lithium niobateLiNbO3
PPLN Λ = 6.82 µm · 1064 → 532 nm · 2 px/µm
lithium niobate / 07 History / 7.9

7.9 The thin-film renaissance

2017–2023

L1 Narrative

2017-2023 · 26 events

In 2017 a Harvard group etched lithium niobate film so smoothly that a microring reached a quality factor of ten million and light lost only 2.7 dB per meter [Zhang et al. 2017 rec]. In 2018 the same group, with Nokia Bell Labs, showed modulators driven at the voltages a computer chip supplies, carrying 210 Gb/s with under 0.5 dB on-chip loss [Wang et al. 2018b rec]. Periodic poling moved to thin-film waveguides with a 4 µm period [Wang et al. 2018c rec]. Combs of evenly spaced colors, frequency shifters and lasers followed [Zhang et al. 2019 rec; Hu et al. 2021 rec; Snigirev et al. 2023 rec]. Sun Yat-sen University bonded the crystal onto silicon for 100 Gb/s modulators [He et al. 2019 rec] and in 2022 reported 1.96 Tb/s on one wavelength with sub-volt drive [Xu et al. 2022 rec]. Companies formed in Cambridge MA (HyperLight, 2018) [Lightwave 2021 S], Nanjing (Liobate, 2020) [Liobate 2026 rec] and Lausanne (Luxtelligence, 2022) [Luxtelligence 2026 rec]. In 2021 Fujitsu, which reported a 70% share of coherent LN modulators in 2020 [Fujitsu 2021 rec vendor claim], announced a commercial thin-film modulator rated for 20 years [Fujitsu 2021 rec].

Before and after 2018 — Vπ L versus 3 dB bandwidth of thin-film LN and LT modulators in the eo-modulator-atlas, by publication year; the year slider shows the devices published up to the chosen year.
VπL vs 3 dB bandwidth, thin-film LN and LT modulators
0.20.51251020102050100200400VπL (V cm)3 dB bandwidth (GHz)thin-film LNthin-film LTbandwidth lower bound
2026
Devices shown 74 of 74
Values as reported in each paper, as entered in the eo-modulator-atlas (github.com/jwt625/eo-modulator-atlas, commit eb97f96, 2026-10-20) reported; telecom-band devices with both VπL and bandwidth. VπL conventions (push-pull or single arm, DC or RF) follow the atlas entry of each device. The atlas holds no bulk Ti:LN rows.
0.20.51251020102050100200400VπL (V cm)3 dB bandwidth (GHz)thin-film LNthin-film LTbandwidth lower bound
2026
Devices shown
 74 of 74

Values as reported in each paper, as entered in the eo-modulator-atlas (github.com/jwt625/eo-modulator-atlas, commit eb97f96, 2026-10-20) reported; telecom-band devices with both values; VπL conventions follow each atlas entry. The atlas holds no bulk Ti:LN rows. Points published in the selected year are outlined.

L2 Numbers and mechanisms

The thin-film renaissance

Platform numbers (abstracts).

YearResultSource
2017Q = 107; 2.7 dB/m; dry-etched subwavelength waveguides[Zhang et al. 2017 rec]
2017LN film bonded on SiN, no LN etch[Chang et al. 2017 rec]
2018-01MZM 1.8 V cm; 40 Gbps[Wang et al. 2018a rec]
2018-09Unetched LN on foundry Si photonics, > 106 GHz 3 dB electrical[Weigel et al. 2018 rec]
2018-10Vπ 1.4, 2.3, 4.4 V at 20, 10, 5 mm; 210 Gbit/s; 70 Gbit/s CMOS-driven; < 0.5 dB on-chip[Wang et al. 2018b rec]
2018-11Nanophotonic PPLN 2600%/W cm2; period 4 µm[Wang et al. 2018c rec]
2019-12PP-TFLN microring 250,000%/W; 15% at 115 µW[Lu et al. 2019 rec]
2020-084- and 6-inch wafers, DUV lithography, 0.27 dB/cm[Luke et al. 2020 rec]
2021-03RF Vπ 1.3 V, 1.8 dB roll-off at 50 GHz[Kharel et al. 2021 rec]
2022-01Dual-pol IQ, sub-1-V, 110 GHz, 1.96 Tb/s net[Xu et al. 2022 rec]
2022-07DP-IQ on Si substrate, single-carrier 1.6 Tb/s[Wang et al. 2022 rec]

Derived Vπ L from [Wang et al. 2018b rec]: 2.8 V cm (20 mm), 2.3 V cm (10 mm), 2.2 V cm (5 mm).

Commercial statements. Fujitsu (2021-10-22): “commercializing the world's first thin-film LN modulator ... of the 200GBaud class”, DC drift stabilized, 20-year reliability, package 60% smaller, 128 GBd HB-CDM samples planned for 2022-04 [Fujitsu 2021 rec]. An 800G DR8 transceiver with a HyperLight TFLN modulator was shown at OFC 2022 [Lightwave 2022 S]. HyperLight announced TFLN transmitter PICs for 200 G per lane and 1.6 Tb/s coherent in 2023 [Business Wire 2023 S].

Europe. ELENA (EU H2020, 2022-01-01 to 2025-06-30, coordinator CSEM, EU contribution EUR 4.98 M) set out to build a European LN photonic platform and 150 mm LNOI supply [CORDIS 2026 rec]. Luxtelligence was incorporated in 2022-10/2022-12 as an EPFL spin-off and released the open lnoi400 PDK in 2024-01/2024-03 [Luxtelligence 2026 rec]. Lightium (Zurich, 2023) came from CSEM [optics.org 2024 S].

L3 Sources and status

24 sources cited on this page
ClaimSourceStatus
All rows in the table aboveabstracts (Crossref or OpenAlex) or Nature page textrec
3 dB bandwidth of Wang et al. 2018bnot in accessible textopen
HyperLight founded 2018; founderstrade press, aggregatorsS
Huawei co-authors on Xu et al. 2022not in Crossref affiliationsopen
Fujitsu “first”scoped by Fujitsu to the 200 GBaud classV (vendor claim), D9

References

  1. Zhang et al., Optica 4 1536 (2017). Monolithic ultra-high-Q lithium niobate microring resonator. Issued 2017-12-18. doi:10.1364/optica.4.001536
  2. Wang et al., Nature 562 101-104 (2018). Integrated lithium niobate electro-optic modulators operating at CMOS-compatible voltages. Issued 2018-09-24. doi:10.1038/s41586-018-0551-y
  3. Cheng Wang et al., Optica 5 1438 (2018). Ultrahigh-efficiency wavelength conversion in nanophotonic periodically poled lithium niobate waveguides. Issued 2018-11-20. doi:10.1364/optica.5.001438
  4. Zhang et al., Nature 568 373-377 (2019). Broadband electro-optic frequency comb generation in a lithium niobate microring resonator. Issued 2019-03-11. doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1008-7
  5. Yaowen Hu et al., Nature 599 587-593 (2021). On-chip electro-optic frequency shifters and beam splitters. Issued 2021-11-25. doi:10.1038/s41586-021-03999-x
  6. Viacheslav Snigirev et al., Nature 615 411-417 (2023). Ultrafast tunable lasers using lithium niobate integrated photonics. Issued 2023-03-16. doi:10.1038/s41586-023-05724-2
  7. Mingbo He et al., Nature Photonics 13 359-364 (2019). High-performance hybrid silicon and lithium niobate Mach–Zehnder modulators for 100 Gbit s−1 and beyond. Issued 2019-05. doi:10.1038/s41566-019-0378-6
  8. Mengyue Xu et al., Optica 9 61 (2022). Dual-polarization thin-film lithium niobate in-phase quadrature modulators for terabit-per-second transmission. Issued 2022-01-20. doi:10.1364/optica.449691
  9. Lightwave (2021). HyperLight item ('a startup founded out of Harvard in 2018'). Issued 2021-09-13
  10. Liobate company page (2026). Liobate company page. Issued 2026. liobate.com/company
  11. Luxtelligence, about (2026). Luxtelligence, about. Issued 2026. luxtelligence.ai/about
  12. Fujitsu Optical Components Ships One Millionth Coherent Lithium-Niobate Modulator (2021). Fujitsu Optical Components Ships One Millionth Coherent Lithium-Niobate Modulator. Issued 2021-03-31. web.archive.org/web/20230812112018/https://www.fujitsu.com/jp/gr…
  13. Commercialization of compact thin-film LN modulator: Successful Establishment of Highly Reliable Technology (2021). Commercialization of compact thin-film LN modulator: Successful Establishment of Highly Reliable Technology. Issued 2021-10-22. web.archive.org/web/20240225003522/https://www.fujitsu.com/jp/gr…
  14. Lin Chang et al., Optics Letters 42 803 (2017). Heterogeneous integration of lithium niobate and silicon nitride waveguides for wafer-scale photonic integrated circuits on silicon. Issued 2017-02-15. doi:10.1364/ol.42.000803
  15. Cheng Wang et al., Optics Express 26 1547 (2018). Nanophotonic lithium niobate electro-optic modulators. Issued 2018-01-22. doi:10.1364/oe.26.001547
  16. Peter O. Weigel et al., Optics Express 26 23728 (2018). Bonded thin film lithium niobate modulator on a silicon photonics platform exceeding 100 GHz 3-dB electrical modulation bandwidth. Issued 2018-09-03. doi:10.1364/oe.26.023728
  17. Juanjuan Lu et al., Optica 6 1455 (2019). Periodically poled thin-film lithium niobate microring resonators with a second-harmonic generation efficiency of 250,000%/W. Issued 2019-12-20. doi:10.1364/optica.6.001455
  18. Luke et al., Optics Express 28 24452 (2020). Wafer-scale low-loss lithium niobate photonic integrated circuits. Issued 2020-08-03. doi:10.1364/oe.401959
  19. Kharel et al., Optica 8 357 (2021). Breaking voltage–bandwidth limits in integrated lithium niobate modulators using micro-structured electrodes. Issued 2021-03-09. doi:10.1364/optica.416155
  20. Xuanhao Wang et al., APL Photonics 7 076101 (2022). Thin-film lithium niobate dual-polarization IQ modulator on a silicon substrate for single-carrier 1.6 Tb/s transmission. Issued 2022-07-01. doi:10.1063/5.0097296
  21. Lightwave (2022). Eoptolink demos 800G OSFP DR8 optical transceiver featuring thin-film lithium niobate modulator. Issued 2022. www.lightwaveonline.com/optical-tech/transmission/article/142355…
  22. HyperLight announces thin-film lithium niobate transmitter chips supporting energy-efficient 1.6 Tbps transceiver modules (2023). HyperLight announces thin-film lithium niobate transmitter chips supporting energy-efficient 1.6 Tbps transceiver modules. Issued 2023-03-07. www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230307005911/en/HyperLight-Anno…
  23. CORDIS project 101016138: ELENA (2026). CORDIS project 101016138: ELENA. Issued 2026. cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101016138
  24. optics.org (2024). Lithium niobate in vogue as thin-film developers raise cash. Issued 2024-09-24. optics.org/news/lithium-niobate-in-vogue-as-thin-film-developers…

Events of 7.9

26 events; status per event
DateEventWhoRefSt
2017-02-15Heterogeneous LN/SiN waveguides for wafer-scale PICs on siliconLin Chang, Martin H. P. Pfeiffer +4DOIrec
2017-12-20Monolithic ultra-high-Q LiNbO3 microring resonator: Q = 1e7, 2.7 dB/mMian Zhang, Cheng Wang +3DOIrec
2018HyperLight founded as a Harvard spin-out (Cambridge MA)Mian Zhang (CEO), Christian Reimer (co-founder)-S
2018-01-22Nanophotonic LiNbO3 electro-optic modulators, 1.8 V cmCheng Wang, Mian Zhang +3DOIrec
2018-09-03Bonded thin-film LN on foundry silicon photonics, > 106 GHz 3 dB electrical bandwidthPeter O. Weigel, Jie Zhao +3DOIrec
2018-10Integrated LN electro-optic modulators at CMOS-compatible voltagesCheng Wang, Mian Zhang +6DOIrec
2018-11-20Nanophotonic PPLN waveguides: 2600%/W cm^2 SHG at 1.5 µm, 4 µm poling periodCheng Wang, Carsten Langrock +6DOIrec
2019-02-28Monolithic LN circuits for Kerr comb generation, filtering and modulationCheng Wang, Mian Zhang +4DOIrec
2019-03-20Ultra-low-loss visible TFLN photonicsB. Desiatov, A. Shams-Ansari +3DOIrec
2019-04Broadband electro-optic frequency comb in an LN microringMian Zhang, Brandon Buscaino +2DOIrec
2019-05Hybrid silicon and LN Mach-Zehnder modulators for 100 Gbit/s and beyondMingbo He, Mengyue Xu +3DOIrec
2019-12-20Periodically poled thin-film LN microrings, SHG efficiency 250,000%/WJuanjuan Lu, Joshua B. Surya +3DOIrec
2020-01-20Ultrabroadband nonlinear optics in nanophotonic PPLN waveguidesMarc Jankowski, Carsten Langrock +3DOIrec
2020-07Liobate (Jiangsu Niobao Optoelectronics) foundedURLrec
2020-08-17Wafer-scale low-loss LN PICs on 4- and 6-inch wafers with DUV lithographyKevin Luke, Prashanta Kharel +4DOIrec
2021-03-20Micro-structured electrodes: 1.3 V RF half-wave voltage with 1.8 dB roll-off at 50 GHzPrashanta Kharel, Christian Reimer +3DOIrec
2021-06-30'Integrated photonics on thin-film lithium niobate' (review)Di Zhu, Linbo Shao +3DOIrec
2021-10-22Fujitsu Optical Components commercializes a compact thin-film LN modulator (200 GBaud class)URLrec
2021-11-25On-chip electro-optic frequency shifters and beam splittersYaowen Hu, Mengjie Yu +3DOIrec
2022-01-01ELENA: EU project for a European LN photonic platform and LNOI supply starts (coordinator CSEM)URLrec
2022-01-20Dual-polarization thin-film LN IQ modulators: sub-1-V drive, 110 GHz, 1.96 Tb/s net single wavelengthMengyue Xu, Yuntao Zhu +3DOIrec
2022-07-01TFLN dual-polarization IQ modulator on silicon substrate for single-carrier 1.6 Tb/sXuanhao Wang, Chenglin Shang +4DOIrec
2022-10Luxtelligence incorporated in Lausanne as an EPFL spin-off (TFLN foundry and PDK)URLrec
2023Lightium founded in Zurich (TFLN design, foundry, packaging) after work at CSEMA. Ghadimi, F. Loizeau +1URLS
2023-01-06'Lithium niobate photonics: Unlocking the electromagnetic spectrum' (review)Andreas Boes, Lin Chang +5DOIrec
2023-03-16Ultrafast tunable lasers using LN integrated photonics (Si3N4-LiNbO3)Viacheslav Snigirev, Annina Riedhauser +4DOIrec