Toptica Supports PIX4life Project to Miniaturize Lasers for Life Sciences

In February 2016 the European commission approved funding for the new project PIX4life as part of the EU’s “Photonics21” program.

TOPTICA is proud to support this unique program which pledges € 8.5 million to a consortium of several partners from academia and industry. PIX4life is a pilot line that focuses on the development of a compact and fully-integrated photonics device to replace the bulky and expensive optical systems that are currently dominant in the life sciences sector.

TOPTICA will provide the required semiconductor laser sources at 405, 488, 561 and 640 nm and integrate the optical subcomponents into prototypes for microscopy and cytometry Based on newly developed production technology for CMOScompatible silicon nitride (SiN) photonic integrated circuits (PIC), the new device will enable state-of-the-art biophotonics techniques like optical coherence tomography (OCT) or multi-laser engines on-a-chip for microscopy and cytometry.

The aim of the newly funded initiative is to develop an end-to-end supply chain, reaching from design to packaged and characterized chip components including semiconductor laser sources. This combination of technologies will enable compact and low-cost biophotonics-based solutions which be used in a clinical environment.