Imagine a tiny bridge that converts electrical signals into light pulses. Most current bridges are too bulky or slow, but this project uses a special crystal material to make these bridges much smaller and faster. It's like upgrading from a narrow country road to a high-speed multi-lane highway for data.
Current optical modulators are either too large or lack the speed and efficiency needed for next-gen data centers. Existing lithium niobate fabrication is difficult and lacks the density required for mass-market integrated circuits.
A commercial foundry service for TFLN including a proprietary DLC etching process and a Process Design Kit (PDK) for professional design software.
If you are a network provider dealing with data bottlenecks in 5G or 6G networks — this project developed a high-density lithium niobate platform that enables modulation bandwidths beyond 150 GHz. This allows for significantly faster data transfer rates across long-distance fiber optics.
If you are a data center operator dealing with high energy consumption and heat from electrical interconnects — this project developed a thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) process that reduces component size and operation voltage. This leads to more efficient, high-density optical interconnects.
If you are a quantum hardware developer dealing with signal loss and instability in photonic circuits — this project developed a proprietary etching technology using diamond-like carbon. This ensures low-loss, tightly confining circuits necessary for precise quantum information processing.
Based on available project data, specific pricing is not mentioned, but the project aims to establish a commercial foundry service to enable high production volumes.
Yes, the project uses a patented etching process compatible with wafer-scale lithography to move beyond small-scale research samples toward high-volume manufacturing.
The project utilizes a proprietary and patented etching technology employing diamond-like carbon (DLC) to create high-density integrated circuits.
The project is creating a Process Design Kit (PDK) compatible with professional software like Synopsys and open-source tools like gdsfactory.
The project period runs from 2023-05-01 to 2026-01-31, suggesting the technology is currently in the development and validation phase.
The consortium is heavily industry-weighted (60%), consisting of 5 partners across 4 countries (CH, DE, ES, FR). It balances a manufacturing start-up, a design/test house, and a leading communications company, ensuring that the technical development is directly aligned with market validation and industrial application.
Contact VLC PHOTONICS SL in Spain for foundry service inquiries.
Contact us to connect with the HDLN consortium for PDK early access.
