By Department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience
META-PIX is a competence center aiming to establish an internationally leading environment for research and education in 'integrated meta-photonics', with applications ranging from optical connections in data centers to quantum simulations. In the past few years, two techniques have emerged that hold the potential to fundamentally transform the field of integrated photonics in a way that has no precedent since the field was conceived in the late 1960s: inverse design and heterogeneous integration. These techniques were originally conceived in the realm of mathematics and nanotechnology, and their merger promises the development of a new class of photonic devices and systems with a performance that surpasses limits that today are considered fundamental. We refer to this radically new direction as integrated metaphotonics. As a competence center, META-PIX will provide a platform for local and international collaborative research and specialized training to bridge competences between inverse design and heterogeneous integration - and establish what we believe will be the new paradigm in integrated photonics.
