A. Demkov, A. Posadas
La Luce Cristallina, Inc.,
United States
Keywords: barium titanate, photonics, semiconductors
Summary:
The semiconductor industry has spent years squeezing more performance out of silicon, particularly in the domain of photonics. But as AI workloads push data-center and telecom systems to their limits, silicon photonics alone can’t keep up with today’s speed, density, and power efficiency requirements. To spur continued innovation, the industry needs novel materials that combine strong electro-optic performance with the high-volume manufacturability the semiconductor world depends on. Barium titanate (BaTiO₃) holds strong potential to meet these requirements. BaTiO₃ has an electro-optic coefficient that is an order of magnitude higher than lithium niobate and far above silicon, making it ideal for compact, low-drive voltage modulators that consume less power while handling the higher bandwidth needed for AI applications. At La Luce Cristallina, we’ve demonstrated propagation losses below 0.2 dB/cm at 1550 nm and quality factors in ring resonators exceeding one million, positioning this material as a future platform for practical integrated photonics. Aside from these performance benefits, scalability and silicon foundry compatibility are the material’s key differentiators. Using RF magnetron sputtering, La Luce Cristallina deposits single-crystal, fully insulating BaTiO₃ films on 200 mm (8-inch) SOI and silicon wafers. This approach enables us to produce wafers sufficient to meet existing demand while maintaining optimal uniformity and crystalline and optical quality. Earlier this year, we opened a new fabrication facility in Austin, Texas, to expand capacity and localize production for customers in telecom, data center communications, defense, and more. Our process integrates cleanly with existing Si and SiN foundry flows, helping customers avoid the lithium contamination risks of thin-film LiNbO₃ and the reliability issues of electro-optic polymers. We also maintain a secure U.S.-based supply chain, sourcing silicon domestically and working with qualified international partners for SOI wafers. That supply assurance has become a real differentiator as the industry increasingly prioritizes supply chain security. Longevity is another differentiator. BaTiO₃ supports multiple new generations of optical modulator device innovation (at least a decade) without the drift or degradation seen in other alternative materials. That means our customers can complete multiple product cycles that support current and eventual performance needs. The impact goes beyond traditional optics. Our 200 mm BaTiO₃ wafers can be used in high-speed optical interconnects, and we’re seeing growing interest in quantum computing, aerospace, and sensing. Researchers at UT Austin recently reported the lowest straight waveguide propagation loss yet measured in a monolithic BaTiO₃ using our material, while the University of Illinois demonstrated an intrinsic Q-factor of over one million in a ring resonator. Those results confirm what we’ve aimed for: a material that moves seamlessly from university labs to industrial production. By pairing a high-performance electro-optic material with a scalable, high-throughput manufacturing process, we’ve shown that it’s possible to take BaTiO₃ from research curiosity to 200 mm wafers on a production line. Through these processes, we strive to shape the future of photonics by turning promising, data-backed materials into practical, semiconductor-grade solutions.