Photonics related infrastructures FinnLight and OtaNano were selected on the National Research Infrastructures Roadmap
The Finnish Research Infrastructure Committee (FIRI Committee) granted roadmap status to 29 research infrastructures in December 2020. The selected infrastructures will be included in the national roadmap for research infrastructures covering the years 2021–2024. The roadmap is a list of strategically significant research infrastructure services in the Finnish research, development and innovation system. The Roadmap status does not include direct funding, but the infrastructures selected on the roadmap are prioritised in fundign decisions. A larger share of national research infrastructures is brought within the scope of centralised funding in order to strengthen the openness, quality and effectiveness of research.
High-class research infrastructure services increase the impact and international attraction of the Finnish research, education and innovation system. Research infrastructures may be single-sited, distributed or virtual, or a combination of these. Europe hosts several large-scale research infrastructures that are open to collaborative use across national boundaries.
Two photonics related infrastructures were selected on the roadmap FinnLight a new distributed infrastructure and the status of the OtaNano infrastructure was renewed.
Finnish National Infrastructure for Light-Based Technologies (FinnLight)
Tampere University, University of Eastern Finland, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd.
Photonics is the key technology of the 21st century, playing a central role in nearly every facet of a sustainable future. The overall rationale of the FinnLight proposal is to include light-based technologies into the Finnish Research Infrastructure Roadmap to enhance significantly the capabilities needed across the entire Photonics innovation value chain. The infrastructure is multi-disciplinary at the interface between physics, materials, quantum technology and energy devices. FinnLight will benefit to the large collaboration networks of FinnLight partners as well as to numerous national and EU users in different fields including but not limited to ICT, health, energy technologies, process control, security, and digital economy. By facilitating cutting-edge education and research and development, FinnLight will support the Finnish industry and extend its strong position in the photonics international ecosystem.
Otaniemi Micro- and Nanotechnology Research Infrastructure (OtaNano)
Aalto University, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd.
OtaNano is a national research infrastructure (RI) offering a wide variety of facilities for the needs of micro- and nanoscience and technology, and quantum engineering. These facilities are important for scientists as well as for high-tech companies working with micro- and nanotechnology applications. The RI is a national platform to develop innovative enabling technologies and apply them to practical micro- and nano-systems. It serves as a first-rate educational centre for young researchers, and acts as a national node for scientific collaboration.
OtaNano is an open access RI, operated by Aalto University and VTT, and available for academic and commercial users internationally.
