Augmented reality glasses have been a tech industry ambition for decades. However, a usable, lightweight product has yet to materialize – the chips needed for one must be smaller and be able to provide a sharper image. Netherlands-based Brilliance claims it has made a breakthrough in this area. Other Dutch companies have also received hundreds of millions to make photonic chips a reality.
Brilliance received a seed investment of 2 million from Oost NL and PhotonVentures last week. The miniscule chip developed by Brilliance would allow it to project “very sharp, colourful images” onto a person’s glasses, car windows or other glass surfaces. The investment arrives on the back of other photonic chip ventures getting 100 million euros from both the public and private sectors in the Netherlands.
“Miniaturization is the key to success in the development of AR glasses, because for ultimate wearing comfort, the devices must be as small as possible and preferably barely visible,” Brilliance CEO Tim Tiek states. “In addition, extremely bright images are necessary, especially for outdoor applications, while at the same time, energy consumption must be kept to an absolute minimum. We can now break through these dilemmas by producing the smallest and most efficient chip solution.”
This chip will eventually be able to power products that can place screens just about anywhere, then. End-users could eventually put up multiple displays on an airplane or work solely with virtual screens in an office. It sounds more practical than the promise behind Apple Vision Pro, even though that “spatial computing” solution will make its appearance as early as 2024.
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Twente region can design, produce and package
Brilliance’s innovation is a photonic chip, which uses photons (light) to send information across its computer circuit. The materials used and assembly of these chips differ from “classical” processors that use electrons for their functionality. Despite this being a brand new innovation, Brilliance may opt for large-scale production within the Twente region in the east of the Netherlands. They may land on photonic chip manufacturer Phix or Lionix, to name two prominent examples. Investor Oost NL refers to a “powerful photonics ecosystem” in the area.
According to Lionix CEO Arne Leinse, however, the hype is in need of reining in a little bit. In conversation with Bits & Chips, he claims that Brilliance’s specific manufacturing technology (which uses silicon nitride) will not be able to ship in high volumes for another decade.
In addition, the technology behind photonic chips is yet to be consolidated. In the Netherlands alone, for example, there’s Smart Photonics from Eindhoven, which does not use silicon nitride but indium phosphide for its production process. Thus, R&D is not centralized on one design or material, making it questionable if and when a winner will emerge.
“Flip chip” technology
The Brilliance chip already uses advanced manufacturing processes. The company talks about a “new ‘flip chip’ technology,” in which the module can be placed on the other side of existing components. It is reminiscent of the innovations currently under development by parties such as AMD and Intel. Intel, for example, is working on PowerVia technology, which can provide backside power delivery to a chip, overcoming long-standing architectural limitation. Brilliance, despite its small size, is therefore making sure it’s keeping up with the major players of current mass-produced chip tech.
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