At a glance
| Booth | I3000 |
| Country | GB |
| Website | cornerstone.sotonfab.co.uk |
Company profile
CORNERSTONE is an open-source, licence-free silicon photonics rapid-prototyping foundry that gives researchers and innovators access to design, fabrication, and testing of photonic integrated circuit ideas. Founded in 2014, CORNERSTONE is a UK silicon-photonics hub hosted by the University of Southampton, the University of Glasgow, and the UK's Science and Technology Facilities Council. Its open-source model is intended to lower barriers to innovation in photonic integrated circuits by allowing users to design, fabricate, and test new ideas without a licence requirement. CORNERSTONE combines academic expertise with an open-access model and a team that brings technical knowledge to next-generation photonic solutions. The organisation describes accessibility, collaboration, and transformation as principles for making advanced technology more open and available. It identifies complexity, long lead times, and limited access to specialist facilities as barriers to bringing new technologies to life. CORNERSTONE addresses those barriers with a rapid, transparent, and flexible route to silicon-photonics prototyping that supports concept trials, design validation, and movement from research toward applications. Beyond foundry access, it builds a collaborative silicon-photonics community through training, networking opportunities, and knowledge sharing intended to support users at different stages. Partnerships, events, and accelerator programmes are used to develop skills, encourage diversity, and strengthen the photonics ecosystem. CORNERSTONE's stated values include accessibility, collaboration, courage, curiosity, efficiency, equal opportunities for all, quality, sustainability, and trust. The organisation supports users whose goals include advancing research, developing products, or exploring new applications of silicon photonics through tools, support, and community access. CORNERSTONE describes its team as diverse, combining deep technical knowledge with a commitment to enabling next-generation photonic solutions. By combining academic expertise with open access, CORNERSTONE aims to provide an environment in which users can experiment, grow, and develop silicon-photonics ideas. The organisation also frames its purpose as making cutting-edge technology more open and available in ways that can improve everyday life.
Exhibits
CORNERSTONE provides silicon-photonics rapid prototyping through its open-source, licence-free foundry model. Its prototyping services allow users to trial concepts and validate designs before moving further from research toward practical applications. Deep-UV lithography capabilities support this prototyping route, and CORNERSTONE separately offers a deep-UV projection lithography service. Training courses are part of the service offering, alongside networking and knowledge-sharing activities for silicon-photonics users. The combination of rapid prototyping, deep-UV projection lithography, training, and community support is intended to give researchers and innovators a practical route for experimenting with photonic integrated circuits. Its deep-UV-enabled prototyping route is explicitly intended to help users move from concept trials and design validation toward real-world applications. Because training courses are offered alongside deep-UV projection lithography, CORNERSTONE's service scope combines access to technical processing with skills development for users.
Capabilities and products
- open-source licence-free silicon photonics rapid-prototyping foundry
- deep-UV projection lithography service
- silicon photonics training courses