Wafer-Scale Heterogeneous Integration of Lithium Tantalate Films on Low-Loss Silicon Nitride Photonic ICs (EPFL, KIT, CAS, IPQ)

Researchers from EPFL, Chinese Academy of Sciences, IPQ, and KIT published a technical paper on integrating lithium tantalate films onto silicon nitride photonic integrated circuits for high-speed communications. This integration aims to enhance modulation speeds beyond what silicon photonics can achieve. Lithium tantalate offers advantages over lithium niobate, including improved stability and optical properties. The resulting modulators demonstrate a 6 V half-wave voltage and support high-speed data transmission up to 581 Gbit/second. This approach could advance technologies like RF photonics and analog signal processors.