PICs for Quantum and AI

Author: Valerio Pruneri, Optoelectronics Group Leader at ICFO and Director of PIX Europe Pilot Line Collection: 2026-OCP-EMEA-Summit-Photonics

Summary

Valerio Pruneri, working from ICFO (Institut de Ciències Fotòniques) approximately 15 miles from the OCP EMEA Summit venue in Barcelona, presents PIX Europe — a European pilot line for photonic integrated circuits (PICs) funded under the Chips Joint Undertaking — and illustrates its scope through three technology clusters: quantum random number generation, quantum key distribution, and a novel phase-imaging technique for PIC metrology and failure analysis.

PIX Europe's mandate is to take PIC technologies from TRL 3 to TRL 6 (Research and Technology Organization level to pre-production readiness) and then transfer them to manufacturers for large-volume production. It is explicitly not a production facility. The pilot line is distributed across Europe, operating through a gateway (eC4) that routes end users to specialized sites by technology, material platform, and application. The material platform scope is exceptionally broad: monolithic platforms (Si, SiN, InP, SiC, SiGe, AlO) and hybrid platforms integrating active materials (LiNbO3, quantum dots, glass, graphene, 2D phase change materials) onto monolithic bases. The wavelength range spans from UV (0.3 µm for AR/VR, bio-diagnostics) through visible and near-IR (telecom, AI datacenter at 1.5 µm) to mid-IR (5+ µm for spectroscopy and environmental sensing).

The primary application examples center on Q-site — a group commercializing PIC-based quantum random number generators (QRNGs) — and LuxQuanta — a spin-off commercializing QKD (Quantum Key Distribution) systems using continuous-variable (CV) protocols and PICs fabricated at Q-site. The Ruby N1 chip (Q-site) uses an InP pulsed laser and interferometer to generate quantum-certified random numbers by measuring random phase differences from spontaneous-to-stimulated emission transitions. LuxQuanta's Nova IQ system evolved from first generation (Feb. 2023: 40 km reach, 8 dB tolerable loss) to second generation (Feb. 2025: 100 km reach, 20 dB tolerable loss), representing a rapid two-year product cycle. A third technology shown is the Shinephi phase imager (ICFO spin-off), which performs 3D interferometric imaging of PIC surfaces and waveguide structures 60-120× faster than atomic force microscopy.