LIGENTEC SA

Their core work

LIGENTEC is a Swiss photonic integrated circuit (PIC) foundry specializing in low-loss silicon nitride (SiN) waveguide technology. They manufacture photonic chips used in applications ranging from laser metrology and coherent communications to LiDAR and space systems. As a commercial foundry, they provide fabrication services to research groups and companies who need high-performance photonic components, while also driving their own R&D in areas like on-chip laser integration and frequency comb generation.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

LIGENTEC's early H2020 work (2018–2020) centered on fundamental photonic components — frequency combs, microresonators, optical solitons, and high-speed analogue-to-digital conversion. Their later projects (2020–2023) show a clear shift toward commercialization and application-specific integration: scaling PIC manufacturing (SPECTRA), integrating lasers and photodiodes directly onto chips (FEMTOCHIP, POTION), and targeting market verticals like LiDAR, coherent comms, and space. This evolution tracks a company moving from proving its core SiN technology in research settings to positioning itself as a production-ready foundry for multiple end markets.

LIGENTEC is transitioning from a research-stage photonics company to a commercial foundry targeting LiDAR, quantum, space, and telecom markets — expect them to seek application-driven partnerships over fundamental research.

How they like to work

LIGENTEC primarily joins consortia as a specialist participant (5 of 8 projects), providing their SiN fabrication platform to partners, but they have also coordinated two projects (SPECTRA, POTION) focused on their own technology scaling. With 108 unique partners across 18 countries, they operate as a well-connected technology supplier rather than a closed-loop collaborator. Their role in consortia is typically as the foundry partner — they fabricate the photonic chips that other partners design and integrate into systems.

LIGENTEC has built a broad European network of 108 unique partners across 18 countries, reflecting their role as a foundry that serves diverse research groups and companies. Their partnerships span universities, research institutes, and industrial players across the photonics and telecom ecosystem.

What sets them apart

LIGENTEC occupies a rare position as one of very few commercial foundries offering low-loss LPCVD silicon nitride photonic fabrication — a technology critical for frequency combs, quantum photonics, and LiDAR but difficult to manufacture at scale. Their SME status combined with foundry capabilities makes them an ideal partner for consortia that need custom photonic chip fabrication without the overhead of a large semiconductor company. Their dual ability to both provide fabrication services and drive in-house R&D (integrated lasers, photodiodes on SiN) means they can contribute both manufacturing capacity and technical innovation to a project.

Highlights from their portfolio

• SPECTRA
  Their largest project (EUR 2.5M) and coordinated by LIGENTEC — directly aimed at scaling their SiN PIC platform for commercial markets including LiDAR, space, and quantum.
• FEMTOCHIP
  Ambitious goal of putting a femtosecond laser entirely on a chip using rare-earth gain on silicon nitride — represents the frontier of on-chip laser integration.
• MICROCOMB
  Partnered with leading microresonator researchers on frequency comb fundamentals — connects LIGENTEC to the scientific foundations underpinning many of their applied projects.