We offer fabrication on Thin-Film Lithium Niobate (TFLN) and Thin-Film Lithium Tantalate (TFLT) through MPW and DPW runs.
An MPW is a Multi-Project Wafer run aimed at fast prototyping and design testing. Multiple clients submit their designs to the same batch and share the wafer space, which helps reduce costs, while preserving design confidentiality. In MPW runs, the vertical stack (i.e., the material layer thicknesses, arrangements, and processing methods) is fixed to a known-good configuration, maintained by Luxtelligence.
A DPW is a Dedicated Project Wafer run where the entire wafer space is allocated to the client, allowing flexibility in defining die size and wafer quantity. In the case of DPWs, the vertical stack is either chosen from one of those supported by Luxtelligence, or customized, after a feasibility discussion with the Luxtelligence staff.
We currently perform our TFLT and TFLN fabrication runs on 4-inch wafers.
We are currently transferring our process to high-volume foundries supporting 6-inch and 8-inch wafers.
For TFLT and TFLN MPW runs, the minimum die size (grain size) is 10.1 mm x 5.05 mm. Customers can also reserve space for multiple dies, and unify them into a single die (e.g. a footprint of 20.2 x 5.05 mm is admissible). The extraordinary crystal axis is aligned along the short dimension of the die. The modulator electrodes and waveguides typically run along the long side of the die.
For DPW runs, the total design space is limited to 20.2 mm x 20.2 mm. The individual die sizes are flexible and defined by mutual agreement before fabrication starts.
You will receive at least 12 copies of your design.
We can increase the number of chips by processing supplementary wafers at additional cost.
We typically recommend starting with two wafers in a dedicated run, with the option to add more wafers if needed. Orders for multiple runs with different delivery times can be placed; in case the design is re-used in a subsequent re-run, a discount is granted due to lower material costs.
We are currently transferring our process to facilities capable of handling up to 10,000 wafers per month.
The LN-CORE platform is a well-tested integrated lithium niobate (LN) on insulator material stack. Its main purpose is fast prototyping of LN circuits for high-speed optical modulation. It features a simple single-metallization stack with floating (buffered) electrodes enabling vertical metal-LN waveguide crossings, simplifying waveguide routing. An additional high-resistivity layer, supporting integrated microwave terminations, can be added at additional cost.
The LT-PRO platform is an integrated lithium tantalate (LT) material stack, featuring two high-conductance metallization layers, one of which is in direct contact with the LT slab. Compared to LN, LT offers a five-fold improvement in bias stability, exhibits approximately twenty-times-lower birefringence, provides nearly double the optical power damage threshold, and features a larger optical bandgap for waveguiding in the visible or near-visible spectra. The inclusion of two metal layers improves the achievable modulation efficiency without compromising on electrical routing requirements. The platform also incorporates integrated microwave terminations for travelling-wave modulators to simplify RF packaging requirements.
A Process Design Kit (PDK) is a collection of validated device building blocks, design rules, and simulation models that enables designers to create photonic integrated circuits compatible with a specific fabrication platform. It ensures that layouts meet manufacturing constraints and can be reliably fabricated.
The lnoi400 PDK is built on the LN-CORE platform and currently features C-band active and passive components, such as phase and amplitude modulators, edge and grating couplers, optical resonators, 1 × 2 and 2 × 2 MMIs, and thermo-optic phase shifters. The lnoi400 PDK has been released in Q1 2024, and is supported by the experience of more than 10 DPW and MPW runs.
The ltoi300 is an O- and C-band PDK built on the LT-PRO platform. It includes integrated microwave terminations, optimised high-speed phase and amplitude modulators, MMI splitters, and edge couplers for both optical bands. The ltoi300 PDK has been released in Q1 2026, and is supported by multiple RnD and customer fabrication runs starting from 2024.
You can find the GDSFactory cells for our lnoi400 and ltoi300 PDKs on our GitHub repository. Our lnoi400 PDK is also currently available through the EPDA platforms and PhotonForge.
Our TFLT PDK supports both O-band and C-band components with integrated microwave terminations. Our TFLN PDK has only C-band components but the LN-CORE platform is perfectly suitable for O-band (and higher frequency) photonic integrated circuits.
Clients are free to propose custom geometries. However, the design rules in general cannot be violated. Complete documentation detailing fabrication constraints can be downloaded from the website.
We recommend using PhotonForge or Tidy3D for rapid optical and RF prototyping. The material parameters, as well as the stack for our LN-CORE and LT-PRO platforms have been incorporated in those numerical solvers. Our experimental results have been cross-validated against numerical simulations and show good agreement, enabling reliable and efficient component development.
You will receive a comprehensive design manual with examples and explanations. Upon availability, our engineers can provide certain fabrication and experimental data. More detailed design consulting services, such as validation of further components, are possible upon mutual agreement before sending a purchase order.
The LXT design manual can be obtained either directly from the website or by contacting the LXT staff. Once the purchase order (PO) is submitted, the design space is reserved, and the design phase can begin. We recommend PO submission at least one month in advance of the submission deadline to avoid conflicts in design space assignment.
To help minimize design errors, LXT provides multiple reference designs and examples on our GitHub repository.
The client must submit their completed design by the submission deadline published on the website for MPW runs, or by the mutually agreed deadline for DPW runs. Within two weeks following the submission deadline, LXT engineers perform an inspection and design rule check (DRC) and notify the client if any corrections are required. DRC can be also independently carried out by the customers by running the appropriate DRC runsets.
Two weeks after the submission deadline, the customer designs are frozen to the last submitted version, so that fabrication at LXT can start.
Our typical MPW lead time is 14 weeks for TFLN runs and 18 weeks for TFLT runs after completion of the design rule check. The DPW lead time depends on the number of requested wafers and the complexity of the vertical stack.