AUTH
The Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), GR is the largest university in Greece, established in 1925. Today the main campus extends over an area of 429 metric acres in the heart of the city and comprises 10 Faculties organized in a total number of 40 Schools that cover the full range of scientific disciplines. More than 70.000 undergraduate and 8.000 postgraduate students are working towards their degrees at AUTH, while more than 2.200 Faculty members are employed as Teaching and Research personnel.
AUTH will participate in OCTAPUS with the research group of:
The Wireless and Photonic Systems and Networks (WinPhoS) research group, established in 2016 at AUTH’s Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation (C.I.R.I.) as a common facility of AUTH’s Departments of Physics, Informatics and Electrical and Computer Engineering. The main research activities of WinPhoS extend along a broad area in the field of photonics and wireless technologies, with the main focus being integrated photonics and plasmonics, optical interconnects converged Fiber-Wireless networks for 5G networks, 5G Fronthauling, οptical RAM architectures and network-on-chip technologies and architectures. It is a fully equipped laboratory with a range of high-speed test and measurement systems for the characterization of passive and active photonic devices at bit rates up to 100 Gbps. WinPhoS has coordinated numerous projects in the areas of integrated photonics, optical interconnects and 5G networks (MOICANA, ICT-STREAMS ICT-PLASMOFAB and 5GPHOS), while it participates in several other (PLACMOS, QAMELEON, L3MATRIX, MASSTART). WinPhoS has also participated in several FP7 research projects (PLATON, RAMPLAS, MIRAGE, COMANDER and PHOXTROT), coordinating the three of them (COMANDER, RAMPLAS and PLATON). More information about WinPhoS can be found in : http://winphos.web.auth.gr/
AUTH will provide the technical and administrative coordination and overall management of the OCTAPUS project, leveraging on its intense and highly successful participation in European and national research projects. AUTH will perform system-level simulation studies, exploit its high- speed test & measurement equipment to carry out initial lab and field trials with OCTAPUS advanced optical components. AUTH will also model the InP diplexer modules, develop the gds files for the mask layouts and develop the FPGA-based SDN agent for the OCS backplane.
Contacts:
Prof. Nikolaos Pleros, email:
Prof. Amalia Miliou, email:
Dr. Chris Vagionas, email:
Dr. Marios Gatzianas, email:
Smart Photonics
SMART Photonics has been founded in 2012 and offers solutions for data and telecommunication, as well as for sensing – such as Lidar – and medical applications. SMART Photonics aims to improve people’s lives and create a better world with the help of integrated photonics. We are an independent pure-play foundry – producing high-end Photonic Integrated Circuits for customers. SMART’s goal is always looking for innovative solutions that make a difference for our customers. From proof of concept to full production. The vision of SMART is that integrated Photonics will be used everywhere around us improving the quality of our everyday lives and its mission is to be the leading foundry and development partner in integrated photonics that works closely together with the customers creating innovative products that improve people’s lives. SMART is a manufacturer of both discrete and integrated photonic components on InP, produces on 3″ InP wafers, runs six Multi-Project Wafer runs a year, has a unique integration technology for InP PIC’s, offers an extensive process design kit, available in all mainstream software packages and successfully manufactured over 300 generic chip designs. SMART has a deep understanding in InP-based integrated photonics. Participation in major projects brings many advantages to SMART. They give access to worldwide research, skills and expertise in the field of integrated photonics, reducing time to innovate and improving its quality. The projects also showcase and promote the opportunities of integrated photonics with potential customers. SMART Photonics invests in maintaining its cooperative relationships and aims to take a ‘leadership’ role in leading development projects, six of which are described in more detail in the following pages.
In the project SMART Photonics will carry out the design and fabrication of O-band DBR lasers, QCSE EAMs, Pin PDs and SSCs. SMART will also provide the complete photonic O-band transceiver toolkit through 3 fabrication iterations.
Contact:
Ruud Vullers, email:
Teem Photonics
Teem Photonics has been founded at the end of 1998, the company entered the telecom market and was first to commercially introduce Erbium Doped Waveguide Amplifiers, complementing it by a range of wide band high performance splitter for FTTH applications deployed in the US, Japan and Europe. Teem Photonics DNA develops unique scalable solutions and make them work effectively for the benefit of long term OEM partners. With headquarters and main facility located near Grenoble, a hot bed of technology firms and European research laboratories in the French Alps, the company 50 people staff competences span from R&D to series manufacturing to supply industrial customers all over the world. In 2005 the microchip laser line was acquired from JDS Uniphase (now Lumentum) and successfully redeveloped to achieve outstanding performance and reliability. Most of the world diamonds are now transformed and marked with the key action of Teem Photonics lasers at numerous locations. The laser products have expanded to reach the 5th harmonic 213 nm wavelength in 2016 and 100,000 hours of demonstrated operation in the infra-red wavelength were passed in early 2018. IoNext waveguide product line evolved significantly in 2016 with the introduction of the WAFT series components, a key interface solution between silicon photonics PICs and fiber arrays. Having entered a new range of applications in full development the company looks forward to a continuing growth in the coming years.
Teem Photonics will be responsible for the modelling and fabrication of glass multichannel diplexer on their glass-based WAFT interposer. TEEM will also provide the necessary specs for the assembly process flow and the design of PIC-to-glass coupling interfaces.
Contact:
Adrien Billat, email:
Cosmote
OTE Group is the largest technology company in Greece. It is one of the top listed companies with respect to capitalization on the Athens Stock Exchange and is also listed on the London Stock Exchange. Deutsche Telekom holds 49.22% of OTE’s share capital and the Greek State holds 7%. In 2021, OTE Group employed approximately 10,500 people in Greece. OTE Group offers a wide range of services: fixed-line and mobile telephony, broadband services, subscription television and integrated ICT solutions. The Group is also active in maritime communications and real-estate and has the BOX online food ordering service and the COSMOTE Insurance digital platform for comparison and purchase of insurance. Abroad, the Group operates in the mobile telecommunications market of Romania.
COSMOTE is the unified commercial brand for all the products and services of the Group and its key message is ‘a better world for all’. Its mission is to bring technological capabilities to all, so that everyone can make full use of all the opportunities of today, while also building a better tomorrow. OTE Group invests heavily in New Generation Networks, creating infrastructure that boosts the Greek economy and creates growth potential. It is the largest investor in new technologies and infrastructure in Greece, with investments of more than €5 billion over the past decade and €3 billion through 2027. OTE Group owns the country’s largest fiber optic network, COSMOTE Fiber, while COSMOTE mobile network is the largest in Greece, with 8 consecutive wins in the Speedtest AwardsTM of the independent network metrics company Ookla® as ‘the fastest mobile network in Greece’.
In December 2021, the Group announced an increase of investments to over €3 billion, for the development of its fiber-to-the-home network, aiming to provide access to FTTH for 3 million households and businesses, thus covering nearly 2/3 of the lines in Greece. The FTTH investment is the largest telecommunications investment made in Greece in the last decades. The company exceeded its target for 2021, having installed 560,000 FTTH lines and has set a target of approx. 1mil. for 2022. COSMOTE was the first to bring 5G – the future of mobile communications – to Greece. The development of COSMOTE 5G, the country’s largest fifth-generation network, is continuing at a rapid pace, with the goal of reaching 80% population coverage, nation-wide, by the end of 2022. Today, COSMOTE 5G coverage is currently at 60%, exceeding 97% and 90% in Athens and Thessaloniki, respectively. Maximum network speeds exceed 1Gbps in some areas.
For 2021, the Group announced turnover of €3,368.3 million, for an increase of 3.4%. Adjusted EBITDA reached €1,295.9 million, with the EBITDA margin increasing to 38.5%. Adjusted free cash flow came to €590.1 million and adjusted Net Debt fell by 25.0%, corresponding to 0.6 times the annual adjusted EBITDA (AL). The OTE Group capitalizes on the potential of technology with the aim of creating a better world for all. Sustainable development is a business choice and an intrinsic part of the Group’s strategy and operations. Key priorities include improvement of the Group’s environmental and social footprint, as well as equal access for all citizens to the digital opportunities of the future.
OTE Group’s participation in seven international indexes is a proof of company’s commitment and dedication to the principles of sustainability and to incorporation of ESG criteria. Specifically, OTE Group is among the companies participating in the FTSE4Good Emerging Index, VIGEO Eiris Best Emerging Markets Performers, Bloomberg LP Gender-Equality Index (GEI), MSCI: 2021, the ISS ESG Corporate Rating: 2021, the CDP, and the newly established ESG index of the Athens Stock Exchange.
COSM will contribute its testbed facilities in Athens, Greece for OCTAPUS field trial NGCO demonstrator. COSM will also handle communication and dissemination activities of the OCTAPUS project.
Contact:
George Lyberopoulos, email:
Fraunhofer IZM
As part of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Fraunhofer IZM specializes in applied and industrial contract research. Fraunhofer IZM’s focus is on packaging technology and the integration of multifunctional electronics into systems. The institute has a staff of more than 430 and saw a turnover of 35,7 million euros in 2019, of which 41,8 percent was earned through contract research. Fraunhofer IZM has two sites in Germany. Apart from its headquarters near Berlin Mitte, the institute is also represented in Dresden and Cottbus, strategically important centers for electronic development and manufacturing. The four Fraunhofer IZM departments promote internationally cutting-edge technology development. The departments jointly work on application areas and key development topics, ensuring the research is advanced across technologies. In key development topics, the Fraunhofer IZM researchers monitor and develop highly promising research questions, paving the way for future projects with industry. Fraunhofer IZM benefits from its close cooperation with the Technischen Universität Berlin and other scientific institutes. Fraunhofer IZM has cooperated on highly productive preliminary research with the TU Berlin since its establishment, and the close relationship between the institute and university is best illustrated by the current practice of appointing a joint IZM institute head and TU university professorship.
Fraunhofer will contribute its broad experience in assembly and PIC packaging. Fraunhofer will be responsible for mounting the WAFT chip on the PICs, the fiber assembly and the assembly of PICs with the hosting PCB platforms.
Contact:
Tolga Tekin, email:
IMEC
Interuniversitair Micro-Elektronica Centrum (IMEC) is the world-leading R&D and innovation hub in nanoelectronics and digital technologies, and Europe’s largest independent non-profit research centre on nano-electronics. Imec is an independent research centre, founded by the Belgian Flemish Government in 1984. The Department of Information Technology (INTEC) of Ghent University (UGent) act as an associated division of IMEC since 1984. As from October 1, 2016, imec merged with iMinds, resulting in one of the largest digital ICT research institutes in Europe. The IMEC-IDLab Design research group in this proposal is very active in optoelectronic front-end and (sub-) system design since the early nineties. The IDLab-Design group is currently one of the leading groups in the research and development of high-speed, low-power transmitter and receiver integrated circuits for next generation transport, metro, access, datacenter and radio-over-fiber networks. Developments are ongoing in the frame of various FP7 EU-projects (PHOXTROT and SPIRIT) and are continuing in the frame of H2020 (FLEX5GWARE, TERABOARD, ICT-STREAMS, WIPE, OPTIMA, 5GPHOS, PICTURE and QAMELEON). In Nov. 2014, the Design group was awarded the 3rd biannual Greentouch 1000x award together with Bell Labs/Alcatel-Lucent and Orange Labs.
IMEC will contribute its expertise in the design and fabrication of low power 50Gb/s electronic drivers and TIAs for OCTAPUS optical transceiver engines. IMEC will also develop the electronic driving circuit for controlling the PCM-based OCS prototype.
Contact:
Peter Ossieur, email:
ORANGE
Orange S.A., formerly France Télécom S.A. is a French multinational telecommunications corporation, being a network provider and also an integrator of digital solutions. It has 266 million customers worldwide and employs 89,000 people in France, and 59,000 elsewhere. In 2015, the group had revenue of €40 billion. The company's head office is located in the 15th arrondissement of Paris. Orange has been the company's main brand for mobile, landline, internet and Internet Protocol television (IPTV) services since 2006. The Orange brand originated in the United Kingdom in 1994 after Hutchison Whampoa acquired a controlling stake in Microtel Communications: that company became a subsidiary of Mannesmann in 1999 and then was acquired by France Télécom in 2000. Orange has also been ranked best mobile network in France for the 12th consecutive time.
ORAN will contribute with the FH/URLLC use cases and define Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that will be used in the evaluation of the innovations developed in the OCTAPUS. ORAN will also contribute in the lab trials of the project.
Contact:
Fabienne Saliou, email:
NEXTWORKS
Nextworks has been founded in 2002, within the Department of Informatics and Telecommunications (DITEL) of the Consorzio Pisa Ricerche (CPR).
Nextworks continuously generates know-how and transform it into highly innovative technology, targeted to various market sectors. Their audio-video and automation and control platforms are delivered to smart building, luxury residential and yachting market areas. Specialist consultancy services are aimed at major stakeholders in the telco market, and IT at large. In Nextworks, research and development come together. The highly specialized units that are created are the most suitable response to the needs of the customers, who are always looking for top interdisciplinary solutions.
Nextworks will be responsible for the programmable APIs of the SDN controller, the SDN agents and the overall SDN controller. NXW will also contribute to lab and field trials.
Contact:
Nicola Ciulli, email:
NVIDIA
NVIDIA is a multinational technology company incorporated in Delaware and based in Santa Clara, California. It is a software and fabless company which designs graphics processing units (GPUs), application programming interface (APIs) for data science and high-performance computing as well as system on a chip units (SoCs) for the mobile computing and automotive market. Nvidia is a global leader in artificial intelligence hardware and software. Its professional line of GPUs are used in workstations for applications in such fields as architecture, engineering and construction, media and entertainment, automotive, scientific research, and manufacturing design. In addition to GPU manufacturing, Nvidia provides an API called CUDA that allows the creation of massively parallel programs which utilize GPUs. They are deployed in supercomputing sites around the world. More recently, it has moved into the mobile computing market, where it produces Tegra mobile processors for smartphones and tablets as well as vehicle navigation and entertainment systems. Nvidia's GPUs are used for edge to cloud computing, and supercomputers (Nvidia provides the accelerators, i.e. the GPUs for many of them, including a previous top fastest, while it has been replaced, and current fastest, and most-power efficient, are powered by AMD GPUs and CPUs) and Nvidia expanded its presence in the gaming industry with its handheld game consoles Shield Portable, Shield Tablet, and Shield TV and its cloud gaming service GeForce Now. Nvidia announced plans on September 13, 2020, to acquire Arm from SoftBank, pending regulatory approval, for a value of US$40 billion in stock and cash, which would be the largest semiconductor acquisition to date. SoftBank Group will acquire slightly less than a 10% stake in Nvidia, and Arm would maintain its headquarters in Cambridge. On February 7, 2022, facing increased regulatory hurdles, Nvidia signaled that it was dropping its acquisition of Arm. The deal, which would have been the largest ever in the chip sector, was valued at $66bn at the time of its collapse.
NVIDIA will contribute its expertise on PCB development. NVIDIA will design and fabricate low- and high- frequency PCB boards for all OCTAPUS demonstrators and also perform the wire bonding of EICs. MLX will also contribute to the lab trials.
Contact:
Elad Mentovich, email:
COMCORES
Comcores was founded in Denmark 2014 by Thomas Gerner Nørgaard who also founded Radiocomp ApS in 2006. A long-time background in mobile communication and being a first-mover in remote radio heads have brought a solid foundation for understanding the complex requirements of modern communication tasks. This know-how is used to define and build state-of-the-art high-quality products used in communication networks. Comcores delivers stand-alone IPs and Packaged IP cores for ASIC and FPGA’s, as well as design and customization services for digital projects. Our solutions can be customized to meet your design specifications and we provide engineering support throughout. Our Packaged IPs are integrated and tested together, supporting software is also verified and tested. Everything we do is quality design to ensure a faster go-to-market, while reducing customer’s risk and investment. Comcores address industrial, medical, communications, automotive and aerospace markets. Comcores mission is to provide best-in-class, state-of-the-art, quality stand-alone IP components, Packaged IP solutions and systems to ASIC, FPGA and System vendors, striving for a “solution delivery” approach where help is provided to the customer in order integrate the IPs and make sure everything is working, which drastically reduces the customer’s product cost, risk and speeds up time-to-market.
Comcores will contribute its expertise in design and development of 50G Ethernet interfaces FPGA implementations.
Contact:
John Illerup Mortensen, email:
University of Southampton (SOTON)
The University of Southampton (SOTON), UK, one of the leading universities in Britain, was founded in 1952 and is a member of the prestigious Russell Group of UK Universities. SOTON is an excellent venue for conducting cutting-edge research and for providing high quality education and has been ranked 96th in the 2019 QS World University Rankings. It has been ranked 8th in the UK for research and has 97% of its research environment rated as world leading or internationally excellent (Research Excellence Framework, 2014). It has more than 17,100 undergraduate and 7,500 postgraduate students from over 140 different countries. In 2016/17 alone SOTON has received over €150M in research grants and contracts, including over €17M from the European Commission. SOTON has a successful track record of industrial collaborations and is at the center of a cluster of local high technology companies. It has an enviable track record in the generation of patentable work, with a portfolio of over 250 patents. To ensure the impact of its research projects, SOTON’s Research & Innovation Services (R&IS) is responsible for professional protection of IP and supporting commercial development with industry. R&IS has had considerable success, as a world-leading business incubator, and has launched 28 spin-out companies since 2000.
SOTON has also a strong record of accomplishment of working in European projects, especially within the Framework Programme. The EC 7th FP7 Monitoring Report ranked SOTON 15th out of all higher and secondary education organisations for number of participations during 2007-2013. Throughout the FP7 Southampton received over €125M in research grants and was involved in 318 projects, including 63 ICT. Since the start of H2020 Southampton has been awarded 153 grants worth over €102M (EC Participant Portal).
In the OCTAPUS project, SOTON will carry out the design and fabrication of electro-refractive C- and O- band PCM MZI-based switches. SOTON will also design and fabricate the Si3N4-to-glass coupling interfaces for evanescent coupling with the WAFT interposer. SOTON will carry out 3 fabrications runs and design the gds files of all the respective mask layouts.
Contact:
Frederic Gardes, email: