ePIXfab's China-Europe Forum at CIOE 2025

Presentation abstracts

• Integrating Modulators and Detectors on a Production-Grade SiN Platform

Silicon photonics technology, with its core advantages such as compatibility with mature CMOS processes, high integration, and low-cost potential, is emerging as a disruptive platform in fields like high-speed optical interconnection, optical computation and optical sensing. Heterogeneous integration, which efficiently combines silicon photonics with functional materials like thin-film lithium niobate and germanium, is a crucial path to break through performance bottlenecks and realize full-functional on-chip photonic integration. This speech will focus on introducing the latest progress of SITRI in building an advanced 8-inch silicon photonics platform. We will elaborate on the key process capabilities of this platform, especially the breakthroughs in heterogeneous integration technologies, including the development and application of key processes such as wafer-level bonding and selective epitaxy. SITRI's 8-inch platform is committed to providing open and efficient manufacturing services to accelerate the industrialization of silicon photonics technology.

• Heterogeneous Integration Silicon Photonics With TFLN for Datacenter Application

Lithium niobate on insulator (LNOI) modulators, benefiting from the advantages of their material properties, have demonstrated significant competitiveness in fields such as optical communication, data centers, and quantum communication. Heterogeneous integration technology, which involves bonding lithium niobate thin films with SiN/Si photonic integrated chips, enables the mass production of lithium niobate thin-film modulators while retaining advantages including the low propagation loss of SiN, efficient fiber-to-chip coupling, the mature CMOS processing technology of SOI, and the excellent electro-optical performance of lithium niobate.

• Benefits of integrating active and passive components in scalable InP PICs (Volume production of integrated high speed modulators, lasers, filters and more)

This presentation outlines the approach to InP photonic integrated circuits (PICs) for the CPO and AI era. Utilizing ArF lithography, we demonstrate high-volume manufacturing of consistent, high-fidelity grating structures critical for scalable and repeatable device performance. Our integrated platforms supports monolithic integration of active and passive components—such as lasers and high-bandwidth modulators—within a single PIC. The resulting uniformity and performance scalability address the stringent requirements of next-generation optical interconnects, supporting both datacenter as well as coherent transmission at 1.6T, 3.2T, and beyond.

• Smart Cut™ Technology Driving the AI Era: Enabling Next-Gen Silicon Photonics with Engineered Substrates

The rapid evolution of AI is pushing data centers to new limits in bandwidth, energy efficiency, and scalability. Silicon photonics (SiPho) has emerged as a critical technology to meet these demands, especially in high-speed Ethernet modules like 100G, 400G, and 800G — expected to drive over 80% of SiPho shipments by 2028.

This presentation highlights how Smart Cut™ technology and SOITEC’s engineered substrates offer a high-volume, reliable, and high-performance platform to support the growing needs of optical interconnects in AI-driven cloud and data center infrastructure. From legacy modules to next-generation designs, engineered wafers provide a sustainable and scalable foundation.

We will explore how new materials and substrate innovations are enabling advanced optoelectronic devices, and how Smart Cut™ plays a pivotal role in tailoring substrates for optimal performance. For photonics foundries, fabless design houses, and university researchers, this talk offers insights into how substrate engineering is unlocking the next wave of silicon photonics and accelerating the AI revolution.

• Integrating Modulators and Detectors on a Production-Grade SiN Platform

The main advantages of AN800 offered by LIGENTEC include ultra low loss and high compactness PICs working in the popular C band, and the 8 inch CMOS fabrication line which is ready to scale up to high volume.

The integration of LN or InGaAs on SiN enables the development of high-speed modulators on an attractive low loss PIC platform traditionally lacking active components, opening up possibilities for various applications such as datacom, LIDAR, and quantum photonics. This hybrid approach combines the strengths of all materials, paving the way for advanced photonic integrated circuits on silicon substrates.

• PIC Design, Analysis & Yield Improvement Solutions

The mass production of silicon photonic chips faces core challenges such as process sensitivity, design complexity, low verification efficiency, and difficulty in yield improvement. LUCEDA IPKISS provides an end-to-end solution to empower high-yield mass production. By enabling PDK-driven PIC design, it ensures the manufacturability of chips. Supported by an automated design flow and Monte Carlo analysis modules for process variations, it quantifies the impact of process deviations on chip performance, validates design optimization strategies, and enhances manufacturing yield.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

• VLC photonics, driving a smooth transition to PIC production​​​​​​​

VLC Photonics, part of the Hitachi High-Tech Group, is a one-stop design and test house for Photonic Integrated Circuits (PIC). We support the full product development cycle from early concept and design to fabricated chip characterization.

Our services are designed to help customers move from R&D to scalable production in a faster and more cost-effective way. We assist customers with excellent design capabilities across a variety of material platforms.

With facilities equipped for wafer- and die-level testing, high-speed signal characterization, and thermal reliability analysis, VLC ensures that PICs are optimized for both performance and manufacturability.

VLC has delivered over 300 designs and completed 120+ tape-outs with leading foundries. We empower innovation in telecom, datacom, sensing, and quantum technologies.

At CIOE, we are showcasing cutting-edge solutions that tackle the challenges in PIC design and testing—enabling the next generation of photonic devices.

• PZT-Enhanced LioniX TriPleX® SiN Platform: Faster Tuning with Lower Power Consumption

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​LioniX has introduced a PZT-enhanced process on its renowned ultra-low-loss TriPleX® SiN platform, enabling high-speed tuning with ultra-low power consumption for next-generation integrated photonic applications. Through the monolithic integration of PZT piezoelectric drive units, static power consumption of 1 µW, response speed of 1 MHz, and optical losses as low as 1 dB/m have been achieved. This report presents two representative results: a PZT external cavity tunable laser (126 Hz linewidth, RIN -170 dBc/Hz, 21 mW output) and a reconfigurable microwave photonic filter (only 320 µW power consumption, supporting complex functionality). These results demonstrate that the PZT-enhanced TriPleX® platform significantly improves tuning speed and reduces power consumption while maintaining ultra-low loss. We warmly invite partners to collaborate and accelerate innovation together.