MILADO will provide a robust and universal technology platform for low-cost and large volume fabrication of mid infrared (MIR) lasers enabling novel sensors in medicine and production. Key innovation is the technology upscale of the epitaxy of Quantum-Cascade- Lasers (QCLs) on large area substrates and the development of concepts for direct III-V-epitaxy on silicon.

​Merging III-V and Si-photonics by integrating QCLs and Si-based MIR photonics using CMOS-based technology well-established should reduce the cost production. Indeed but very costly III/V-technology-based manufacturing of QCL light sources for spectroscopic applications will be replaced by a cost effective and scalable manufacturing technology on CEA’s CMOS Pilot Line bringing MIR technology out of its niche

Another building block of MILADO towards a general platform that can be extended for further integration of sensors and actuators in MEMS technology are MIR-PICs made from Ge/SiGe-structures for the definition of waveguides, combiners and any other passive devices required to handle the optical connection of QCLs.

MILADO’s technology will open up new markets by enabling novel sensors for personal medical diagnostics or edge-sensors in chemical production. The versatility of the approach will be demonstrated in use cases covering process control and medical diagnostics reaching from the hospital to the patient covering waste anaesthetic gas detection, histopathology to biomarker monitoring. ​