About Us

M-ENGINE proposes a unique solution to the rapidly increasing bandwidth demands of data centres. With the massive growth of AI and social media in an increasingly connected world, data centres are expected to account for 20% of Europe’s energy use by 2030, posing a significant challenge to meet the EU’s climate goals.

M-ENGINE offers a scalable solution based on the Nobel prize-winning technology of optical frequency combs to provide highly coherent multichannel lasers for high-capacity, low energy consumption data transmission. M-ENGINE’s solution can replace 100s of individual lasers used in connecting data centres with just one compact system.

M-ENGINE combines Enlightra’s photonic chip technology with XCeleprint’s cutting-edge solution of micro-transfer printing for scalable heterogeneous integration. Eblana Photonics’ high-power distributed feedback lasers will be transformed for transfer printing on the wafer scale, while Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY) and Laboratoire Interdisciplinary Carnot de Bourgogne (ICB) will contribute recent breakthroughs in chip-integrated frequency combs enabling increased efficiency and stability. Dublin City University (DCU) will perform independent performance testing for telecom before test devices are sent out to customers for pilot projects.

M-ENGINE will result in a scalable photonic chip engine meeting future data need with reliability, long-term operation, and a clear business case. M-ENGINE’s primary market focus will be data centres, but it will have the flexibility to address related markets, such as photonic computing.

3D image of a photonic integrated circuit of laser comb engine for use in high-capacity data centre communications” Credit – Gustavo Henrique
Ireland
Switzerland
Ireland
Ireland
Germany
France
Prof Liam Barry

Prof Liam Barry

DCU Team Leader

Liam Barry received his BE (Electronic Engineering) and MEngSc (Optical Communications) degrees from University College Dublin in 1991 and 1993 respectively. From February 1993 until January 1996, he was employed as a Research Engineer in the Optical Systems Department of France Telecom’s Research Laboratories (now known as Orange Labs) in Lannion, France. During this period his research involved the use of ultra short optical pulses in high-capacity optical networks, and as a result of this work he obtained his PhD Degree from the University of Rennes in France.

In February 1996 he joined the Applied Optics Centre in Auckland University, New Zealand, as a Research Fellow and in 1998 he took up a lecturing position in the School of Electronic Engineering at Dublin City University and established the Radio and Optical Communications Laboratory. From April 2006 until February 2010, he served as Director of The Rince Institute, an interdisciplinary research centre with over 100 researchers. He is currently a Professor in the School of Electronic Engineering, a Principal Investigator for Science Foundation Ireland, and Director of the Radio and Optical Communications Laboratory. His main research interests are all-optical signal processing, optical pulse generation and characterization, hybrid radio/fibre communication systems, wavelength tuneable lasers for reconfigurable optical networks, and optical performance monitoring. He has published over 600 articles in international peer reviewed journals and conferences and holds 10 patents in the area of opto-electronics. He has been a TPC member for the European Conference on Optical Communications (ECOC) intermittently from 2004 and served as ECOC Co-Chair for ECOC2019 in Dublin. He has also been a TPC member for the Optical Fibre Communication Conference (OFC) serving as Chair of the Optoelectronic Devices sub-committee for OFC 2010.

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Dublin City University

The Radio and Optical Communications Laboratory in DCU has been undertaking detailed investigation and characterization of various optical devices for over 20 years. The laboratory specializes in device and system characterisation of novel semiconductor lasers for direct detection and coherent transmission systems. The laboratory has experience in using standard linewidth measurement techniques and also develops novel phase noise measurement techniques to determine the frequency noise profile of semiconductor lasers. The laboratory consists of 200 m2 of laboratory space and >15 lab members (Postdocs, PhDs, senior researchers) with diverse expertise.

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Dr Richard Phelan

Dr Richard Phelan

WP2 Leader Laser Development

Dr. Richard Phelan is director of research and development and laser design at Eblana Photonics and has more than 25 years’ experience in the design and fabrication of single mode DFB laser diodes emitting light from wavelengths in the visible, near to the mid-infrared. Current research interests are in the design of single mode laser diodes in the visible wavelength range for optical atomic clock, high speed lasers >
25Gbits for datacoms applications, high power narrow linewidth laser diodes for sensing applications and VCSEL technology.

He has co-authored more than 50 journal and conference papers, book chapters and presented both contributed and invited talks at international conferences.

EDUCATION & CREDENTIALS

Phd., Trinity College Dublin, Ireland 2004

Eblana Photonics
Eblana Photonics

Eblana Photonics was founded in 2001 as a spin-off from Tyndall Institute and Trinity College Dublin. Eblana specialises in the design and manufacture of “Discrete-Mode” DFB-type Laser Diodes from 630nm – 2400nm , for use in optical sensing, metrology and LIDAR and optical communications markets. Eblana’s “Discrete-Mode” lasers are idea for both niche and mass market applications, utilising standardised FP processing and surface lithography in order to manufacture single mode laser diodes – a consistent and highly customisable process. Ultra narrow linewidth devices are produced for use in metrology, LIDAR and atomic clock applications. Custom processes as well as other photonic devices including QCLs, VCSELs, SOAs, SLEDs and lasers arrays are also part of the portfolio.

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Dr Alin Fecioru
X-Celeprint

X-Celeprint delivers the most cost-effective and scalable manufacturing technology for integrating microscale devices such as lasers, sensors, or integrated circuits onto non-native substrates. A wholly owned subsidiary of XTRION NV X-Celeprint works globally with multiple corporations to adapt its micro-transfer printing technology for their specific applications. With over 500 worldwide patents and patent applications, X-Celeprint has a broad and deep patent portfolio covering the fundamental technology of micro-transfer printing as well as applications of the technology. X-Celeprint owns and maintains Micro-Transfer-Printing equipment that resides within Tyndall’s compound semiconductor cleanroom. These print tools are capable of printing to a wide range of substrate sizes and formats, from small pieces up to and including 200mm diameter wafers and have built-in metrology capabilities for yield and placement accuracy measurements.

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Prof Tobias Herr
DESY

DESY is one of the world’s leading centres in accelerator and photon science. About 2700 employees work at DESY, including more than 1100 scientists and about 500 young scientists. The Ultrafast Nonlinear Microphotonics Group has access to state-of-the-art laboratory infrastructure including advanced test setups for integrated photonics, continuous-wave, and pulses laser sources as well as optical and microwave test and measurement equipment. Moreover, the group has access to DESY’s HPC cluster for photonic design. The group is a pioneer in the photonic crystal resonator designs to be implemented.

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Dr Erwan Lucas

Dr Erwan Lucas

CNRS, ICB Team Leader

I graduated from École Polytechnique (Palaiseau, France, X2009) and obtained a master’s degree in physics from École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in 2014. I prepared my PhD thesis in Tobias Kippenberg’s lab at EPFL, focusing on the generation of low-noise optical frequency combs through nonlinear frequency conversion and Kerr soliton formation in micro-resonators, and defended it in 2019.

I then joined the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Boulder, Colorado as a postdoctoral researcher, where I developed methods for inverse design and optimization of frequency combs on micro-resonators.

I joined CNRS as a full-time researcher in 2022 and am now part of the photonics department at ICB. My research focuses on designing innovative photonic architectures in optical fibers or integrated photonics, to explore and control the influence of additional parameters on the shape and dynamics of optical combs. The ultimate goal is to tailor optical combs for targeted applications.

In addition to my research, I am passionate about photography. You can view my portfolio on 500px.

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ICB

The ICB laboratory’s interdisciplinary research forms a continuum from fundamental to applications. Its specialized activities in the fields of optical and electron microscopy, optical fibres, lasers, nanofabrication, quantum nanophotonic, nanomedicine, surface and interface analysis, reactivity, characterization and development of materials (processes, fuel cell, powder metallurgy, additive manufacturing, sintering, cements, sensors and non-destructive control) are supported by 5 technological and efficient platforms which have made the laboratory’s reputation with projects of excellence. Multidisciplinary expertise is made available for research projects and at the service of centres and companies in the Region and beyond (national and international).

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Dr John Jost

Dr John Jost

Co-CEO of Enlightra

Dr. John D. Jost is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Enlightra, a deep-tech startup pioneering scalable optical comb laser technology for AI interconnects. Since 2022, he has led the company’s efforts in high-speed optical networking, enabling the next generation of AI, HPC, and datacom systems.

With over 25 years of research experience, Dr. Jost spent 9 years at NIST working with Dr. Dave Wineland (Nobel Prize 2012). His Ph.D. at the University of Colorado Boulder led to the first demonstration of entangled mechanical oscillators, a breakthrough in quantum physics. His research also helped develop a complete methods set for quantum computing, now used in commercial quantum computers.

Previously, he worked on optical frequency combs with Prof. Jun Ye and Dr. John Hall (Nobel Prize 2005) at JILA. He later received a Marie Curie Fellowship to continue his work at EPFL.

For the past 12 years, Dr. Jost has advanced optical microresonator technology, leading to the first self-referenced microresonator optical frequency comb and a new all-optical stabilization technique. He has 40+ publications, 14,500+ citations, and an h-index of 38 (Google Scholar).

Enlightra

Enlightra is a startup company led by Dr. John D. Jost and Dr. Maxim Karpov and based in Switzerland. The mission of the company is to use the exceptional properties of optical microresonator to enable advanced laser applications. There is no European company that has these skills and expertise. Enlightra sold the world’s first commercially available microresonator comb source for test and measurement applications. Enlightra is an expert in the following areas which are directly related to the main tasks: Design of microresonator-based photonic systems, and optical packaging of photonic integrated devices. Enlightra currently employs 12 full-time staff with a combined >50 years of experience in chip-scale frequency combs.

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