High-Density Lithium Niobate Photonic Integrated Circuits

Introduction

Translating high-speed electrical signals to the optical domain, electro-optic (EO) modulators are key components of photonic systems. On a technological level, lithium niobate (LN) has become a mainstay for such devices, offering a unique combination of strong EO activity and chemical stability as well as wide-band transparency and the ability to withstand high optical power levels.

Recent Advances

Recent advances in thin-film LN have opened an attractive path towards:

1. Compact footprint
2. Low operation voltage
3. Large bandwidth

These advancements maintain the intrinsic advantages of the underlying material system. However, there is still a need to further reduce the component size and increase the component density of LN circuits to truly enable large-scale photonic integration in volume over the current wafer sizes, which are still far from the 200-300 mm scale of silicon photonics.

Project Goals

It is thus the goal of HDLN to establish an internationally unique technology base related to high-density thin-film LN technology. HDLN will demonstrate the viability of the technology platform through a series of demonstrators, geared towards highly relevant applications such as:

• Ultra-fast optical communications
• Ultra-wideband photonic-electronic signal processing

Collaboration

HDLN brings together a careful selection of experienced partners from academia and industry, comprising:

• A recently incorporated start-up for the manufacturing platform
• An independent photonic design and test house
• An internationally leading company in the field of communications that validates the technology at the application level.