Breaking dense integration limits: inverse-designed lithium niobate multimode photonic circuits.

ABSTRACT: Despite the growing interest in thin film lithium niobate (TFLN) as a material platform for photonic integrated circuits (PIC), its moderate refractive index, CMOS-incompatible fabrication processes and inherent material anisotropy still raise questions about achieving dense integration comparable to mature platforms like silicon photonics while preserving the superior properties of lithium niobate. Here we show a photonic inverse design method to enable miniaturization and dense integration of lithium niobate PIC components. As proofs-of-concept, we experimentally demonstrate ultra-compact mode-division (de)multiplexer (19 × 25 μm²), multimode waveguide crossing (15 × 15 μm²), and waveguide bends (30 μm bending radius). The fabricated components are used to construct multimode

SUBMITTER: Han X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12859143 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature