South Devon College hosts international photonics conference

A prestigious international conference and exhibition on photonics and opto-electronics packaging was held at South Devon College recently.

The event was in partnership with IMAPS-UK and the Torbay Hi-Tech Cluster, with visiting international delegates.

The conference focused on the design of systems and development of components within the ever-increasing world of photonics and was held in the College’s cutting-edge Hi-Tech and Digital Centre. 

UK photonics is a £17 billion industry but there is a skills shortage across the electrical and electronic engineering sector. Over 80% of UK companies involved with chip design have unfilled vacancies. Global competition for talent is fierce and other countries, like the USA, are investing heavily.

South Devon College and University Centre South Devon is addressing this skills gap. In collaboration with photonics specialists Bay Photonics and Davies & Bell it is half way through innovative Photonic Integrated Circuit Packaging Academy (PICPAC) project delivering online short courses to upskill employees within the sector.

“Hosting this latest conference is a chance to shine a light on the state-of-the-art facilities available in the Hi-Tech Centre and showcase what the College has to offer on an international platform for training, education and skills development,” said Martyn Davies, Skills Development Coordinator at South Devon College.

“The conference was also an opportunity to discuss how we can collaborate and build relationships with other UK technology clusters and academic partners.”

The growth in demand for photonics and opto-electronic components is driven by the expansion in areas such as data centre traffic, wireless technologies, sensors, quantum applications and autonomous vehicles – all sectors that rely on photonics and semi-conductor constituents. This expansion poses challenges in opto-electronic packaging techniques due to increasing transmission rates and reducing manufacturing costs. 

The conference and exhibition showcased presentations from national and international speakers – Session One focused on Applications, and lectures included ‘Quantum Gas Lidar for Industrial Methane Monitoring in Extreme Weather’ by Murray Reed CEO from QLM Technology, and ‘Photonic Integration for Quantum Key Distribution’ by Louise Wells of Toshiba. Tom Carnay from Cornerstone delivered the Keynote speech. 

Session Two zoned in on Photonic Packaging Capabilities, with Andrew Robertson from Bay Photonics presenting ‘Packaging Optimisation for Photonic Enabled Quantum Applications’, and Liam Moroney from Alter Technology Scotland delivering ‘Somervile – A Standardised Approach to Multi-Project PIC Packaging’.  

Session Two concluded with ‘Next Generation Photonic Integration and Packaging Solutions with Photonic Wire Bonding and Facet-Attached Micro-Optical Elements’ from Simon Stöhr of Vanguard Automation, Mycronic’s latest exciting acquisition. 

Materials and Equipment was the focus for Session Three, with Jonathan Rhodes from CSA Catapult sharing knowledge on ‘Photonic Heterogeneous Integration’.  

‘Key Properties of Adhesives for Successful Photonic Packaging’ was delivered by Alexander Hartwig of DELO Germany; and Session Three was rounded out by Malte Ennen from FiconTEC Germany who addressed the delegates with ‘Advances in Architectures of Data Centre Racks and Corresponding Manufacturing Strategies’. 

The final session of the day dealt with Skills and Collaboration, with Stewart Edmondson from UK-ESF sharing expertise on ‘Tackling the Skills Shortage in the Electronics Industry’.

 Phil Mitchell, Technology Solutions Specialist at Bay Photonics and Associate Lecturer at South Devon University Centre, concluded the presentations talking about three collaborative Innovate UK projects. ASISST (Addressing Shortages In Semiconductor Skills Training), PIC Bootcamp & PICPAC.

All aimed at upskilling our existing work force and providing new pathways for young students wanting to find an exciting career in the world of Photonics.

Guests, speakers, peers and stakeholders all had the opportunity to network and share best practice during the day, whilst viewing the latest academic research and development at a Poster Gallery.  Guests also attended a dinner and networking session, together with a follow-on event at EPIC in Paignton.

The event was sponsored by QLM Technology, which has developed a new low-cost semiconductor lidar technology that can detect, image, locate and quantify methane and other greenhouse gas leaks, which will work towards reducing emissions and limit climate change. 

South Devon University Centre is offering a suite of online photonics and microelectronics short courses.