EPIC Online Technology Meeting on Optical Connectors will focus on the critical role of optical interconnect and connector technologies in enabling high-performance, reliable, and scalable photonic systems. As data rates increase and photonics moves closer to the chip, connectors are no longer passive components but key system elements impacting signal integrity, alignment tolerance, density, reliability, and total cost of ownership. This online meeting will bring together connector manufacturers, transceiver and module suppliers, system integrators, and end users from across the EPIC ecosystem to discuss recent advances in optical connector technologies. Topics will include single-mode and multi-fiber connectors, high-density and high-power interfaces, polarization-maintaining solutions, active and passive alignment strategies, as well as connector requirements for applications such as datacenters, telecom networks, sensing, and industrial systems. With a strong focus on real-world deployment, the discussions will address challenges related to insertion loss, repeatability, environmental stability, manufacturability, and standardization. From board-level and rack-level interconnects to next-generation pluggable and co-packaged optical architectures, the meeting will provide insight into how optical connectors are evolving to support the growing demands of modern photonic systems.
Wilfried Noell (Chief Scientist) serves as Chief Scientist and is part of Focuslight’s Business Development team, with expertise in datacom optics, silicon photonics, CPO, microtechnology, optical beam shaping, and photonic miniaturization. He brings more than 25 years of experience in the photonics industry, including senior leadership roles as Senior Principal Scientist and Director of R&D at SUSS MicroOptics (now Focuslight Switzerland). Dr. Noell began his career at the University of Neuchâtel and later held key positions at Comet AG and EPFL. He holds a PhD in Si-Photonics from IMM Mainz / Uni Ulm and a master’s degree in physics from TU Darmstadt / Deutsche Telekom focused on InP integrated optics.
Rolando Ferrini (Chief Product Officer) joined FEMTOprint in 2022. In 1999, he obtained his PhD degree in Physics at the Università degli Studi di Pavia, Italy, with a thesis on the optical properties of III-V semiconductor materials for electronics and optoelectronics. From 2000 to 2004, he worked as Research Associate at EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland, where he studied the optical properties of semiconductor-based photonic crystal devices. From 2004 to 2011, as Senior Research Associate at EPFL, he was in charge of the activities on organic devices for optics, photonics and lighting. From 2011 to 2022, he worked at CSEM as Group Leader MicroNano Optics and in 2021 as Head of the Focus Area Photonics. From 2020 to 2021, he founded the PHABULOuS pilot line for the manufacturing of freeform micro-optical components, acting both as project coordinator of the related H2020 project and as Managing Director.
