News, SPPIN seminars

Published 4 November 2025

7 November, 2025 – Pol VAN DORPE & Finub JAMES SHIRLEY – How photonics enables higher integration density and cost efficiency for biomedical applications

Dr. Pol VAN DORPE & Dr. Finub JAMES SHIRLEY, IMEC, Kapeldreef 75, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium

SPPIN’s webinar 2025, 7 November, 2025 at 10h, SPPIN common room, 3rd floor, E368

How photonics enables higher integration density and cost efficiency for biomedical applications

The integration of optics into biomedical applications has revolutionized various fields such as molecular diagnostics, DNA sequencing, and cellular analysis. Imec, a leading research and innovation hub in nanoelectronics and digital technologies, has been at the forefront of developing chip-level integration of optical functionalities – integrated photonics – to enable higher integration density, allowing for more data per area, per time and thus true innovative biomedical solutions. Also, it allows for cost reduction because of wafer-level production, reduced manual assembly and reduced alignment of discrete optical components.

Imec’s integrated photonics platform encompasses a library of components and even includes integrated III-V light sources. The material platform includes both silicon and silicon nitride (SiN) photonics, broadening the scope of potential biomedical applications. The capabilities of its integrated photonics platform are illustrated by various pioneering projects spanning cytometry, biosensing, optogenetics, retinal imaging via optical coherence tomography, and photo-acoustic imaging. The multidisciplinary approach in these projects underscores the versatility and potential impact of on-chip integrated photonics in advancing biomedical sensing and imaging. Recently, the (heterogeneous) integration of active components has been making the platform even more powerful

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