The latest news

February 15, 2022: Optical Product Innovation Accelerates – Photonic Wire Bonding

With the growth of photonic integrated circuits comes the need to innovate quickly. And this innovation acceleration is made possible by the creation of Photonic Wire Bonding. Much as electrical integrated circuits have benefitted from electrical wire bonding, photonics innovations will now advance on a faster trajectory. Today, Vanguard Automation, C2MI, and AEPONYX announce plans to further this optical innovation.

Photonic Wire Bonding creates low-loss, 3D free-form connections between optical components. Built on advanced nano-print technology, Photonic Wire Bonding is inherently automatable and provides a high degree of design flexibility. Vanguard Automation, headquartered in Karlsruhe, Germany, has created this technology and offers industry-grade machinery, software, and fabrication process solutions. “We are delighted to not only see our machines used as innovation drivers,” says Thorsten Mayer, CEO of Vanguard Automation, “we are also excited to see them going into photonic production lines.”

The C2MI (MiQro Innovation Collaborative Center) in Quebec is a leading innovation center for microelectronics in Canada with a customer base extending beyond its national borders. Recognizing the potential of Photonic Wire Bonding, C2MI has Photonic Wire Bonding technology on their roadmap for inclusion into their photonics fab/assembly/test production flow. “This would be a significant expansion of our capabilities, offering interesting technological avenues. We are already working in collaboration with customers and partners on Photonic Wire Bonding concepts with great commercialization potential.” says Marie-Josée Turgeon, General Manager of C2MI.

AEPONYX, producer of photonic integrated circuit products, has worked with Vanguard Automation and C2MI to create product development accelerations. AEPONYX has created a Photonic Wire Bonding innovation process – working on their base of Silicon Nitride photonics, they have perfected the concept of hybrid integration. As Philippe Babin, CEO of AEPONYX, stated, “Hybrid integration enables us to test concepts with best of breed optical components, with speed not possible before.” “It has been a thrill working with Vanguard and C2MI on this development,” Philippe said.

There are two upcoming opportunities to learn even more about Photonic Wire Bonding and the three companies‘ innovations. First, Vanguard, C2MI, and AEPONYX will present the concepts in a Lightwave webinar with Steven Hardy on March 1^st, 11am ET. You can visit the Lightwave or AEPONYX websites for registration information. Then, you can visit with Vanguard Automation, C2MI and AEPONYX at the OFC optical conference in San Diego this March.

Contacts @ business partners:

C2MI – www.C2MI.ca, Contact – marie-josee.turgeon@c2mi.ca

AEPONYX, Inc – www.AEPONYX.com, Contact – pbabin@AEPONYX.com

February 14, 2022: Vanguard Automation is packaging partner in the EU Project ELENA and expands its technology portfolio to Lithium Niobate on Insulator (LNOI). These new capabilities will benefit a broad range of applications including quantum technologies, telecom, LiDAR, and sensing.

ELENA is an acronym for the project title “European electro-optic and nonlinear PIC platform based on lithium niobate.” The project consortium aims to reinvent one of the oldest and best-known photonics materials – lithium niobate – in the form of a thin film on silicon substrates to be used as a standard PIC platform and benefit from miniaturization, cost reduction, and scalable manufacturing of PICs.

The ELENA project promises to benefit the entire photonics sector by developing the first European lithium niobate on insulator (LNOI)-based platform for photonic integrated circuits (PICs) and establishing the first open-access foundry service for LNOI technology. LNOI is a novel electro-optic and nonlinear PIC platform. It offers enhanced performance and new functionalities for ultra-high-speed telecom networks, optical signal processing, programmable PICs, sensing and spectroscopy, LIDAR applications, quantum information processing and quantum computing. ELENA is a collaborative Research and Innovation Action funded by the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 programme.

Read more…

November 1, 2021: The Board of Vanguard Automation (VA) announces Thorsten Mayer as new Chief Executive Officer, effective November 1, 2021.

Thorsten Mayer will succeed Alois Hauk, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer since the company’s incorporation in September 2017. “Alois has been instrumental in helping us move our ideas and initial prototypes from the laboratory to the marketplace, establishing a joint-venture with ELAS Technologies Investment*, and leading the company from infancy to delivering the first products to an international customer base,” said Prof. Dr. Christian Koos, Co-Founder and Strategic Technology Advisor of Vanguard Automation.

Thorsten Mayer had joined Vanguard Automation in November 2020 as a Chief Operating Officer, with more than two decades of leadership experience in international high-tech industries. “We are very pleased that we won Thorsten Mayer to lead the next growth phase of Vanguard Automation.” said Alois Hauk, “He brings a wealth of international experience in high-tech sales, strategic marketing and operational management to the table. We have spent the past year working closely together to prepare a smooth transition of the Chief Executive position”. Alois Hauk will end his involvement in the operational management of the company by the end of the year and will continue to serve as an advisor on the Board.

“I am enthusiastic about the technology and its potential to revolutionize photonic packaging and assembly. Equally, I am humbled by the task ahead and the opportunity to lead and serve a group of extremely talented people. Together we have already begun laying the foundation for the next stage in our journey,” said Thorsten Mayer.

*ELAS Technologies Investment is a German-based, globally oriented financial investor, headquartered in Achim, Germany. ELAS provides financial agility and infrastructure support for promising organizations in high-tech industries such as photonics, electronics and clean-tech, to name a few.

October 21, 2021: Lukas Chrostowski, Professor at the University of British Columbia, talks about „Photonic Wire Bonding for Integrated Photonics“ at IEEE Photonics Society 2021. His talk can be watched on Youtube https://youtu.be/hEwyInEfwUw.

Lukas Chrostowski, PEng., Professor at Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of British Columbia (UBC), commissioned the Photonic Wirebonding Tool from Vanguard Automation in August 2020. Since then, Lukas‘ institute acts as a research partner for Vanguard Automation and offers process development and new applications for their customers.