Meeting Taking Place in Conjunction with
Light and Sound Interactive Conference in Rochester, NY

ROCHESTER, NY – The American Institute for Manufacturing Integrated Photonics (AIM Photonics), sponsored by the Department of Defense and spearheaded by SUNY Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly) announces its summer 2019 Members Meeting, which is scheduled to take place Tuesday, June 25, alongside the Light and Sound Interactive Conference in Rochester, New York.

The engagement will provide opportunities for the initiative’s list of more than 100 signed members from industry, academia, and government to obtain the latest updates from AIM Photonics’ leaders via a number of presentations, as well as networking opportunities, allowing members the chance to discuss product and services needs with AIM executives and other partners to help drive future programs. Concurrently, AIM Photonics members and LSI attendees will also be able to tour the initiative’s leading-edge Test, Assembly, and Packaging (TAP) facility and learn more by visiting the initiative’s exhibition booth.

“We are excited to announce AIM Photonics’ summer 2019 Members Meeting, which will focus on enabling collaborative opportunities for members of this critical national initiative as we drive the technological capabilities within the photonic integrated circuit space that can further create business opportunities and contribute to the high-tech strength of our nation,” said Dr. Michael Liehr, AIM Photonics CEO and SUNY Poly Executive Vice President for Innovation and Technology. “We look forward to gaining invaluable feedback from our members during this meeting, and we are also thrilled to take part in the Light and Sound Interactive Conference to share the numerous partnership opportunities that are available to industry, academia, and government.”

The AIM Photonics Members Meeting will take place at the Rochester Convention Center and feature an industry keynote by Lockheed Martin Technical Director Rick Stevens, entitled, “AIM photonics involvement and RF Analog KTMA focus,” as well as several networking opportunities. Presentations include the following:

• Michael Liehr – “AIM Photonics Intro and Welcome”;
• Vincent Esposito, Vice President & Regional Director, Empire State Development Finger Lakes Regional Office, and Executive Director, Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council – “New York State Photonics Intro and Welcome”;
• Tracy Frost, Director, Department of Defense (DoD) Manufacturing Technology (Man Tech) – “DoD Intro and Welcome”;
• Farooq Mitha, Sr. Advisor, DoD Office – “DoD SBIR/STTR Tutorial/Presentation”;
• Ben Miller, Professor, University of Rochester Medical Center, and AIM Photonics Academic Lead, Integrated Photonics Sensors KTMA – “Lessons from writing and reviewing SBIR proposals”;
• Todd Stievater, Research Physicist, US Naval Research Lab, Photonics Technology Branch – “Chemical and Biological Sensors on the AIM Platform”;
• David Harame, AIM Photonics COO and VP for Integrated Photonics Research and Development – “Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC) and Multi Project Wafer (MPW) services update”;
• Michael Watts, AIM Photonics CTO and Analog Photonics CEO – “Process Design Kit (PDK) update”;
• Kevin McComber, Spark Photonics CEO – “Design Services update”; and
• Roger Helkey, AIM Photonics Associate Dir., AIM Photonics West Coast Hub and Government and Industry Outreach Executive – “Data Comm: The big emerging market for Silicon Photonics.”

Following the presentations and networking breakout sessions, members will be able to take a tour of the TAP facility, followed by an LSI and AIM Photonics Welcome Reception.

Among the capabilities to be highlighted at the Members Meeting, AIM Photonics leaders and partners will share information related to the initiative’s latest Process Design Kit, or PDK, created by Analog Photonics and SUNY Poly to provide SMEs with a key resource for the development of the baseline technology and design of the products to be manufactured. Combined with Multi-Project Wafer (MPW) runs, AIM Photonics’ updated PDK provides members access to world-class silicon photonics components for the development of optical transceivers or systems used in all levels within data centers and high-performance computers. Notably, while maintaining world-class quality, the MPW processing time has decreased from 130 days in 2016 to fewer than 90 days, even as additional mask levels and functionality are added.

Those interested in learning more about how to participate in any of the AIM Photonics 2019 MPW silicon photonics runs should contact Chandra Cotter at ccotter@aimphotonics.com. Interested parties can also sign up for the 2019 runs by visiting: http://www.aimphotonics.com/mpw-schedule/. PDK and MPW fab access is solely available through the AIM Photonics MPW aggregator, MOSIS. Please contact MOSIS for access to the most current PDK version release at the following link: www.mosis.com/vendors/view/AIM.

AIM Photonics representatives will also be available at AIM Photonics’ Booth #O5, Second Floor, Sibley Square from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 26 and Thursday, June 27, to answer questions from innovators, technologists, subject matter experts, and others who will be attending LSI. In particular, booth visitors will be able to learn more about AIM Photonics and its best-in-class 300mm silicon photonics multi-project wafer (MPW) performance, as well as its updated Process Design Kit (PDK) with first-of-its-kind 100Gbps verified modulation and detection support for both polarizations. In addition, AIM Photonics Executives, Members, and Partners will present at the Optics, Photonics, and Imaging track on Wednesday morning: https://lightandsoundinteractive.org/tracks/optphoima-page/.

The LSI conference will feature six conference tracks that include Virtual and Augmented Reality; Gaming and Interactive Media; Music and Sound; Optics, Photonics, and Imaging; Cinema; and Department of Defense. As part of the Photonics and Department of Defense tracks, conference attendees will also be able to visit the AIM Photonics TAP facility via the shuttle service that will be provided. For more information about the LSI conference, please visit: https://lightandsoundinteractive.org/.

Following the Members Meeting and LSI engagement, AIM Photonics leaders and representatives plan to attend SEMICON West, held annually in San Francisco, CA, in July, in addition to a number of other conferences, exhibits, and events which are scheduled to take place throughout 2019 across the globe. Follow AIM Photonics on social media such as Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date and learn more about the opportunities and how you can best work with the initiative.

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About AIM Photonics

AIM Photonics is one of a number of Manufacturing Innovation Institutes, an industry-driven public-private partnership that focuses the nation’s premier capabilities and expertise to capture critical global manufacturing leadership in a technology that is both essential to national security and positioned to provide a compelling return-on-investment to the U.S. economy. For more information about AIM Photonics, visit http://www.aimphotonics.com/.

For Immediate Release: Monday, June 24, 2019
Contact: Steve Ference (AIM) | sference@sunypoly.edu | (518) 956-7319