Veeco and imec develop 300 mm–compatible process for integrating barium titanate on silicon photonics
Veeco Instruments and imec have developed a 300 mm, high-volume-manufacturing-compatible process that enables the integration of barium titanate (BaTiO₃) on silicon photonics platforms, addressing a long-standing barrier to deploying high-performance electro-optic materials at scale.
The collaboration has resulted in Veeco delivering its first Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE)– based cluster system, designed for the epitaxial growth of single-crystal BaTiO₃ thin films on silicon.
This system supports both solid and hybrid MBE approaches, improving repeatability and reducing costs compared to conventional MBE methods.
Barium titanate is viewed as a promising material for next-generation silicon photonics modulators due to its strong electro-optic properties, offering a potential path to higher speed, lower power consumption and smaller device footprints than existing silicon-based solutions.
The new 300 mm platform targets emerging applications, including high-speed datacom transceivers, quantum computing, LiDAR and AR/VR, where performance and energy efficiency are becoming critical constraints.
According to the partners, the process represents a first production-compatible route for integrating BaTiO₃ and related oxide materials, such as strontium titanate, on full-scale silicon wafers, thereby supporting heterogeneous integration strategies that align with foundry manufacturing requirements.
