Specific Challenge
Europe’s photonics industry is facing fierce global market competition and has to cope with a very high speed of technological developments in the field. Further major S&T progress and research and innovation investments are required for sustaining Europe’s industrial competitiveness and leadership in photonic market sectors where Europe is strong (communications, lighting, laser-based manufacturing, medical photonics, or safety and security) and to exploit new emerging market opportunities.
Moreover, Europe is experiencing the existence of many fragmented and rather uncoordinated developments between many different national and regional players. Europe suffers also from a slow innovation process for turning many good R&D results achieved into innovative products (‘Valley of Death’). Finally, Europe needs to better exploit the large enabling potential of photonics in many industrial sectors and in solutions addressing major societal challenges such as health and well-being, energy efficiency or safety.
Research & Innovation Action Themes
・ Application driven core photonic technology developments for a new generation of photonic devices (including components, modules and sub-systems): Actions should also address the related materials, manufacturability, validation of results for the target applications, and standardisation activities, as appropriate. They should demonstrate strong industrial commitment, be driven by user needs and concrete business cases supported by strong exploitation strategies, and cover the value/supply chain as appropriate. Focus is on the following topics:
・ Biophotonics for screening of diseases: Mobile, low-cost point-of-care screening devices for reliable, fast and non- or minimally-invasive detection of diseases (such as cardiovascular, cancer, neurodegenerative, skin or lung diseases, etc.). Actions should be driven by medical end-user needs and include a validation in real settings. Clinical trials are excluded.
・ Sensing for safety and civil security: Breakthrough advances in cost-effective, high-performance, multi-band optoelectronic devices (including sources) for near- and mid-infrared sensing applications (spectral range of 0.7 to 50 μm) representing high-volume markets. Device cost in volume production should not exceed 10 times the related cost of devices for the visible domain.
・ Disruptive approaches in sensing: Proof-of-concept for photonic sensing devices offering breakthrough advances in sensitivity or specificity enabled by new technology, new device concepts (e.g. based on quantum optics or quantum technologies, plasmonics, metamaterials, or non conventional wavefront shaping), new materials or non-conventional light-matter interaction from the research lab. Actions should demonstrate the feasibility of industrially relevant devices through a functional prototype.
Please see ICT-26-2014: Photonics KET for full details of the call. Closing date 23 April 2014.