<imec x New Origin>
- Netherlands-based New Origin (University of Twente spinoff, pure-play SiN foundry) Belgium's imec — collaboration announced March 13, 2026
- Technology transfer of imec's proven LPCVD SiN PIC platform to New Origin for volume-scale manufacturing on 200mm wafers in an industrial environment
- 50,000 wafers/year — a structurally significant addition to the European photonics supply chain
- Persistent gap between lab-validated ultra-low-loss LPCVD SiN and industrial volume production
- Propagation loss <0.1 dB/cm (down to 2 dB/m), broadband coverage from visible to SWIR, CMOS compatible, watt-range power handling, integration capability for active components (InP lasers/SOAs, high-speed modulators, Ge detectors)
- Beyond telecom/datacom into the "second wave" of SiN photonics — biosensing, AR/VR, LiDAR, autonomous vehicles, and quantum computing/QKD
imec, a world-leading semiconductor R&D organization, has established a strategic collaboration with New Origin, a pure-play Photonic ChipTech Foundry. As the core solution, imec is transferring its proven LPCVD (Low-Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition) silicon nitride PIC platform to New Origin. The collaboration will leverage New Origin's flexible facilities—which also support non-CMOS-compatible processes and materials—to scale manufacturing on 200mm wafers using state-of-the-art photolithography. The targeted achievement is to ramp up manufacturing capacity to 50,000 wafers per year, thereby significantly shortening the time-to-volume production for customers and consolidating the robust European photonics supply chain.