Veeco, imec Advance Barium Titanate Integration on Silicon

Veeco Instruments Inc., global industry experts in advanced process equipment for semiconductor and photonics manufacturing, and imec, a global research and innovation hub specializing in nanoelectronics and digital technologies, have collaboratively developed a 300mm high-volume manufacturing–compatible process that enables the integration of barium titanate (BaTiO₃) on a silicon photonics platform. 

Barium titanate is a promising electro-optic material with properties suited for high-speed, low-power optical modulation. Its integration on silicon photonics platforms has the potential to support emerging applications including high-speed optical transceivers, quantum computing, light detection and ranging (LiDAR), and augmented and virtual reality systems. Historically, however, approaches to integrating BaTiO₃ have struggled to meet cost, scalability, and repeatability requirements necessary for high-volume manufacturing.

As part of the collaboration, Veeco has delivered its first Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE)–based cluster system designed for 300mm silicon wafers. The platform enables the epitaxial growth of single-crystalline BaTiO₃ thin films on silicon and is available with both solid and hybrid MBE configurations.

By integrating alternative growth techniques, the system supports improved process repeatability and reduced cost compared to conventional MBE approaches.

The development comes as demand for silicon photonics continues to increase. The optical transceiver market for datacom applications is projected to grow from $2.9 billion in 2024 to $13.1 billion by 2030. Existing silicon modulator technologies face trade-offs related to power consumption, modulation speed, drive voltage, and device footprint, creating demand for novel electro-optic materials that can be integrated at scale.

“At present, there is no commercially available production-compatible solution for manufacturing these materials,” the companies noted. Through their partnership, Veeco and imec are addressing this industry challenge by developing scaled integration solutions for materials such as barium titanate and strontium titanate on 300mm silicon platforms suitable for semiconductor fabs.

“Over the past 4 years, imec and Veeco have collaborated on developing alternative techniques for BaTiO₃-on-Si and benchmarking both material and electro-optic properties towards defining a strategy for advancing large-scale manufacturing solutions,” says Clement Merckling, scientific director at imec. “With the introduction of Veeco’s first-of-its-kind MBE solution, we are expanding our capabilities for heterogeneous integration of beyond-Si electro-optic materials, strengthening our R&D offering for current and new partners with an interest in exploring and prototyping next-generation silicon photonics technology,” added Joris Van Campenhout, imec fellow and optical I/O program director.

“This partnership with imec is a monumental step forward for the MBE industry, datacom and quantum computing production,” said Matthew Marek, Senior Director of Marketing for Veeco’s MBE Product Line. “The historic view of MBE processing has been that it is slow and expensive; however, new hardware developments that our team validated in partnership with imec bring MBE into a cost-effective domain that is suitable for semiconductor fabs. We are excited about the work underway between our two organizations to demonstrate a repeatable, high-volume BaTiO₃ production process.”

The companies expect the collaboration to support broader adoption of barium titanate–based photonic modulators and accelerate the development of scalable silicon photonics technologies for datacom and quantum computing applications.

About Veeco Instruments Inc.

Founded in 1989 and headquartered in Plainview, New York, Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: VECO) designs and manufactures advanced semiconductor process equipment used in the fabrication and packaging of next-generation devices. The company’s technology portfolio includes laser annealing, ion beam, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), single wafer etch and clean, and lithography solutions. Veeco’s systems are used across semiconductor, compound semiconductor, and photonics manufacturing environments, with a focus on process performance, yield optimization, and cost of ownership in both high-volume production and advanced R&D applications. For more information, please click here.

About imec

Headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, imec is a global research and innovation hub specializing in advanced semiconductor and digital technologies. The organization conducts research across areas including semiconductor and system scaling, artificial intelligence, silicon photonics, connectivity, and sensing. Imec collaborates with industry partners, technology companies, start-ups, academic institutions, and research organizations worldwide to support the development of next-generation chip and system technologies.

Through its IC-Link services, imec supports companies throughout the chip development lifecycle, from early concept and prototyping through to manufacturing-ready solutions. Imec operates research facilities in Belgium, across Europe, and in the United States, with representation on three continents. To learn more, please click here.

Source/Photo Credit: Veeco, imec

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