Led by CEA-LETI (the Electronics and Information Technology Laboratory of the French Atomic Energy Commission), the HELIOS project officially kicked-off in May 2008.

Compound semiconductor expertise is provided by the Alcatel-Thales III-V laboratory, fellow French outfit 3S Photonics (formerly Alcatel Optronics), and the Belgian microelectronics research firm IMEC.

Partners bringing silicon photonics knowledge include the UK's University of Surrey, the University of Trento in Italy, and DAS Photonics, a Spanish company that spun out of the Nanophotonics Technology Center in Valencia.

Running over four years, the primary aim of the project is to "make CMOS photonics accessible to a broad circle of users in a foundry-like, fabless way".

What's interesting about HELIOS is that it identifies compound semiconductor materials like indium phosphide as crucial to a technology area that is perceived to centre around silicon — hence the term "silicon photonics". For example, one key goal of the project is to develop high-performance WDM sources via heterogeneous integration of compound and silicon semiconductors.

And, while silicon lasers are listed as one of the more challenging concepts under investigation, III-Vs will clearly have a role to play in the development of a complete production chain for complex functional devices.

"Integration of electronics and photonics in a single chip will be addressed not only at the process level, but also through the development of an adequate design environment," said CEA-LETI in its release, citing 10x10 Gbit/s transceivers and 40 Gbit/s modulators as two of the 'industrial' components to be developed through public funding.

Once they are established under the EU's 7th Framework Programme (FP7), these design and fabrication chains will transfer to European manufacturers, says the official project description.

Meanwhile, IMEC and CEA-LETI are stepping up their existing "silicon photonics" prototyping service, which has been operational since 2006.

Also known as PhotonFAB, the multi-project wafer manufacturing service is again being supported through FP7. IMEC and CEA-LETI have now agreed to extend the service to include a more extensive technology portfolio, new design libraries and client training.