lithium niobate / 06 Devices
06 Devices
L1 Phenomenon
Lithium niobate devices — chips and crystals that turn a voltage, a sound wave, or one color of light into a change of another light wave. The same crystal writes data onto fiber, doubles laser frequencies, filters radio signals in phones, and squeezes quantum noise.
Device map: family × physical effect
| Family | Maturity (dated evidence) | Sec. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bulk Ti-indiffused / proton-exchanged LN modulators | ■ | · | · | · | · | · | Exail: LN modulators since 2000 | 6.1 |
| TFLN MZM and IQ modulators | ■ | · | · | · | · | · | AFR volume shipment, 2025-04-07 | 6.1 |
| PPLN frequency converters (bulk, waveguide) | · | ■ | · | · | · | · | bulk MgO:PPLN (Covesion, 2025-06-05); TFLN research | 6.4 |
| OPA / OPO on TFLN | · | ■ | · | · | · | · | research | 6.5 |
| EO and Kerr combs, EO frequency shifters | ■ | · | ■ | · | · | · | research | 6.6 |
| Squeezers, pair sources, quantum frequency converters | · | ■ | · | · | · | · | research | 6.7 |
| Microwave-optical transducers | ■ | · | · | ■ | ■ | · | research mK and room temperature | 6.7 |
| Acousto-optic modulators and frequency shifters | · | · | · | ■ | ■ | · | research | 6.8 |
| RF acoustic filters (SAW, POI, XBAR) | · | · | · | ■ | · | · | high volume; LT dominant for SAW (inference) | 6.9 |
| Heterogeneous lasers, amplifiers, detectors on TFLN | · | · | · | · | · | ■ | research | 6.10 |
| Thin-film lithium tantalate (TFLT) devices | ■ | ■ | · | · | · | · | research earliest TFLT modulator paper in the eo-modulator-atlas sample: 2024 | 6.11 |
Filled square: the family uses the effect. Maturity "commercial" only with a dated company statement (popup on the tag); otherwise research. Click a column header to hold the highlight.
Bulk Ti-indiffused / proton-exchanged LN modulators Pockels commercial: Exail: LN modulators since 2000 6.1 TFLN MZM and IQ modulators Pockels commercial: AFR volume shipment, 2025-04-07 6.1 PPLN frequency converters (bulk, waveguide) χ(2) commercial: bulk MgO:PPLN (Covesion, 2025-06-05); TFLN research 6.4 OPA / OPO on TFLN χ(2) research 6.5 EO and Kerr combs, EO frequency shifters Pockels · χ(3) research 6.6 Squeezers, pair sources, quantum frequency converters χ(2) research 6.7 Microwave-optical transducers Pockels · piezo · AO research: mK and room temperature 6.7 Acousto-optic modulators and frequency shifters piezo · AO research 6.8 RF acoustic filters (SAW, POI, XBAR) piezo commercial: high volume; LT dominant for SAW (inference) 6.9 Heterogeneous lasers, amplifiers, detectors on TFLN hetero research 6.10 Thin-film lithium tantalate (TFLT) devices Pockels · χ(2) research: earliest TFLT modulator paper in the eo-modulator-atlas sample: 2024 6.11
L2 Families and maturity
Device families and maturity
Dated maturity evidence; "commercial" requires a dated company statement, otherwise "research".
| Family | Effect | Maturity (dated evidence) | Section |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bulk Ti-indiffused / proton-exchanged LN modulators | Pockels | Commercial; Exail (formerly iXblue) states it has made LN modulators since 2000 (Exail) | 6.1 |
| TFLN MZM and IQ modulators | Pockels | Commercial: AFR TFLN 96/130 GBd coherent driver modulators "reached volume shipment" (AFR, 2025-04-07); HyperLight 200 G/lane products available, 400 G/lane sampling (Summit Partners, 2026-06-18); Murata TFLN EO modulator (">100 GHz", "400 Gbps/ch PAM4") shown as a product in development at OFC 2026 V | 6.1-6.3 |
| PPLN frequency converters (bulk, waveguide) | χ(2) QPM | Bulk MgO:PPLN commercial (Optica member news, 2025-06-05); TFLN PPLN research | 6.4 |
| OPA / OPO on TFLN | χ(2) | Research | 6.5 |
| EO and Kerr combs, EO frequency shifters | Pockels, χ(3) | Research | 6.6 |
| Squeezers, pair sources, quantum frequency converters | χ(2) | Research; Xanadu's Aurora system used the HyperLight TFLN platform (The Quantum Insider, 2025-07-30) [Aghaee Rad et al. 2025] | 6.7 |
| Microwave-optical transducers | Pockels, piezo-optomechanics | Research (mK and room temperature) | 6.7-6.8 |
| Acousto-optic modulators and frequency shifters | piezoelectric + photoelastic | Research | 6.8 |
| RF acoustic filters (SAW, POI, XBAR) | piezoelectric | Commercial, high volume; LT appears dominant for SAW (inference from product pages; no public share figure), see 6.9 | 6.9 |
| Heterogeneous lasers, amplifiers, detectors on TFLN | III-V gain, Er3+ gain, InP/Si absorption | Research | 6.10 |
| Thin-film lithium tantalate (TFLT) devices | Pockels, χ(2) | Research; earliest TFLT modulator paper in the eo-modulator-atlas sample: 2024 | 6.11 |