CORNERSTONE 2.5
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Southampton
Department Name: Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC)
Abstract
Silicon photonics is the manipulation of light (photons) in silicon-based substrates, analogous to electronics, which is the manipulation of electrons. The development cycle of a silicon photonics device consists of three stages: design, fabrication, and characterisation. Whilst design and characterisation can readily be done by research groups around the country, the fabrication of silicon photonics devices, circuits and systems requires large scale investments and capital equipment such as cleanrooms, lithography, etching equipment etc. Based at the Universities of Southampton and Glasgow, CORNERSTONE 2.5 will provide world-leading fabrication capability to silicon photonics researchers and the wider science community.
Whilst silicon photonics is the focus of CORNERSTONE 2.5, it will also support other technologies that utilise similar fabrication processes, such as MEMS or microfluidics, and the integration of light sources with silicon photonics integrated circuits, as well as supporting any research area that requires high-resolution lithography.
The new specialised capabilities available to researchers to support emerging applications in silicon photonics are: 1) quantum photonics based on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers; 2) programmable photonics; 3) all-silicon photodetection; 4) high efficiency grating couplers for low energy, power sensitive systems; 5) enhanced sensing platforms; and 6) light source integration to the silicon nitride platform. Access will be facilitated via a multi-project-wafer (MPW) mechanism whereby multiple users' designs will be fabricated in parallel on the same wafer. This is enabled by the 8" wafer-scale processing capability centred around a deep-UV projection lithography scanner installed at the University of Southampton.
The value of CORNERSTONE 2.5 to researchers who wish to use it is enhanced by a network of supporting companies, each providing significant expertise and added value to users. Supporting companies include process-design-kit (PDK) software specialists (Luceda Photonics), reticle suppliers (Compugraphics, Photronics), packaging facilities (Tyndall National Institute, Bay Photonics, Alter Technologies), a mass production silicon photonics foundry (CompoundTek), an epitaxy partner for germanium-on-silicon growth (IQE), fabrication processing support (Oxford Instruments), an MPW broker (EUROPRACTICE), a III-V die supplier (Sivers Semiconductors) and promotion and outreach partners (Photonics Leadership Group, EPIC, CSA Catapult, CPI, Anchored In).
Access to the new capabilities will be free-of-charge to UK academics in months 13-18 of the project, and 75% subsidised by the grant in months 19-24. During the 2-year project, we will also canvas UK demand for the capability to continue to operate as an EPSRC National Research Facility, and if so, to establish a Statement of Need.
Whilst silicon photonics is the focus of CORNERSTONE 2.5, it will also support other technologies that utilise similar fabrication processes, such as MEMS or microfluidics, and the integration of light sources with silicon photonics integrated circuits, as well as supporting any research area that requires high-resolution lithography.
The new specialised capabilities available to researchers to support emerging applications in silicon photonics are: 1) quantum photonics based on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers; 2) programmable photonics; 3) all-silicon photodetection; 4) high efficiency grating couplers for low energy, power sensitive systems; 5) enhanced sensing platforms; and 6) light source integration to the silicon nitride platform. Access will be facilitated via a multi-project-wafer (MPW) mechanism whereby multiple users' designs will be fabricated in parallel on the same wafer. This is enabled by the 8" wafer-scale processing capability centred around a deep-UV projection lithography scanner installed at the University of Southampton.
The value of CORNERSTONE 2.5 to researchers who wish to use it is enhanced by a network of supporting companies, each providing significant expertise and added value to users. Supporting companies include process-design-kit (PDK) software specialists (Luceda Photonics), reticle suppliers (Compugraphics, Photronics), packaging facilities (Tyndall National Institute, Bay Photonics, Alter Technologies), a mass production silicon photonics foundry (CompoundTek), an epitaxy partner for germanium-on-silicon growth (IQE), fabrication processing support (Oxford Instruments), an MPW broker (EUROPRACTICE), a III-V die supplier (Sivers Semiconductors) and promotion and outreach partners (Photonics Leadership Group, EPIC, CSA Catapult, CPI, Anchored In).
Access to the new capabilities will be free-of-charge to UK academics in months 13-18 of the project, and 75% subsidised by the grant in months 19-24. During the 2-year project, we will also canvas UK demand for the capability to continue to operate as an EPSRC National Research Facility, and if so, to establish a Statement of Need.
Organisations
- University of Southampton (Lead Research Organisation)
- Deutsches Electronen-Synchrotron (DESY) (Collaboration)
- Luceda Photonics (Collaboration, Project Partner)
- Zhejiang University (Collaboration)
- Shenzhen University (Collaboration)
- University College Cork (Collaboration)
- National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (Collaboration)
- VLC Photonics (Collaboration)
- ORCA Computing (Collaboration)
- IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON (Collaboration)
- Renishaw Plc (Collaboration)
- Munster Technological University (Collaboration)
- Compound Semiconductor Applications Catapult (Collaboration, Project Partner)
- Koc University (Collaboration)
- University of Ghent (Collaboration)
- University of Strathclyde (Collaboration, Project Partner)
- Rockley Photonics (Collaboration)
- University of Bristol (Collaboration)
- KING'S COLLEGE LONDON (Collaboration)
- University of Warwick (Collaboration)
- Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Collaboration)
- Bar-Ilan University (Collaboration)
- University of Malaga (Collaboration, Project Partner)
- Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU Munich) (Collaboration)
- Cambridge Consultants (Collaboration)
- Oxford Instruments (Collaboration)
- Chinese University of Hong Kong (Collaboration, Project Partner)
- Oxford Ionics (Collaboration)
- University of Vigo (Collaboration)
- BAE Systems (Collaboration)
- National Center for Scientific Research (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique CNRS) (Collaboration)
- ZEISS (Collaboration)
- Huawei Technologies (Collaboration, Project Partner)
- National Sun Yat-sen University (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH WALES (Collaboration, Project Partner)
- University of Cambridge (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER (Collaboration)
- Cardiff University (Collaboration)
- Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies (Collaboration)
- University of Sheffield (Collaboration)
- University of Pavia (Collaboration)
- Hokkaido University (Collaboration, Project Partner)
- University of Texas at Austin (Collaboration)
- EPIC (Electronics & Photonics Innov Ctr) (Project Partner)
- Beamlet LLC (Project Partner)
- Quantum Dice (Project Partner)
- Tyndall National Institute (Project Partner)
- Bangor University (Project Partner)
- Newcastle University (Project Partner)
- Compugraphics International Ltd (Project Partner)
- Sivers Photonics Ltd (Project Partner)
- University of Bristol (Project Partner)
- Rockley Photonics Limited (Project Partner)
- CNIT (Project Partner)
- OnPoint Digital Solutions (Project Partner)
- University of Huddersfield (Project Partner)
- Oxford Instruments Group (UK) (Project Partner)
- University of Sydney (Project Partner)
- University of Sussex (Project Partner)
- Imperial College London (Project Partner)
- Czech Technical University in Prague (Project Partner)
- University of Cambridge (Project Partner)
- CompoundTek Pte Ltd (Project Partner)
- Lancaster University (Project Partner)
- University of Sheffield (Project Partner)
- Royal Holloway University of London (Project Partner)
- Queen's University Belfast (Project Partner)
- University of Manchester (Project Partner)
- Airbus Group Limited(Airbus Group Ltd) (Project Partner)
- Anchored In Ltd (Project Partner)
- Polytechnic University of Bari (Project Partner)
- Duality Quantum Photonics Ltd (Project Partner)
- Wave Photonics (Project Partner)
- Photonics Leadership Group (Project Partner)
- University of Bath (Project Partner)
- Fudan University (Project Partner)
- University of Birmingham (Project Partner)
- Photronics (U K) Ltd (Project Partner)
- City St George’s, University of London (Project Partner)
- UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON (Project Partner)
- Pointcloud (Project Partner)
- EUROPRACTICE (International) (Project Partner)
- CARDIFF UNIVERSITY (Project Partner)
- Camgraphic Ltd (Project Partner)
- Centre for Process Innovation (Project Partner)
- Zero Point Motion Ltd (Project Partner)
- Loughborough University (Project Partner)
- University of St Andrews (Project Partner)
- University of Oxford (Project Partner)
- IQE PLC (Project Partner)
- Alter Technology TUV Nord (Project Partner)
- University of York (Project Partner)
- Nanyang Technological University (Project Partner)
- Heriot-Watt University (Project Partner)
- Durham University (Project Partner)
- Resolute Photonics (UK) Ltd (Project Partner)
- Bay Photonics Ltd (Project Partner)
Publications
Burridge B
(2023)
Integrate and scale: a source of spectrally separable photon pairs
in Optica
Chang T
(2024)
Advancing All Silicon MOSCAP Ring Modulators With Ultra-Thin Sub-5 nm Insulator
in Journal of Lightwave Technology
Chen M
(2024)
I/O-efficient iterative matrix inversion with photonic integrated circuits.
in Nature communications
Coggrave C
(2024)
Single-shot wavelength meter on a chip based on exponentially increasing delays and in-phase quadrature detection
in Optics and Lasers in Engineering
Dong B
(2024)
Partial coherence enhances parallelized photonic computing
in Nature
Haines J
(2024)
Fabrication of 1 × N integrated power splitters with arbitrary power ratio for single and multimode photonics.
in Nanophotonics (Berlin, Germany)
Hashemi Talkhooncheh A
(2023)
A 100-Gb/s PAM4 Optical Transmitter in a 3-D-Integrated SiPh-CMOS Platform Using Segmented MOSCAP Modulators
in IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits
| Description | Excellent progress within the CORNERSTONE foundry service. All new platforms have been launched and offered to the community for free or with significant discounts, following the project proposal. User numbers continue to rise significantly. Word of mouth continues to promote the CORNERSTONE brand. We continue to support more industry users than academic users, some of whom have raised significant funding. However, we have still supported 23 UK universities. Record numbers of users utilised the SiN platform this year, demonstrating that demand for this platform is very significant. Results of the SOI platform has resulted in the world's fasted silicon photonics transmitter (with integrated driver), as well as the world's fastest MOSCAP modulator. |
| Exploitation Route | The success of the CORNERSTONE has already led to a succesful IKC bid. This was one of the first investments announced, associated with the UK Semiconductor Strategy. Minister Saqib Bhatti MP, visited Southampton to announce the new IKC awards on 5th February 2024, and the IKC was formally launched in the House of Lords on 12th February 2025 by Lord Sewell and Dave Smith, National Technology Advisor. |
| Sectors | Aerospace Defence and Marine Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software) Energy Environment Healthcare Manufacturing including Industrial Biotechology Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology Transport |
| URL | https://www.cornerstone.sotonfab.co.uk/ |
| Description | Numerous users has been able to use the CORNERSTONE platforms to demonstrate proof of principle of their ideas. This includes some start-up companies, which has enabled them to secure funding and expand. One such example is Zero Point Motion, led by CEO Lia Li. The company is developing inertial sensors, combining MEMS with Silicon Photonics, and they cite CORNERSTONE as instrumental in their development. They now employ 16 people in the UK. Another start-up, Pointcloud inc, uses CORNERSTONE to develop their technology prior to scaling up into foundry tape-outs. Numerous other users are at earlier stages in their journey. Together, 7 companies who utilised CORNERSTONE foundry services, which were critical to their development have secured ~£44M in funding since March 2022, employing more than 115 people. This year, there continues to be more industry users than academic users, demonstrating the commercial impact of the work. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2023 |
| Sector | Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Energy,Environment,Healthcare,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology,Transport |
| Impact Types | Cultural Economic |
| Description | British Taiwanese All Party Parliamentary Group |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzZ5PHLTpmQ |
| Description | CORNERSTONE reference in techUK 'UK Plan for Chips' |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Citation in systematic reviews |
| URL | https://www.techuk.org/resource/tech-uk-s-report-uk-plan-for-chips-a-new-blueprint-is-now-live.html |
| Description | CORNERSTONE referenced in the RAEng Quantum Infrastructure Review |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Citation in systematic reviews |
| URL | https://raeng.org.uk/media/rrqjm2v3/quantum-infrastructure-review.pdf |
| Description | DSIT Technology Adoption Review |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
| URL | https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/technology-adoption-review/technology-adoption-revi... |
| Description | Future Defence, Deterrence and Resilience Conference Report |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| URL | https://www.linkedin.com/posts/wilton-park_future-defence-deterrence-resilience-activity-72732452973... |
| Description | OECD Semiconductor Informal Exchange Network |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| URL | https://www.oecd.org/en/blogs/2024/11/speaking-the-same-chip-language-why-a-shared-semiconductor-tax... |
| Description | UK Semiconductor Policy Paper |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| URL | https://www.linkedin.com/posts/silicon-catalyst-uk_semiconductor-policy-paper-activity-7261660191006... |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2.5 Enterprise Income - Akhetonics |
| Amount | £47,960 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Akhetonics |
| Sector | Private |
| Country | Germany |
| Start | 06/2023 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2.5 Enterprise Income - Bar Ilan University |
| Amount | £100 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Bar-Ilan University |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | Israel |
| Start | 02/2024 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2.5 Enterprise Income - CSA Catapult |
| Amount | £68,160 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Compound Semiconductor Applications Catapult |
| Sector | Private |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2023 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2.5 Enterprise Income - Cambridge Consultants |
| Amount | £15,750 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Cambridge Consultants |
| Sector | Private |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 02/2024 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2.5 Enterprise Income - Cardiff University |
| Amount | £10,250 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Cardiff University |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 02/2023 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2.5 Enterprise Income - Delft University of Technology |
| Amount | £26,490 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Start | 03/2024 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2.5 Enterprise Income - Hokkaido University |
| Amount | £18,250 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Hokkaido University |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | Japan |
| Start | 06/2023 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2.5 Enterprise Income - National Sun Yat-sen University |
| Amount | £38,050 (GBP) |
| Organisation | National Sun Yat-sen University |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | Taiwan, Province of China |
| Start | 01/2023 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2.5 Enterprise Income - National Taiwan University of Science Technology |
| Amount | £5,250 (GBP) |
| Organisation | National Taiwan University of Science and Technology |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | Taiwan, Province of China |
| Start | 03/2023 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2.5 Enterprise Income - ORCA Computing |
| Amount | £875 (GBP) |
| Organisation | ORCA Computing |
| Sector | Private |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 11/2023 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2.5 Enterprise Income - Oxford Ionics |
| Amount | £3,800 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Oxford Ionics |
| Sector | Private |
| Start | 01/2021 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2.5 Enterprise Income - Queens University |
| Amount | £2,496 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Queens University |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | Bangladesh |
| Start | 04/2023 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2.5 Enterprise Income - Renishaw |
| Amount | £13,550 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Renishaw PLC |
| Sector | Private |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 12/2022 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2.5 Enterprise Income - UCL |
| Amount | £4,438 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University College London |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 02/2023 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2.5 Enterprise Income - University of Bristol |
| Amount | £24,045 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of Bristol |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2023 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2.5 Enterprise Income - University of Cambridge |
| Amount | £16,530 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of Cambridge |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 02/2023 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2.5 Enterprise Income - University of Manchester |
| Amount | £1,750 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of Manchester |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 11/2023 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2.5 Enterprise Income - University of Pavia |
| Amount | £100 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of Pavia |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | Italy |
| Start | 03/2024 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2.5 Enterprise Income - University of Texas |
| Amount | £8,600 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of Texas at Austin |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United States |
| Start | 07/2023 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE Photonics Innovation Centre (C-PIC) |
| Amount | £10,998,902 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/Z531066/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 05/2024 |
| End | 05/2029 |
| Description | DOLORES |
| Amount | € 3,015,883 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | 101130178 |
| Organisation | European Commission H2020 |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | Belgium |
| Start | 08/2024 |
| End | 08/2028 |
| Description | EQUINOX |
| Amount | £2,239,643 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 10102939 |
| Organisation | Innovate UK |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 11/2024 |
| End | 03/2026 |
| Description | Impact Acceleration Account: Open-source Silicon Photonics PDK to Power Artificial Intelligence in Photonics |
| Amount | £61,255 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2025 |
| End | 12/2025 |
| Description | Layered Materials Research Foundry |
| Amount | £1,871,125 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/X015742/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2023 |
| End | 12/2025 |
| Description | PIXEurope |
| Amount | € 5,000,000 (EUR) |
| Organisation | Innovate UK |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2025 |
| End | 04/2030 |
| Description | PIXEurope |
| Amount | € 190,000,000 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | 101213727 |
| Organisation | European Commission |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | Belgium |
| Start | 04/2025 |
| End | 04/2030 |
| Description | Photonic Integrated Circuit Bootcamp |
| Amount | £334,888 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 10074923 |
| Organisation | Innovate UK |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 08/2023 |
| End | 02/2025 |
| Description | Rapid assessment of drinking water using waveguide-enhanced on-chip Raman spectroscopy |
| Amount | £21,072 (GBP) |
| Organisation | United Kingdom Research and Innovation |
| Department | Research England |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2024 |
| End | 03/2024 |
| Description | Silicon Nitride for Quantum Computing (SiNQ) |
| Amount | £422,419 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 10074567 |
| Organisation | Innovate UK |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 08/2023 |
| End | 02/2025 |
| Description | Silicon Photonic beam pointing for free space optical communications |
| Amount | £240,527 (GBP) |
| Organisation | UK Space Agency |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 05/2023 |
| End | 11/2024 |
| Title | Open source Process Design Kit (PDK) of silicon photonics components |
| Description | The world's first open source database of silicon photonics components for a variety of silicon photonics platforms which enables other researchers to design circuits based on existing components with a known functionality and peformance. |
| Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Economic impact from increased number of paying users to the CORNERSTONE fabrication service |
| URL | https://www.cornerstone.sotonfab.co.uk/design-rules/ |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2 User: Cardiff University |
| Organisation | Cardiff University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Fabrication of SiN photonic chip |
| Collaborator Contribution | Design of SiN photonics chip |
| Impact | / |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2 User: Kings College London |
| Organisation | King's College London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Fabrication of PICs |
| Collaborator Contribution | Design of PICs |
| Impact | / |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2 User: Koc University |
| Organisation | Koc University |
| Country | Turkey |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Fabrication of PICs |
| Collaborator Contribution | Design of PICs |
| Impact | / |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2 User: LMU Munich |
| Organisation | Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU Munich) |
| Country | Germany |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Fabrication of PICs |
| Collaborator Contribution | Design of PICs |
| Impact | / |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2 User: National Taiwan University of Science Technology |
| Organisation | National Taiwan University of Science and Technology |
| Country | Taiwan, Province of China |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Fabrication of SOI photonics chip |
| Collaborator Contribution | Design of SOI photonics chip |
| Impact | / |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2 User: Oxford Instruments |
| Organisation | Oxford Instruments |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Fabrication of PICs |
| Collaborator Contribution | Design of PICs |
| Impact | / |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2 User: Renishaw |
| Organisation | Renishaw PLC |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Fabrication of PICs |
| Collaborator Contribution | Design of PICs |
| Impact | / |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2 User: Rockley Photonics |
| Organisation | Rockley Photonics |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Fabrication of PICs |
| Collaborator Contribution | Design of PICs |
| Impact | / |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2 User: Shenzhen University |
| Organisation | Shenzhen University |
| Country | China |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Fabrication of germanium photonics chip |
| Collaborator Contribution | Design of germanium photonics chip |
| Impact | / |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2 User: University South Wales |
| Organisation | University of South Wales |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Fabrication of PICs |
| Collaborator Contribution | Design of PICs |
| Impact | / |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2 User: University of Bristol |
| Organisation | University of Bristol |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Fabrication of SiN photonics chip |
| Collaborator Contribution | Design of SiN photonics chip |
| Impact | / |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2 User: University of Cambridge |
| Organisation | University of Cambridge |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Fabrication of SiN photonic circuit |
| Collaborator Contribution | Design of photonic circuit |
| Impact | / |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2 User: University of Malaga |
| Organisation | University of Malaga |
| Country | Spain |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Fabrication of suspended Si chips |
| Collaborator Contribution | Design of suspended Si chips |
| Impact | / |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2 User: University of Manchester |
| Organisation | University of Manchester |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Fabrication of SiN photonics chip |
| Collaborator Contribution | Design of SiN photonics chip |
| Impact | / |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2 User: University of Strathclyde |
| Organisation | University of Strathclyde |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Fabrication of SiN photonics chip |
| Collaborator Contribution | Design of SiN photonics chip |
| Impact | / |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2 User: University of Warwick |
| Organisation | University of Warwick |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Fabrication of SOI photonics chip |
| Collaborator Contribution | Design of SOI photonics chip |
| Impact | / |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2 User: Vrije Universiteit Brussels |
| Organisation | Vrije Universiteit Brussel |
| Country | Belgium |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Fabrication of SOI photonics chip |
| Collaborator Contribution | Design of SOI photonics chip |
| Impact | / |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2 User: Zhejiang University |
| Organisation | Zhejiang University |
| Country | China |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Fabrication of PICs |
| Collaborator Contribution | Design of PICs |
| Impact | / |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2.5 User: BAE Systems |
| Organisation | BAE Systems |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Fabrication of PICs |
| Collaborator Contribution | Design of PICs |
| Impact | / |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2.5 User: Bar Ilan University |
| Organisation | Bar-Ilan University |
| Country | Israel |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Fabrication of PICs |
| Collaborator Contribution | Design of PICs |
| Impact | / |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2.5 User: Cambridge Consultants |
| Organisation | Cambridge Consultants |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Fabrication of PICs |
| Collaborator Contribution | Design of PICs |
| Impact | / |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2.5 User: Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY) |
| Organisation | Deutsches Electronen-Synchrotron (DESY) |
| Country | Germany |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Fabrication of PICs |
| Collaborator Contribution | Design of PICs |
| Impact | / |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2.5 User: Hokkaido University |
| Organisation | Hokkaido University |
| Country | Japan |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Fabrication of SOI chips |
| Collaborator Contribution | Design of SOI chips |
| Impact | / |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2.5 User: Imperial College London |
| Organisation | Imperial College London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Design of PICs |
| Collaborator Contribution | Fabrication of PICs |
| Impact | / |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2.5 User: Munster Technological University |
| Organisation | Munster Technological University |
| Country | Ireland |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Fabrication of PICs |
| Collaborator Contribution | Design of PICs |
| Impact | / |
| Start Year | 2025 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2.5 User: National Sun Yat-sen University |
| Organisation | National Sun Yat-sen University |
| Country | Taiwan, Province of China |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Fabrication of SiN photonics chip |
| Collaborator Contribution | Design of SiN photonics chip |
| Impact | / |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2.5 User: ORCA Computing |
| Organisation | ORCA Computing |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | PhotonHub Training course provided |
| Collaborator Contribution | PhotonHub Training course received |
| Impact | / |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2.5 User: Oxford Ionics |
| Organisation | Oxford Ionics |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Fabrication of PICs |
| Collaborator Contribution | Design of PICs |
| Impact | / |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2.5 User: Universidad de Vigo |
| Organisation | University of Vigo |
| Country | Spain |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | PhotonHub Training course provided |
| Collaborator Contribution | PhotonHub Training course received. Design of PICs. |
| Impact | / |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2.5 User: University of Pavia |
| Organisation | University of Pavia |
| Country | Italy |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Fabrication of PICs |
| Collaborator Contribution | Design of PICs |
| Impact | / |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2.5 User: University of Sheffield |
| Organisation | University of Sheffield |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Fabrication of PICs |
| Collaborator Contribution | Design of PICs |
| Impact | / |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2.5 User: University of Texas |
| Organisation | University of Texas at Austin |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Fabrication of PICs |
| Collaborator Contribution | Design of PICs |
| Impact | / |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2.5 User: VLC (Hitachi) |
| Organisation | VLC Photonics |
| Country | Spain |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Fabrication of PICs |
| Collaborator Contribution | Design of PICs |
| Impact | / |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE 2.5 User: Zeiss |
| Organisation | ZEISS |
| Country | Germany |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Training course |
| Collaborator Contribution | / |
| Impact | / |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE PDK provider |
| Organisation | Luceda Photonics |
| Country | Belgium |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Generation of open source photonics components design |
| Collaborator Contribution | Creation of PDK for researchers |
| Impact | / |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE User: CNRS |
| Organisation | National Center for Scientific Research (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique CNRS) |
| Country | France |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Fabrication of PICs |
| Collaborator Contribution | Design of PICs |
| Impact | / |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE User: CSA Catapult |
| Organisation | Compound Semiconductor Applications Catapult |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Fabrication of PICs |
| Collaborator Contribution | Design of PICs |
| Impact | / |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE User: Chinese University of Hong Kong |
| Organisation | Chinese University of Hong Kong |
| Country | Hong Kong |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Fabrication of PICs |
| Collaborator Contribution | Design of PICs |
| Impact | / |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE User: Ghent University |
| Organisation | University of Ghent |
| Country | Belgium |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Fabrication of PICs 9th ePIXfabSummerSchool |
| Collaborator Contribution | Design of PICs |
| Impact | / |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE User: Huawei |
| Organisation | Huawei Technologies |
| Country | China |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Fabrication of PICs |
| Collaborator Contribution | Design of PICs |
| Impact | / |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE User: Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna |
| Organisation | Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies |
| Country | Italy |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Fabrication of SOI photonics chip |
| Collaborator Contribution | Design of SOI photonics chip Fabrication of PICs. |
| Impact | / |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE User: Tyndall |
| Organisation | University College Cork |
| Department | Tyndall National Institute |
| Country | Ireland |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Fabrication of PICs |
| Collaborator Contribution | Design of PICs |
| Impact | / |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE Stand at SPIE Photonics West, San Francisco |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | CORNERSTONE stand at SPIE Photonics West trade show, as part of the UK Pavilion. Included hosting British Afternoon Tea with the Department for Business and Trade. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| Description | CORNERSTONE at BICOP 2024 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | CORNERSTONE team attended the BICOP exhibition and Callum Littlejohns presented an introduction to C-PIC. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Chair panel discussion ChipStart EU |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Andy Sellars chaired panel discussion at ChipStart EU Malta |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Octric Semiconductor Fab meeting - nationalised security |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Andy Sellars participated in a meeting on nationalised security |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | PhotonHub Experience Centre course - build your own thermo-optic modulator |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | In the month of November, CORNERSTONE welcomed participants from diverse industries to its three-day PhotonHub Experience Centre course: Silicon Photonics - Build Your Own Thermo-Optic Modulator. Hosted at the University of Southampton, this immersive event introduced both beginners and experienced professionals to the intricate world of silicon photonics fabrication. Designed to teach the principles of silicon photonics while offering hands-on experience, the course proved to be a transformative journey for all attendees. "Walking into the cleanroom and working on these processes myself was incredible," said Qi Tang, one of the attendees. "The CORNERSTONE team was so open and supportive, answering every question in detail and guiding us through tutorials. Seeing the tools in action and understanding the tolerances involved has given me a new perspective on how photonics devices are brought to life." "I found the experience incredibly valuable," shared James Banyard, another participant. "Seeing the process up close and step-by-step really reinforced the fabrication concepts that were presented. Talking with the experienced technicians and engineers added depth and insight that you just can't get from online resources." "The fabrication support CORNERSTONE offers is truly powerful and invaluable," Qi Tang reflected. "I can already see how what I've learned here will help bring my photonics ideas into production." The highlight of the course? Each participant left with their own fabricated silicon photonics chip-a tangible reminder of what they'd accomplished. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Taiwan APPG meeting |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Andy Sellars invited to give evidence at British-Taiwanese APPG meeting |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Whitehall and Industry Group |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Attended briefing from MoD Permanent Secretary David Williams, an update on the Strategic Defence Review, the Defence Industrial Strategy and Defence Reform initiatives. Asked questions on accelerating technology adoption and public engagement. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |