Nanophotonics roadmap in Europe

A European Commission task force has proposed a 5- to 15-year timeline for basic nanophotonics research to develop such technologies as quantum computers. The roadmap was compiled with the help of some 300 nanophotonics researchers from nearly three dozen academic, government, and industry organizations.

The nanophotonics roadmap was created as a resource for the participating organizations and as an advisory body for European policy makers. Roadmap chair Gonçal Badenes, a researcher at the Institute of Photonic Sciences in Barcelona, Spain, says the roadmap’s purpose “is to focus and leverage mid- to long-term R&D efforts” by identifying “the difficult issues and possible roadblocks ahead.”

Nanophotonics technology concepts were illustrated in a diagram (see page 4 at http://tinyurl.com/roadmap-nanophotonics ) that weighed the maturity of a scientific concept against the maturity of the technology needed to develop it. For example, nanoimprint lithography fell within the 5-year projection, while nonlinear nano-optics fell in the 10- to 15-year range. Badenes says a nonprofit association is being set up to routinely update the roadmap.