Anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and deteriorating air quality are driving climate change and severely impacting human and ecosystem health, respectively. To combat these issues, new and more stringent green regulations are being implemented globally, which existing air monitoring systems are not well equipped to handle. Currently available commercial sensors are expensive, bulky, and frequently require shelter and power from the mains. Field performance also often falls lower than required due to high signal noise and drift. Consequently, there is a need for new air pollution and GHG monitoring systems that offer improved sensitivity, precision, and accuracy while also being inexpensive, compact, and energy efficient. RAVEN will develop the next generation of gas sensing systems, consisting of two miniaturised gas sensors implementing cutting-edge PIC technology, one in the VIS-SWIR range and one in the MIR range. These sensors will work in tandem across a broad wavelength range (600-3000 nm) to measure concentrations of multiple pollutants and GHGs, including CO2, CO, O3, CH4, N2O, CH3OH, NH3, NO2 in 1-25 ppb LOD range. The sensors will leverage cutting-edge science, including developing a high-power compact dual-supercontinuum source on a chip and on-chip data analysis using a quantum-inspired approach for improved LOD and selectivity of gases and to satisfy the performance, power consumption, size, and cost requirements of end users. RAVEN will offer an unparalleled, high-performance multi-sensing solution that can be packaged into a single near-universally applicable miniaturised system. The implementation of RAVEN technology will provide Europe with the necessary resources to ensure compliance with the EU Green Deal and enhance the photonic technology capabilities of the EU.

Skyrocketing capacity demands and emerging 5G and industrial internet URLLC applications currently pose a new strict latency-oriented framework calling urgently for new radical architectural changes at the key aggregation infrastructure being in local proximity to the subscribers: the Central Offices (COs). A careful look into the CO reveals a capacity-latency predicament underlining the need for the employment of innovative technological solutions, with photonics emerging as the key enabling technology, that will establish a new NGCO ecosystem where component-level advancements can yield unparallel architectural benefits. OCTAPUS aims to deliver an agile, low-cost and energy-efficient PIC technology framework that will re-architect the NGCO ecosystem, transparently upgrading its capacity to 51.2Tb/s and beyond, through an innovative optically-switched backplane and transceiver toolkit. To realize its ambitious goals, OCTAPUS will leverage the novel integration of antimony-based Phase Change Materials (PCM) on the low-cost SiN to develop for the first time a non-volatile ns-scale optical switch technology for developing an ultra-high capacity optical backplane. OCTAPUS will also deploy a versatile portfolio of InP-based O-band optical components that will enable the realization of 50G low-power board-to-board and long-reach PON transceivers, securing 4x and 8x energy saving to existing state-of-the-art solutions, while reaching up to 37.5% cost improvement against conventional EML solutions, through its monolithic fabrication approach. Moreover, OCTAPUS will equip its novel PICs with low loss and compact interfaces to fibers, through advanced glass diplexer-embedded-interposers. Finally, OCTAPUS will synergize the developed optical components in a novel NGCO architecture, supporting 3 layers of traffic with deterministic latency guarantees for URLLC services, through the incorporation of reconfigurable express light paths along with TSN functionality.

Quantum technology means the ability to organise and control the components of a functional system governed by the laws of quantum physics. The goal of this project is to train high-level young researchers through the development of innovative techniques to interface light and matter at the quantum level using atoms, nanostructures and photons, with applications in optics and quantum information processing. Well-trained and versatile researchers are needed to satisfy the demands of this rapidly growing field, in which there is also a strong drive and low threshold for industrial involvement. A prerequisite for success is the enhancement of the close connection between experimental, technological and theoretical studies. The proposed network, Light-Matter Interfaces for Quantum Enhanced Technology, LIMQUET, consists of seven academic and three industrial beneficiaries, complemented by one industrial partner. The academic partners are experienced but reasonably young groups with already established collaborations. The industrial partners have experience in developing and manufacturing high-quality components for research and industrial purposes. Within the Network, we anticipate highlights in (i) light-matter interfaces at the quantum level through the realisation of quantum networks using atoms, ions, and photons, (ii) the interfacing of light with light, in particular for light storage, (iii) adapting strategies originally developed in quantum optics to an integration into designed nanostructures, and (iv) the development of robust tools for quantum control and photonics. The training Network will enhance and use the synergy between the partners to produce a high-level doctoral training program in the field of quantum research and technology, including complementary skills and a pertinent impact of outreach activities. In order to enhance their career perspectives, all the ESRs will be jointly supervised and will be hosted on secondment by a company of the project.