C-band 110 GHz TFLT modulator, 768 (536) Gb/s
U. Michigan; Nokia Bell Labs
Vπ 1.35 V, > 110 GHz
400G/lane IM/DD · TFLTofc.2026.th4a.2
lithium niobate / 08 Industry / 8.5
8.5 OFC 2026 snapshot
L1 OFC 2026, March 2026
At the 2026 Optical Fiber Communication Conference (OFC, 2026-03), thin-film LN or LT was the modulator platform in four postdeadline papers (Th4A.2, Th4A.5, Th4A.6, Th4B.2) and in six papers of session W1A reported.
OFC 2026, LN/LT as the device platform (abstract claims)PD = postdeadline
Theme 15 of 15 papers
| Code | Title (short) | Affiliations | Claim | Themes | DOI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Th4A.2 PD | C-band 110 GHz TFLT modulator, 768 (536) Gb/s | U. Michigan; Nokia Bell Labs | Vπ 1.35 V, > 110 GHz | 400G/lane IM/DD, TFLT | ofc.2026.th4a.2 |
| Th4A.5 PD | Integrated 1064 nm transmitter, GaAs lasers + > 100 GHz TFLN | Nexus Photonics; Northeastern U.; Keysight | 100 Gb/s NRZ, 160 Gb/s PAM4 | Beyond C band | ofc.2026.th4a.5 |
| Th4A.6 PD | TFLN wafer-level co-packaged optics engine | Shanghai Jiao Tong U. | TFLN EOM + driver EIC, > 100 GHz | Co-design with electronics | ofc.2026.th4a.6 |
| Th4B.2 PD | Driver-less 448 Gb/s PAM4 and 1.2 Tb/s 16-QAM, TFLN optical DACs | McGill U.; HyperLight; Ciena | driven from CMOS logic | 400G/lane IM/DD, Co-design with electronics | ofc.2026.th4b.2 |
| W4J.4 | 420 Gb/s/lane O-band PAM4 TOSA on TFLN | Wuhan HG Genuine Optics | 210 GBd | 400G/lane IM/DD, Co-design with electronics, Beyond C band | ofc.2026.w4j.4 |
| Th1C.3 | 400G/lane for linear-drive optics | Ligent Technologies | TFLN MZM + CTLE; fab Liobate | 400G/lane IM/DD, Co-design with electronics | ofc.2026.th1c.3 |
| M4D.4 | Truly differential drive of a TFLN TWE-MZM by a linear SiGe driver | Nokia Bell Labs | 140 GBd PAM8, 1.4 pJ/bit | Co-design with electronics | ofc.2026.m4d.4 |
| W1A.3 | TFLN on 200 mm Si, 110 GHz, 1.9 V cm | NSTIC (Singapore) | BEOL CMOS foundry | Manufacturing | ofc.2026.w1a.3 |
| Th1D.1 | TFLN + hydrogen-free SiN on 200 mm SiPh | IME; NSTIC; NUS | die-to-wafer bonding; MZI 2.9 V cm | Manufacturing | ofc.2026.th1d.1 |
| W1A.4 | Sub-V 110 GHz O-band TFLT MZM | U. Michigan | Vπ 1 V (10 Hz-10 kHz) | Beyond C band, TFLT | ofc.2026.w1a.4 |
| W1A.5 | LT-on-fused-silica MZM, 4-inch wafer | EPFL; KIT | 67 GHz, 1.6 V | 400G/lane IM/DD, Manufacturing, TFLT | ofc.2026.w1a.5 |
| W1A.6 | Ring-assisted MZM on LT-on-SiN | LIGENTEC; UC San Diego | 1.36 V cm, > 50 GHz, wafer scale | Manufacturing, TFLT | ofc.2026.w1a.6 |
| W1A.7 | 1.6 Tb/s WDM IM/DD transmitter on TFLT | EPFL; KIT; SIMIT | 8 channels | 400G/lane IM/DD, TFLT | ofc.2026.w1a.7 |
| W1A.1 | Integrated EO frequency-domain equalizer (TFLN TW modulators) | NICT; Sumitomo Osaka Cement; Nagoya Inst. Tech.; Waseda | equalizer integrated | none | ofc.2026.w1a.1 |
| Th1H.4 | Hybrid calcium titanate + TFLN modulator | Chongqing U. | 1.3 V cm, > 110 GHz, 0.86 dB IL | none | ofc.2026.th1h.4 |
Theme 15 of 15 papers
Integrated 1064 nm transmitter, GaAs lasers + > 100 GHz TFLN
Nexus Photonics; Northeastern U.; Keysight
100 Gb/s NRZ, 160 Gb/s PAM4
Beyond C bandofc.2026.th4a.5
TFLN wafer-level co-packaged optics engine
Shanghai Jiao Tong U.
TFLN EOM + driver EIC, > 100 GHz
Co-design with electronicsofc.2026.th4a.6
Driver-less 448 Gb/s PAM4 and 1.2 Tb/s 16-QAM, TFLN optical DACs
McGill U.; HyperLight; Ciena
driven from CMOS logic
400G/lane IM/DD · Co-design with electronicsofc.2026.th4b.2
420 Gb/s/lane O-band PAM4 TOSA on TFLN
Wuhan HG Genuine Optics
210 GBd
400G/lane IM/DD · Co-design with electronics · Beyond C bandofc.2026.w4j.4
400G/lane for linear-drive optics
Ligent Technologies
TFLN MZM + CTLE; fab Liobate
400G/lane IM/DD · Co-design with electronicsofc.2026.th1c.3
Truly differential drive of a TFLN TWE-MZM by a linear SiGe driver
Nokia Bell Labs
140 GBd PAM8, 1.4 pJ/bit
Co-design with electronicsofc.2026.m4d.4
TFLN on 200 mm Si, 110 GHz, 1.9 V cm
NSTIC (Singapore)
BEOL CMOS foundry
Manufacturingofc.2026.w1a.3
TFLN + hydrogen-free SiN on 200 mm SiPh
IME; NSTIC; NUS
die-to-wafer bonding; MZI 2.9 V cm
Manufacturingofc.2026.th1d.1
Sub-V 110 GHz O-band TFLT MZM
U. Michigan
Vπ 1 V (10 Hz-10 kHz)
Beyond C band · TFLTofc.2026.w1a.4
LT-on-fused-silica MZM, 4-inch wafer
EPFL; KIT
67 GHz, 1.6 V
400G/lane IM/DD · Manufacturing · TFLTofc.2026.w1a.5
Ring-assisted MZM on LT-on-SiN
LIGENTEC; UC San Diego
1.36 V cm, > 50 GHz, wafer scale
Manufacturing · TFLTofc.2026.w1a.6
1.6 Tb/s WDM IM/DD transmitter on TFLT
EPFL; KIT; SIMIT
8 channels
400G/lane IM/DD · TFLTofc.2026.w1a.7
Integrated EO frequency-domain equalizer (TFLN TW modulators)
NICT; Sumitomo Osaka Cement; Nagoya Inst. Tech.; Waseda
equalizer integrated
no theme tagofc.2026.w1a.1
Hybrid calcium titanate + TFLN modulator
Chongqing U.
1.3 V cm, > 110 GHz, 0.86 dB IL
no theme tagofc.2026.th1h.4
L2 Counts and themes
| Theme | Papers | Codes |
|---|---|---|
| 400G/lane IM/DD | 6 | Th4A.2, Th4B.2, W4J.4, Th1C.3, W1A.5, W1A.7 |
| Manufacturing | 4 | W1A.3, Th1D.1, W1A.5, W1A.6 |
| Co-design with electronics | 5 | Th4A.6, Th4B.2, W4J.4, Th1C.3, M4D.4 |
| Beyond C band | 3 | Th4A.5, W4J.4, W1A.4 |
| TFLT | 5 | Th4A.2, W1A.4, W1A.5, W1A.6, W1A.7 |
| postdeadline | 4 | Th4A.2, Th4A.5, Th4A.6, Th4B.2 |
Counts over the board rows derived; each row links its DOI (Crossref record checked 2026-10-25).
Themes
- 400G/lane IM/DD is the commercial target (W4J.4, Th1C.3, Th4B.2, Th4A.2, W1A.5, W1A.7) E.
- TFLT appears as LN's sibling for telecom, including the postdeadline line-rate maximum (Th4A.2).
- Manufacturing moves to 200 mm and wafer-scale bonding (W1A.3, Th1D.1, W1A.5, W1A.6).
- Modulators are co-designed with drivers and EICs (M4D.4, Th4B.2, W4J.4, Th4A.6, Th1C.3).
- Work extends beyond the C band: O band (W4J.4, W1A.4), and 1064 nm (Th4A.5).
L3 Claims and atlas values
- Claims are the authors' abstract claims reported; atlas values can differ. Example: Aimone et al. (M4D.4) quote 1.1 V cm differential; the atlas view derives 2.45 V cm from 3.26 V × 7.5 mm.
- OFC full texts are not redistributed; only program metadata and facts with locators are used.
- A paper can carry several theme tags, or none (W1A.1, Th1H.4).