LYNRED, a top-tier player in the European photonics industry

Photonics21 is an international non-profit association featuring over 4,000 members from industry, research and academia with the aim of establishing Europe as a leader in photonics technologies. Photonics21 is actively involved in various sectors, including ICT, lighting, industrial manufacturing, life sciences, safety, education and training. Its main objectives are focused on strengthening the photonics ecosystem, promoting the associated technologies, driving economic growth and creating jobs. The association also plays an important part in coordinating photonics research and innovation priorities while providing input to the Horizon Europe program.

LYNRED performs a key role within PHOTONICS21 as an expert in thermal imaging technologies and a member of the Board of Stakeholders.

This is illustrated by its responsibility in coordinating the drafting process for one of the association's recently published white papers. Some 16 industrial entities and research centers across 8 European countries were involved in authoring the paper, which highlights the technologies and products, especially the microbolometer imagers, that will need a transition to 300 mm wafers in the years ahead.  It also provides an insight into the issues that these products raise in terms of sales and jobs for Europe.

The paper anticipates that industry will need to migrate to 300 mm wafers over the next 10 or so years as new applications emerge and gain traction in the automotive sector, such as AEB (Automatic Emergency Braking). These applications will require capacities, costs and performance levels for microbolometer sensors that we will struggle to satisfy with the CMOS technologies and integrations that are currently available on 200 mm wafers.

Through Patrick Abraham, the company's Public and Private Partnership Manager, LYNRED took the initiative of spearheading this effort to identify the needs of the European photonics industry for developments on 300 mm wafers with the aim of drawing the attention of the European Commission and the French public authorities to the subject and the need to take action and deliver support. The aim is also to alert the European Commission to the sovereignty issues involved.

You can read the white paper in full below.