PHIX is a packaging foundry aiming to become world leader in packaging of photonic integrated circuits (PICs). As CTO Jeroen is responsible for the technological direction, development and commercialization of new processes. Next to this he will be one of the 5 members of the management team heading the company. PHIX has a broad experience in integrated photonic packaging, using different material systems like InP, Si, SiN, GaAs, GaSb, LiNbO3 and polymers. As capability multiple chip platforms can be integrated into a single module allowing the best of all worlds using hybrid and heterogeneous integration. Combining this with the manufacturing competencies of polarization maintaining fiber arrays, nano printed structures and accurate die bonding, photonics modules are manufactured with highly integrated functionality.

PHIX is a packaging foundry aiming to become world leader in packaging of photonic integrated circuits (PICs). Was responsible as CCO at the start of the company and responsible for business development and technology direction. During the period of nearly 6 years the sales team has matured and grown from one individual to a team of 7 professionals and sales grew accordingly. Next to this I was one of the 3 members of the management team of the company. PHIX has a broad experience in integrated photonic packaging, using different material systems like InP, Si, SiN, GaAs. As unique capability the company can assemble multiple chip platforms into a single module allowing the best of all worlds using hybrid integration. Combining this with the manufacturing competencies of polarization maintaining fiber array, photonics modules are manufactured with highly integrated functionality.

SMART Photonics, located in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, is a Pure Play Foundry offering production services for both discrete- as well as integrated- Indium Phosphide based components. They have no own product IP but use our knowledge, many years of experience in photonics and the dedicated III-V equipment to create/produce your photonic designs. Offering the full production process from Epitaxial growth, the processing and re-growth up to the lapping and polishing of the wafers.

As technology incubator looking for new technologies that are in development at university's and high-end research institutes which have a high potential for product and process applications within TE Connectivity (formerly known as Tyco Electronics). Responsible for submitting and successfully running 4 EU FP7 Funding projects (FIREFLY, ADDAPT, SWIFT and PHOXTROT) and successful submission and acceptance of 2 EU Horizon 2020 projects (STREAMS and WIPE). During this period I established a multi-disciplinary team that was varying between 5 and 11 individuals depending on amount of parallel projects. Due to the divestiture of BNS to Commscope and restructuring of the Datacom Business unit, the focus of the team has shifted from high speed optical datacommunications to electronics packaging and interconnects that are more ruggedized using lower speeds for usage in harsh environments.A low cost ruggedized Active Optical Cable (AOC) solution has been developed from scratch using existing processes but applying them in a new and novel way. The base technology is developped, patented and ready for product implementation.Highlights of other projects are: • Development of expanded beam GRIN lens connector• Formula E wing analysis using a fiber Bragg grating solution, being able to measure down forces of the wing with and accuracy of 20 grams.• Development of a white paper and transceiver architecture running at 60GHz for a Millimeter wave transmission link• Implementing a laser ablation process for 2.5D structuring of PCB surfaces allowing integration of components• Several processes (die bonding, flip chipping and lens assembly) for the Datacom AOC product line• Developing the MOST 5Gb transceiver for the automotive industry which was the spark to go and develop the low cost rugged AOC

Establishing contacts with European universities and knowledge institutes and transferred knowledge of (un)applied new technologies and convert them to standard used processes within Tyco Electronics. Highlights are• Establishing capabilities for fiber routing on flexible and rigid substrates• Develop and implement a macro melt overmolding process with a low temperature compound for the FullAXS product line• Wafer scale bonding of chips for our Datacom Actives department• Setup design and manufacturing capabilities of single-mode multi-channel micro-optic elements• Develop a next generation single-mode multi-channel transceiver for Fiber to the Home applications where multiple physics disciplines come together (Electronics, RF, Optics, Heat transfer and fine mechanics)• Expanding the development of soft management skills due to the collaboration with research institutes where the teams are not steered on a hierarchical basis.

Ran mostly small R&D projects during this period leading to product or manufacturing changes in the field of terminating fiber optics interconnects. During this period there were 2 large projects I participated in. I was responsible for a high performance low loss next generation single and multimode connector. By the innovative improvements and the statistical design tools (learned during the six sigma greenbelt course) we were capable of reducing the optical losses of a fiber interconnect with 80% and increase the reliability at the same time without additional cost. After the R&D work I set up the production lines together with a manufacturing engineer in Poland, China and India and performed training to the local people. This is where I started to appreciate the cultural differences within a large multinational organization.In a second project I statistically designed an optical interconnect and transceiver for use in a mobile phone applications to enable a high speed connection between keypad and screen for use in flip and twist hinge phones. The development was very successful and changed the paradigm within the organization that optics is expensive and could not be used in high volume cost driven markets. As a result the AOC idea ignited and found its own place into the market. For the mobile phone, the technological development was ahead of its time, and unfortunately serialized data streams were not available for the application by then. The largest customers of flip and twist phones were losing market share and candy bar smart phones gained traction leading to big market changesDuring these projects my leadership quality was recognized and an external assessment was performed by Mercury Urval. This resulted in the start and successful graduation of the study “TopYear Management” from the University of the Hague and a leadership position as a next career step

Starting my career as development engineer performing specification reviews and (re)design products according the European market’s needs. During this time I provided engineering support for the Dense Wavelength Division Modulation (DWDM) production lines and made improvements on the module assembly and redesign for the add drop components allowing for higher wavelength density and stability. This was a great and steep learning curve with respect to customer interaction, research methodologies, documentation, project management, process descriptions, qualification testing, standards and applying this know how in a local manufacturing environment.

Develop a setup that could automatically characterize pulsed current, voltage, light intensity and temperature of a PolyLED device in its R&D stage to evaluate the performance and evaluate the degradation of the chemistry and packaging. A large portion of the electronics was already developed by an internal electronics team, and I needed to program it in labview such that there was a useful and robust GUI. With the setup we could measure the degradation of 40 channels in parallel and use it for a suite of different sizes and chemistries of devices. With the acquired information more knowledge was gained especially on the side effects of the manufacturing processes like filtering and sealing the products to build enhanced substrates. After my internship I have been working for 9 weeks as a seasonal worker to fine tune and implement the suggested improvements for the setup.