SciTransfer
APPLAUSE · Project

Cheaper, Smaller Packaging for Sensors and Optical Components Made in Europe

manufacturingPilotedTRL 7
applause-ecsel.eu

Think of how your phone's tiny light sensor or a car's night-vision camera need their delicate electronic and optical parts wrapped up in ultra-precise, miniaturized packages — like putting a ship in a bottle, but at microscopic scale. Right now, most of that packaging work happens in Asia because European methods are too expensive for mass production. APPLAUSE brought together 33 European companies and labs to develop new tools and assembly processes that make it affordable to package sensors, optical chips, and medical implants at high volume right here in Europe. They proved it works across 5 real products — from wearable heart monitors to automotive thermal sensors.

By the numbers
33
consortium partners across Europe
11
countries represented in the consortium
5
industrial use cases demonstrated
25
industry partners in the consortium
12
SMEs participating
76%
industry participation ratio
The business problem

What needed solving

European manufacturers of sensors, optical components, and medical devices are losing competitiveness because advanced packaging — the critical step of enclosing tiny electronic and optical parts in functional housings — is dominated by Asian suppliers. This creates supply chain risk, higher logistics costs, and slower time-to-market for products that need custom packaging solutions. Companies need affordable, high-volume packaging capabilities based in Europe to protect their margins and manufacturing independence.

The solution

What was built

The project developed and demonstrated new tools, methods, and processes for high-volume manufacturing of advanced electronic and optical component packages. Concrete outputs include 5 demonstration reports covering: a miniaturized 3D ambient light sensor, a low-cost uncooled thermal IR sensor, high-speed datacom transceivers, a flexible cardiac monitoring patch, and miniaturized cardiac implants.

Audience

Who needs this

Automotive Tier-1 suppliers building thermal imaging or ADAS sensor modulesMedical device companies developing wearable monitors or cardiac implantsOptical transceiver manufacturers serving data centersConsumer electronics companies needing miniaturized light sensors for wearablesSemiconductor packaging houses looking to expand into photonics and optics
Business applications

Who can put this to work

Automotive sensors
mid-size
Target: Automotive Tier-1 or Tier-2 supplier producing thermal imaging or ADAS components

If you are an automotive sensor supplier struggling with the cost of uncooled thermal infrared sensors for night vision or surveillance — this project developed low-cost packaging processes for high-performance thermal IR sensors. The results were validated in a dedicated use case (UC2) with a full demonstration report. This could cut your per-unit packaging cost and reduce dependence on Asian assembly lines.

Medical devices
enterprise
Target: Medical device company building wearable cardiac monitors or implantable devices

If you are a medical device maker looking to miniaturize cardiac monitoring patches or implantable heart monitors — this project developed advanced packaging methods for flexible cardiac monitoring patches and miniaturized cardiac implants with enhanced monitoring capabilities. Two use cases (UC4 and UC5) were dedicated to healthcare applications with GE Healthcare and Cardiaccs as end users.

Datacom and telecom hardware
mid-size
Target: Optical transceiver manufacturer or data center equipment supplier

If you are a datacom transceiver manufacturer facing pressure to cut production costs while maintaining high-speed performance — this project developed packaging techniques specifically for high-speed optical transceivers with reduced manufacturing costs. Use case UC3 was demonstrated with DustPhotonics, targeting volume production of optical interconnects for data centers.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to adopt these packaging technologies?

The project did not publish specific licensing fees or per-unit cost figures. However, the explicit goal was to reduce manufacturing costs for high-volume production in Europe, and the consortium included 25 industry partners already operating in the packaging value chain. Contact the coordinator for pricing discussions.

Can these processes run at industrial production volumes?

Yes — the entire project was designed around high-volume mass manufacturing. All 5 use cases produced demonstration reports proving the technologies work at production-relevant scale. The consortium included companies at multiple value chain levels from design through manufacturing and testing.

Who owns the intellectual property and can I license it?

This was an ECSEL Innovation Action with 33 partners across 11 countries. IP ownership is typically shared among consortium members according to their contributions. Licensing arrangements would need to be negotiated with the specific partners who developed the technology relevant to your application.

Which specific products were actually demonstrated?

Five use cases were demonstrated with full reports: a 3D integrated ambient light sensor for mobile and wearables (AMS), an uncooled thermal IR sensor for automotive and surveillance (IDEAS), high-speed datacom transceivers (DustPhotonics), a flexible cardiac monitoring patch (GE Healthcare), and miniaturized cardiac implants (Cardiaccs).

Is this technology ready to deploy in my production line?

The project ran as an Innovation Action (IA), which typically targets TRL 6-8. With 5 completed demonstration reports and 76% industry participation, the technologies have been validated in relevant environments. Some integration work may still be needed to adapt them to your specific production setup.

Does this help with EU regulations or reshoring mandates?

APPLAUSE directly addresses European manufacturing sovereignty in semiconductor packaging. The project was specifically designed to retain — or bring back — the packaging value chain to Europe. This aligns with the EU Chips Act and current reshoring priorities.

What ongoing support is available after the project ended?

The project closed in October 2022. The 33 consortium partners remain active in European electronics packaging. Based on available project data, the coordinator ICOS Vision Systems and the industrial partners can be contacted through the project website for follow-up collaboration.

Consortium

Who built it

This is a heavyweight industrial consortium with 33 partners from 11 countries, and 76% of them are industry players — not universities. That is a strong signal of commercial intent. The 25 industry partners span the full value chain from component design to manufacturing and testing, including end users like GE Healthcare (medical devices), AMS (sensors), and DustPhotonics (optical transceivers). With 12 SMEs in the mix, the consortium blends large-company scale with agile specialist capabilities. The coordinator, ICOS Vision Systems from Belgium, specializes in vision and inspection systems for semiconductor manufacturing. For a business looking to adopt these technologies, this consortium structure means there are multiple potential technology providers and integration partners already proven to work together.

How to reach the team

ICOS Vision Systems NV (Belgium) — semiconductor inspection and packaging specialist. Reachable through the CORDIS contact form or project website.

Order a report on this consortiumSee ICOS VISION SYSTEMS NV profile →
Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

SciTransfer can identify which APPLAUSE partner holds the specific technology relevant to your production needs and arrange an introduction. Contact us for a tailored one-page brief.

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