company promptly responded by making novel packaging happen in-house, lacking alternative options. In principle, EFFECT Photonics has always been committed to the idea of an efficient and effective ecosystem that could ensure unhindered performance and supply throughout different parts of the value chain.

A pioneering ecosystem – novel technologies and business practices

In the UK, the ecosystem has a lot to offer in the area of high-quality precision manufacturing. “That’s one of the key things we bring together in EFFECT Photonics – the hightech from the PhotonDelta network combined with manufacturing experience from the UK,” continues Docter.

As a pioneer of photonic integrated circuit (PIC) technology focusing on telecom applications, EFFECT Photonics spent several years making the technology applicable to volume production. The telecom market was first to adopt the PIC technology, rendering EFFECT Photonics as a promising volume driver of the PhotonDelta ecosystem, and a trailblazer from a technological and business viewpoint. Initiating an open model of collaboration through a network of companies, individuals and institutions is tantamount to revolutionising business practices in the industry. In contrast, competitors abroad appear to be adhering to a more conventional norm of a closed, in-house model rather than a collaborative one. Given current trends and circumstances in the industry, as well as global developments, EFFECT Photonics is confident that this open model is going to prevail going forward within PhotonDelta. This proposition is all the more justifiable in the light of current health hazards, natural disasters and worrisome financial circumstances. Challenging conditions impose a sense of urgency on all stakeholders and intensify the need to pool knowledge and resources. Ensuring optimal and timely outcomes throughout the value chain is a key prerequisite for a worthy and attractive investment opportunity in photonics.

An organic ecosystem – reaching out and maximising opportunities

The photonics ecosystem of the UK in Torbay has been built over the last 50 years and includes several competitors, such as Lumentum and II-VI. A great part of it originated from ITT, JDS-Uniphase and Nortel. Nortel employed 5,500 people in the area for their lead site, within the photonics network, which in turn led to their domination of the 10-Gig market. Today, the Torbay Hi-Tech Cluster provides products and services to a global multi-national community.

After the telecom crash, a lot of the manufacturing was outsourced, but a substantial number of skilled designers of high-tech products for photonics manufacturing stayed on. As a consequence, according to Dr. Paul Rosser, EFFECT Photonics VP of Operations, “there’s locally a strong ecosystem supporting the design and development of high-precision manufacturing equipment, for example things like fiber-align stations, if we look more broadly in the UK then we also do have access to leading Indium- Phosphide fabs as well, and there you could think of Lumentum.” Also, due to a partial link to Nortel, prior to the telecoms crash there was access to a global supply chain which EFFECT Photonics is keen to bring back and push for it to become more European through the Eindhoven initiative.

“We very much help to shape the consortium as it is right now, and all the partners that we work with locally are all members of PhotonDelta,” explains Docter. “So, for example we work with SMART Photonics, which is also a founding partner, as well as knowledge institutes like the TU/E where we do some collaborative research projects.” He points out that apart from sharing knowledge and experience in telecom and other application fields, funding is a major requirement for effective application and successful business development. “PhotonDelta has already made significant funding available for direct loans to partners of the ecosystem and R&D projects.” Docter adds, further reinforcing the pioneering yet pragmatic and sustainable mindset of the ecosystem.

About EFFECT Photonics

EFFECT Photonics delivers highly integrated optical communications products based on its Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) optical System-on-Chip technology. The key enabling technology for DWDM systems is full monolithic integration of all photonic components within a single chip and being able to produce these in volume with high yield at low cost. With this capability, EFFECT Photonics is addressing the need for low cost DWDM solutions driven by the soaring demand for high bandwidth connections between datacenters and back from mobile cell towers. Headquartered in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, with additional R&D and manufacturing in South West UK, with sales partners worldwide. www.effectphotonics.com

For further information please contact sales@effectphotonics.com

Tags: IntergratedPhotonics, PhotonDelta, Photonics, SFP

System-On-Chip: A smaller world full of big advantages

Insights

July 17, 2020

System-On-Chip: A smaller world full of big advantages

For those new to the subject, a System-on-Chip (SoC) is essentially an integrated electronic circuit…

For those new to the subject, a System-on-Chip (SoC) is essentially an integrated electronic circuit that takes a single platform and integrates a whole electronic or computer system onto it. As the name suggests, it combines that entire system on a single chip. To describe it very simply: imagine a full computer with a CPU, input and output ports, internal memory and so on; then miniaturize and compress it to fit on one chip. Depending on the kind of system, it can perform a variety of functions including signal processing, wireless communication, artificial intelligence and more.

The primary goal is to reduce energy waste and save on expense, while reducing the space occupied by large systems. With an SoC you achieve all those goals, as you essentially downsize what are normally multi-chip designs onto a single processor that uses much less power. The real-world applications of SoCs are practically limitless and priceless. They are used in most, if not all, portable devices, such as smartphones, cameras, tablets, and other wireless technologies. In fact, your smartphone is a good example of how an SoC works.

Use of your cell phone is not limited to making and receiving calls. You also use it to browse the internet, view videos, listen to audio, take photos, play games, send texts, and much more. None of this would be possible without multiple elements such as a graphics card, internet support, wireless connections, and GPS, to name but a few. An SoC allows you to take all of these components, put them on a single chip, shrink the whole package down to a size that can fit in the palm of your hand, and carry it around in your phone.

Along with the example of our portable phones, SoC is frequently used in equipment involved in the Internet of Things, embedded systems and, of course, photonics.

EFFECT Photonics’ spin on SoC

While electrical SoCs have been around for some time, EFFECT Photonics is the first company in the world to introduce a full optical SoC – combining all the optical elements needed for optical networking onto a single die.
One key application of EFFECT Photonics’ SoC technology is within dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM), and this is regarded as an important innovation in optical networks. DWDM is scalable, transparent and enables provision of high-bandwidth services. It is the technology of choice for many networking applications today. By using many different wavelengths of light to route data, these systems are more efficient, flexible, and cost-effective to build, own and operate compared to single-channel, point-to-point links. Thanks to our high-density electrical interconnect and packaging technology, the optical system-on-a-chip can be assembled for volume manufacture at low cost.

As the channel count increases, the physical space in which the equipment is housed gets larger and the power consumption increases as well. The key enablers for DWDM systems at the edge of the network are photonic integration of components within a single chip; and the ability to produce these in volume with high yield at low cost. This requires a change in the way indium phosphide (InP) chips are designed, tested, and packaged, which is where EFFECT Photonics comes in.

One of the key challenges for DWDM technology is the need for as many optical light sources, modulators, and detectors as there are channels in a system. Building and managing these using conventional discrete fibre optic components, line cards, AWG (arrayed waveguide) multiplexers and rackmount channel monitors quickly becomes prohibitively expensive. However, we can integrate all the following optical functions within a single InP chip: tuneable laser sources, AWG multiplexers, high-speed detectors, high-speed modulators, power taps and splitters, and channel monitoring.

Our SoC technology provides more bandwidth at a lower cost for applications like mobile fronthaul networks (5G), metro access networks and data centre interconnects (DCI). EFFECT Photonics has created a unique platform approach to integration, using high-yielding building blocks within the wafer. Growing different quaternary alloys of indium phosphide on a single wafer provides the following advantages:

All active and passive optical functions of a DWDM system combined into a single chip
Our unique packaging technology that scales in volume cost-effectively [parallel structure]
Smaller in size, lower in power
Industry-standard form factors and custom variants

For more on our optical system-on-a-chip products, visit: https://effectphotonics.com/products/pluggable-modules-direct-detect/
Get in touch with us for further information by sending your request to: sales@effectphotonics.com

Tags: 5G, DWDM, IntergratedPhotonics, Photonics, SFP

Insights

July 9, 2020

Shaping the future of photonics

In an article for the latest Insight Magazine, James Regan, EFFECT Photonics’ CEO, shares his…

In an article for the latest Insight Magazine, James Regan, EFFECT Photonics’ CEO, shares his experiences on the future of photonics, and discusses our company’s beginnings, challenges and his personal lessons working in Deep Tech.

“EFFECT Photonics is a true Deep Tech company, but what it is you are trying to do?
We are a photonic integration company. We have a unique capability in the world, by putting all the functions of an optical system onto a single chip. Traditionally, all the beams of lights in optical systems were managed through multiple small lenses, but small lenses, but we have put all the complexity onto one chip and that makes it into a much simpler and useful module. The difference is that we are making an integrated circuit of light – a photonic integrated circuit. We take the kind of systems that are used in the core of the network, which are low in volume and high in price, and put them out to the edges of the network in high volume, low cost and low power.
Has it been challenging to get this company off the ground? You are highly disruptive but how receptive have the investors been?
When we closed our series A in 2015, there were almost no early stage hardware technology deals being done in the world. Fortunately for us, much of the investment we have had has come thanks to the support of the Dutch regional Government’s ecosystems that exists in Eindhoven. That has provided us with our early stage seed money. Also, we were fortunate in finding at the time of our series A, a visionary German-Austrian investor with a lot of background in photonics and semiconductors, who was able to provide leadership throughout these investment rounds. I have learned a lot about the power of regionality and it has been great.
Is that because there is more to show and tell? Does that make the product more real for them?
Absolutely. In terms of risk-management, it is a much more attractive proposition. The downside is that the valuations arise with that. I think we have been very grateful for the visionary individuals that have come with us on this investment journey. We are also very excited that, as we grow, we are scaling now into larger and larger institutions in our investment community towards the larger scale investors.
Your first-generation product is coming to market soon. What are the challenges for you moving forward?
We are running multiple waves of product development simultaneously, which is quite a challenge. Traditionally, people in this market would advise you against that – but our investors see the scale of the opportunity in front of us and we are in a hurry to get everything out shortly after our first release and we have a rich roadmap of new products being developed. That is the power of a new technology platform – once you have that platform working, you can generate a wide variety of products and really leverage that core investment into a range of products, driving revenue and margins up on the top of it.
Where is the company looking to go in the next 5 years?
We see bringing these waves of products through to market, generating massive growth in revenue and ramping up our operations, sales and marketing and continuing to drive the engine of product development to bring these products through to meet the needs of our customers. That has us on a path of pretty rapid growth over the next few years, and then, ultimately, taking that towards a public listing – this could be where we end up.
What would be your advice to Deep Tech start-ups?
With Deep Tech, you need to understand how you can get something out as fast as possible. It is a very different case being a Deep Tech company that has revenue, and a Deep Tech company that has none. I would advise looking for a minimum viable product. I would also look for getting as much funding as you can in the early days from the help of Governments, and regional investment bodies, until you are ready to get something that’s then close to revenue. You need to preserve your equity and that isn’t easy if you have quite a long road to get a Deep Technology from its early university stages into something which is ready for deployment. How to hang onto as much of your equity as you can through that journey is the big challenge.
Additionally, you have to be smart about where you make your investments. For example, we have not invested in fab, which is very capital heavy and rather focused on adding value in the design and being vertical in the areas where we can differentiate.
Finally, you need to be brave! Something you want to find early on is the right commercial partner – someone that knows their way around the industry. You have got to be sure that you have got something that you believe in, and something that is really going to make a difference and change the world. That is what I have found with EFFECT Photonics. It is really unique and has an amazing capability that can, and will, change the world!”

Author: Paul Gillespie, www.sheffieldhaworth.com/sh-gillamor-stephens
Article source: https://www.sheffieldhaworth.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Insight-Magazine-Issue-36.pdf

Tags: 5G, DWDM, Photonics

Insights

June 25, 2020

EFFECT Photonics: A novel packaging competence that delivers

It is difficult to remember a time before the Internet and wireless communications. Accommodating the…

It is difficult to remember a time before the Internet and wireless communications. Accommodating the tremendous growth in data traffic has been and will continue to be dependent on an ever-expanding fibre optic network. Data centres are increasing in number and size to accommodate the ever-increasing needs for higher data transmission speeds and capacity. At the same time, so-called deep fibre architectures are pushing fibre optics closer to the end users’ homes and buildings. The world is beginning to take advantage of 5G interconnectivity and real-time communication for applications from enhanced mobile broadband and the IoT to mission-critical scenarios of self-driving cars or remotely controlled medical procedures. Low-latency, high-bandwidth optical networks will form the foundations of these technologies.

Light as a signal carrier enables much higher data transmission rates over greater distances and with lower losses compared to electrical signals. To encode data into light for transmission and decode it back into electrical signals upon receipt, optical communications rely on optical transceivers. Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) is transceiver technology that has proved itself indispensable when it comes to adding capacity to existing networks. A standard transceiver, often called a grey transceiver, is a single-channel device – each fibre has a single laser source. DWDM accommodates large numbers of signals carried as different wavelengths of light in a single fibre to route data on different ‘channels’, significantly enhancing bandwidth. Importantly, it is also more flexible and cost-effective to build, own and operate than multiple single-channel point-to-point links.

Full monolithic integration of all photonic components within a single chip (a photonics integrated circuit or PIC) is a key enabler of DWDM technology that achieves these goals. It is by no means industry-standard, but EFFECT Photonics makes it possible. Award-winning System-on-Chip integration of functionalities including the laser, amplification and wavelength locking enables high-density electrical interconnect, minimal optical loss, and simplified production and testing relative to systems built in manual processes from individual components. The result is enhanced optical transmission with low energy consumption, reduced cost, and significantly smaller physical size of the module.
The PIC technology creates even more benefits by facilitating cost-effective packaging solutions. EFFECT Photonics proprietary packaging technology is developed and implemented in-house. This not only gives us the ability to tailor packaging to our PICs but also reduces the time and cost associated with development and testing. Importantly, it provides greater independence from market fluctuations and global uncertainties and generates supply security.

Dr. Paul Rosser, Chief Operations Officer at EFFECT Photonics, summarises: “Optical communication is used for increasingly shorter distances thanks to growing system performance and bandwidth requirements. As a result, innovative packaging approaches are needed that closely integrate optical technology within the system. Nowadays, pluggable transceivers are implemented at the system edge. In addition, embedded optical modules for onboard assembly are becoming more apparent in bandwidth-intensive applications. The first high-performance computing systems where optical transceivers are mounted onto the switch chip package have already entered the market. However, more widespread adoption of optical link technology is limited by cost and assembly activities involving optics. EFFECT Photonics applies integration strategies across all levels to improve optics’ performance and functionality, while lowering cost.”

The robotics foundations required for volume packaging are in place. As EFFECT Photonics rapidly expands its product portfolio with a diverse range of technologies, either additional standardised and modular packaging solutions or many customised ones are required. The company is pursuing funding and investment opportunities to enhance packaging capabilities in two critical ways. The first is expanding both the number and specialisation of talented and motivated scientists and engineers in various fields, including mechatronics and software development and testing. Photonics is a relatively new and quite diverse field. The ability to train qualified new hires in specialised areas such as packaging, automation, and data analysis relevant to EFFECT Photonics will significantly augment current capabilities. Second, producing in volume with high yield at low cost will also require associated infrastructure expansion.

EFFECT Photonics is uniquely positioned to become a global supplier of choice for optical transceivers thanks to its cost-effective and high-performance optical System-on-Chip design, innovative electronics for high-speed capability and unique non-hermetic packaging technology supporting scaling in volume cost-effectively. This novel packaging competence allows our company to offer customers significant savings without compromising the performance they expect.
For more information, please contact us at info@effectphotonics.com

Tags: Packaging, Photonics, SFP

Insights

June 22, 2020

We are Looking for new Talent and Experts to grow Together

EFFECT Photonics are hiring for many positions in Brixham, UK and seeking passionate, talented, and…

EFFECT Photonics are hiring for many positions in Brixham, UK and seeking passionate, talented, and highly motivated people across levels and areas to grow with us.

EFFECT Photonics is a scale-up company now transitioning from funded- to revenue-based growth. The disruptive technology at the heart of our offering is the integration of photonic components into a chip and building that into a low-energy-consumption, robust and cost-effective module (match box-sized). We are initially targeting the launching of the 5G network. The dynamic nature of the rapidly growing customer demand for increasing data speed with reduced costs and environmental impacts demands technology developments focused on future needs, applications, and infrastructure. The only constant is change.

We started with 1 employee in Brixham, 5 years ago and now have 60, with another 70 employees based at our headquarters in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. We are excited to be recognised as one of Europe’s top IPO-worthy tech start-ups to build a successful career and are actively recruiting in the Brixham area.

The Brixham Engineering, Quality and Operations teams work very closely with Engineering teams at the Netherlands facility responsible for the development of the Photonic Integrated Chip (PIC), firmware and electronics. This synergy ensures strong focus on device technology that anticipates customer needs and integrates the equipment capabilities and product performance with manufacturing requirements.

Here in Brixham, we are responsible for: module package and process design and development for manufacture; reliability assurance; and volume manufacturing including assembly, testing and shipping processes. The team is working on rapid prototyping and aggressive increase of output volume regarding modules enabling the telecom infrastructure that will support IoT. We have made substantial investments in our staff and automated equipment and continue to do so according to a solid roadmap. We have strong links with customers around the world and are addressing marketplace expectations including ISO9001, ISO14001 and product compliance.

EFFECT Photonics is a dynamic, ambitious, and flexible company with a strong mix of experienced professionals, post docs, graduates, and trainees. Anyone can have an impact while building skills and experience leading to personal and professional growth and development. These are exciting times, as we refine our business infrastructure and develop the products and processes for the future.

In line with those efforts, we are seeking passionate, talented and highly motivated people across levels and areas to grow with us: from apprentices and trainees desiring experience working with experienced staff to highly specialised professionals eager to make a difference, from operators working in a high-quality manufacturing environment to administrative and business personnel. We offer exceptional opportunities to influence a business in its formative years, with everyone interacting with all levels of management and staff. Our Brixham location offers you one more stimulus to inspire your creativity: in a building managed by the University of Plymouth, you’ll enjoy a fantastic view!

Please take a look at our current job openings and contact us today at recruitment@effectphotonics.com for more information about opportunities to shape the future with a career at EFFECT Photonics.

Tags: careers, jobs, Photonics, UK

Insights

June 18, 2019

EFFECT Photonics Inside Brainport Eindhoven

EFFECT Photonics’ article in “Inside Brainport Eindhoven Magazine”: The Power of Light In collaboration with…

Insights

March 13, 2017

System on a Chip is the Future

– a piece by Jonathan Marks of PhotonDelta At the first PIC International awards in Brussels,…

– a piece by Jonathan Marks of PhotonDelta

At the first PIC International awards in Brussels, Eindhoven-based Effect Photonics was acknowledged as the Industry leader in the category: Advances in Integration. PhotonDelta’s Jonathan Marks spoke with the winners who are operating in the highly competitive arena of datacentre interconnect solutions.

“In the last couple of years, we have seen a tipping point for Indium Phosphide photonics” explains Boudewijn Docter, CTO at Effect Photonics. “The telecom sector, in particular, realises that the exponential thirst for Internet bandwidth cannot be met by simply improving existing silicon technology.” “Datacentres need to double their capacity each year to cope with the global need for speed. The 1.5 billion smartphones sold worldwide in 2016 all want to connect to servers in datacentres. That’s in addition to the 22 billion “Internet of Things” connected devices now out there.”

“Our approach now is to make “systems on photonics chips”, fully harnessing the immediacy of light and combining highly optimised packaging with cost-effective electronics”. James Regan CEO Effect Photonics

The Interconnect Challenge

“As they expand, datacentres physically build their new giant datacentre next to the older one. Which means they need to interconnect these datacentres with extremely fast links carrying huge amounts of data (think PetaBytes) so that they work as one. This interconnectivity between separate data centres is essential so they can operate together, share resources and/or pass workloads between one another.”

“In many modern datacentres, the length of the interconnects is getting very long indeed. Typically, inside the datacentre, interconnect links are between 200 metres or 2 kilometres. But if you’re trying to connect to adjacent datacentres, links of 10+ kilometres are common. We’ve seen interconnects of 80 or 100 kilometres being needed when buildings are on the other side of a campus. The challenge is that extremely fast links over these longer distances don’t work efficiently with incumbent technologies. By understanding what these customers need at what cost then you can design a system that can deliver”.

Integrate everything

Today, with these long interconnect distances, it’s no longer sufficient to have a solution that integrates just some parts of a system. James Regan, CEO of Effect Photonics, explains their business strategy to solve the interconnect challenge.

“We’ve deliberately taken a holistic approach to these very complex technologies. We’ve focused on understanding the interdependence of system components. Our approach now is to make “systems on photonics chips”, fully harnessing the immediacy of light and combining highly optimised packaging with cost-effective electronics. We’ve built a high-volume capability platform from the start. So, having met customer’s specifications, producing in volume is no problem.”

Hyperscale ready

“We heard many important industry concerns at the 2017 PIC conference in Brussels on March 7^th and 8^th. There’s clearly an urgent need for advances in design, packaging, testing and component integration to meet customer needs. There are robust discussions around lower pricing and scaling up the fabrication process. We know that our photonics knowledge also applies to next generation 5G networks where we expect fibre optics to reach all the way to the mobile base-station tower antenna. We also take an active part in European research projects such as the WIPE project.

Over 6000 eligible votes were cast for the finalists in this year’s PIC Awards.

“We thank our colleagues in the Photonics industry for their strong vote of confidence in delivering a product that matches customer needs. And we look forward to interesting discussions at the OFC Exhibition in Los Angeles.”

EFFECT Photonics will be at booth #1328 at OFC (19-23 March 2017) !

http://www.photondelta.eu/news/news/system-on-a-chip-is-the-future/

Insights

March 7, 2016

Access to information at our finger tips powered by integrated chips

We all love watching the latest House of Cards on our cellphones or tablets, navigating…

We all love watching the latest House of Cards on our cellphones or tablets, navigating the streets of Barcelona while listening to music through our apps – preferably without any delays or hiccups. With all this new, mobile technology in our hands, our thirst for fast connections and lots of data has grown exponentially. But data technology is reaching its limits. What we need is nothing short of a revolutionary innovation that is able to deal with more data at the speed of light.

Some 50 years ago, optical fibers were the answer to our growing need for fast data. They span from country to country, crossing the oceans and forming the largest piece of man-made infrastructure that exists on our planet today. By using Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM), telecommunications companies worldwide were able to quickly expand the capacity of their networks through the use of different wavelengths of laser light that feed lots of separate signals over a single strand of optical fiber. Thanks to these inventions and immense technological innovations in our computers, mobile devices, and new applications, within a few decades our need for even faster data rates continue.

Unfortunately, the capacity of the current generation of optical devices hasn’t kept pace. Not only on-demand video streaming is to blame, but also the development of ‘The Internet of Things’ and advanced machine-to-machine communication will demand stable, secure, yet inexpensive solutions. This is where integrated photonic chips plays an important part; optical chips that can send and receive multiple light signals simultaneously, all within the same physical size as a chocolate bar.

EFFECT Photonics, a spin-off from the Technical University of Eindhoven (TU/e), saw a strong market need to bring its ‘Optical System-on-Chip’ technology to market in order to meet the soaring demand for bandwidth in cell towers and between data centers. EFFECT Photonics develops and delivers highly integrated optical components based on InP (Indium Phosphide), the material of choice for combining efficient laser light sources, waveguides, modulators, amplifiers, and photodiodes used in optical communication systems throughout the world. In 2013 they started building a demonstration model for this Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) optical system based on integrated photonics, working closely with their customers such as data centers and telcos to define their requirements.

Each photonic chip can handle huge bandwidths of data in a far more condensed, energy efficient and cost-effective way than current optical devices. EFFECT Photonics’ current design improves the port density by a factor of 5 while lowering operational costs by up to 40%. Due to the exponential growth in data in the forthcoming years by a factor of 10, experts foresee a huge rise in energy demand from data centers and telecommunication services. Our current energy use while surfing the Internet already makes up 5% of all energy consumption worldwide, by 2020 this will be 20%. EFFECT Photonics’ ‘Optical System-on-Chip’ technology might just be the tipping point for Obama’s Climate Change Plan to succeed.

EFFECT Photonics is scaling up and opened a second facility in the United Kingdom, Torbay in 2015. Scaling up to manufacture in volume can be a complex challenge, however, EFFECT Photonics has set out to design for low cost manufacturing from the very beginning. Working together with several photonic innovators at their doorstep, like the TU/e and SMART Photonics, EFFECT Photonics is taking micro-photonics to a serious macro-economic business.

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