NLM Photonics announces validation results of silicon-organic hybrid PICs at 200G and beyond
The company says that its PICS, based on organic electro-optic technology, have demonstrated record-breaking 0.31 V-mm modulation efficiency and industry-leading 110 GHz bandwidth performance, offering a path to 400G on commercially available silicon photonics platforms
NLM Photonics, a company focusing on hybrid organic electro-optic (OEO) technology, has announced validation results from third-party testing of multi-channel silicon-organic hybrid (SOH) PICs capable of 1.6T and 3.2T performance. NLM says its 1.6T SOH PIC demonstrated record-breaking modulation efficiency and bandwidth, and achieved 224G-per-channel data transmission in tests. These results represent real-world improvements in 200G performance and pave the way for 400G in a commercially available silicon photonics platform, the company adds.
According to NLM, the testing confirmed multiple industry firsts, including a world-record SOH modulation efficiency of 0.31 V-mm on the best single channel, representing a 10-15x improvement over traditional silicon photonic modulators. In bandwidth testing performed by VLC Photonics, the NLM says its technology delivered industry-leading 3 dB bandwidths exceeding 80 GHz for 200G components and up to 110 GHz for 400G components, outperforming traditional silicon photonics.
NLM adds that testing performed at its lab in collaboration with Keysight Technologies verified 224G PAM4 data transmission with exceptionally low driver voltage requirements. The company says this enables significantly more energy-efficient operation while maintaining consistent multi-channel performance across eight channels, with only 10 percent inter-channel variation in Vπ.
The PICs tested were designed in collaboration with Enosemi and fabricated on Advanced Micro Foundry's (AMF) O-band GP v4.5 200mm silicon photonics platform to specifications developed by Centera Photonics. The total area for the 1.6T SOH PIC is 17 mm² for the complete 8-channel system, which NLM notes is significantly more compact than competing technologies. The company says this testing validates that, using its SOH technology, commercially available silicon photonics platforms can break the 200G barrier, with a clear path to 400G and beyond.
“The demand from AI datacentres for high bandwidth and lower power, while not breaking the bank, is creating unprecedented challenges for the photonics industry,” said Brad Booth, CEO of NLM Photonics. “Traditional photonic platforms are severely challenged to meet next-gen demands. Our 1.6T and 3.2T SOH PICs demonstrate the ability of NLM’s solutions to permit silicon photonic platforms to continue to scale to higher bandwidths while reducing a PIC’s footprint by at least 40 percent.”
Tom Baehr-Jones, CEO of photonics software firm Tesselmax, co-founder of Luxtera and Elenion, and Optica fellow, commented: “As a co-inventor of the slot waveguide silicon-organic hybrid modulator along with Michael Hochberg, I've witnessed this technology's evolution from laboratory curiosity to commercial reality. NLM's breakthrough results represent something we've been working toward for two decades – real-world 200G performance that is scalable for production and a clear path to 400G on commercially available silicon photonics platforms, and with order-of-magnitude performance improvements over what silicon photonics can achieve without organic materials. Modulation is one of the most important aspects of silicon photonics systems, and this is a timely result in light of the pressing need for higher speed and lower power devices.”
Michael Hochberg, co-founder of Luxtera and Elenion and co-inventor of silicon-organic hybrid technology, added: “This is a very exciting result. Integrating polymers onto these silicon platforms is challenging; it's been a long road, and it's nice to see it finally come together.”
