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EU photonics R & D funding on the rise, says study

Aug. 13, 2012

Berlin, Germany--In the 2007-2011 period, just under 10% of European Union (EU) R & D funding for photonics went to the Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute (HHI), according to newly published statistics.

LFW Staff

Photonics is one of five key technologies in the EU, according to the study, as it plays an important role in telecommunications, retail trade, medicine, education, and security. Every dollar spent on photonics has leveraged another $70, as well as 100 more jobs.

In the 2001-2011 period, $66.7 million of EU funding was dedicated to photonics research—$5.6 million of which went to HHI.

Projects like Mid InfraRed Technologies for Health and the Environment (MIRTHE; Princeton, NJ) and Photonic Advanced Research and Development for Integrated Generic Manufacturing (PARADIGM; Eindhoven, The Netherlands), which develop technologies for transmission rates of up to 1 Tbit/s, have been accepted for funding, despite competition from other European consortiums.

Photonics will continue to play a vital role in the building of a worldwide infrastructure, and HHI will continue to expand its R & D infrastructure to meet this challenge.

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LFW Staff

Published since 1965, Laser Focus World—a brand and magazine for engineers, researchers, scientists, and technical professionals—provides comprehensive global coverage of optoelectronic technologies, applications, and markets. With 80,000+ qualified print subscribers in print and over a half-million annual visitors to our online content, we are the go-to source to access decision makers and stay in-the-know.