Consortium for Integrated Photonic Systems Manufacturing (CIPSM)

The Consortium for Integrated Photonic Systems Manufacturing (CIPSM), a partnership between the International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative Inc. (iNEMI) and the MIT Microphotonics Center, has received funding from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop a roadmap for a common research and manufacturing infrastructure.

The $539,990, 19-month grant for CIPSM is one of 19 awards totaling $9 million under the NIST’s new Advanced Manufacturing Technology Consortia (AMTech) Program to develop technology roadmaps aimed at strengthening U.S. manufacturing. Funding begins June 1, 2014.

Elsa A. Olivetti, the Thomas Lord Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT, and Randolph Kirchain, a principal research scientist in the Engineering Systems Division, will conduct process-based, cost modeling analyses of the economics of integrated photonics manufacturing. CIPSM will look at costs of both packaging and chip manufacturing, as well as scaling up to high-volume manufacturing and standardization. The work will involve five to 10 faculty at MIT associated with the Microphotonics Center, as well as about 30 of its Industry Consortium companies.

Photonic links transmit data using light waves (photons) instead of the electrons used to move data in standard electronic circuits. The partners will develop a roadmap to guide manufacturing research and address systems requirements for networks that fully exploit the power of photonics, according to the project brief. Follow-on steps will focus on building a shared manufacturing platform for cost-effective, high-volume manufacturing and to fostering growth of a stable technology supply chain in the United States.