VI Systems GmbH of Berlin, Germany (a fabless spin-off of the Technical University of Berlin and the A. F. Ioffe Physico-Technical Institute in St Petersburg, Russia) has been selected by the European Commission to receive €1.97m in funding under the SME Instrument scheme of European Horizon 2020 (the EU's framework program for Research and Innovation for 2014-2020), which has been designed to turn small- and medium-size enterprises with highly innovative business ideas and international ambitions into commercial successes.
Specifically, the Horizon 2020 SME Instrument scheme aims to accelerate the uptake of nanotechnologies, advanced materials or advanced manufacturing and processing technologies by SMEs.
VI Systems has developed technology that uses ultra-high-speed vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) in combination with integrated circuits for the next generation of interconnects in data-centers, supercomputers and consumer products such as next-generation displays and mobile devices.
The VCSEL and photo-detector technology is suited to energy-efficient interconnects at distances up to a few hundred meters. VCSELs developed by the firm with bit data rates well beyond 40Gb/s enable error-free data transmission over 100m of standard multi-mode fiber. Future markets such as Ethernet transceivers operating at 400Gb/s and customized products such as active optical cables (AOCs) and mid-board assemblies are targeted.
VI Systems says that it has received the SME Instrument phase 2 funding to further develop its innovation and pre-production activities, such as demonstration, testing, piloting, scaling up and miniaturization of its VCSEL-based optical interconnect technology.
