Swiss foundry for photonic integrated circuits based on thin-film lithium niobate and lithium tantalate
Luxtelligence SA
Lausanne (Switzerland)New on Amplifa
About Luxtelligence
Luxtelligence SA is a spin-off of EPFL founded in 2022 in Lausanne and operates a foundry for photonic integrated circuits (PICs) based on thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) and thin-film lithium tantalate (TFLT). The technology originated in 2017 from PhD research at EPFL and was further developed into the TFLX platform in 2018 in collaboration with KIT. The company manufactures in an R&D cleanroom on 4-inch wafers and offers MPW and DPW runs as well as custom packaged electro-optic modulators. At the core of manufacturing is the proprietary diamond-like carbon (DLC) etching technology with minimum feature sizes of 250 nm (waveguides) and 800 nm (electrodes). In addition to manufacturing, Luxtelligence operates a test facility with automated wafer-level probing up to 200 mm and delivers verified Known-Good Dies. The process is currently being transferred to 6-inch and 8-inch production lines capable of processing up to 10,000 wafers per month. Customers come from photonics, quantum technology, AI data centers and optical telecommunications, including CNIT, KAIST and Orca Computing.
- Site
- Lausanne, Switzerland
- Processes
- TFLN/TFLT photonic wafer manufacturing (MPW run), TFLT/TFLN fabrication on 4-inch wafers (DPW run), Microfabrication of integrated photonics (TFLX, DLC etching), Wafer-level testing / characterization (automated wafer-level probing, KGD), Packaged electro-optic modulators (custom), MPW runs (Multi-Project Wafer), DPW runs (Dedicated Project Wafer), Design Rule Check (DRC)
- Materials
- Thin-Film Lithium Niobate (TFLN), Thin-Film Lithium Tantalate (TFLT), Lithium Niobate, Lithium Tantalate, Silicon (silicon, optoelectronics on silicon), Thin-Film Lithium Niobate, Thin-Film Lithium Tantalate, Diamond-Like Carbon Etching
- Certificates
- Wafer-level probing (up to 200 mm), Known-Good Dies (KGD), ISO 9001
- Founded
- 2022
- Industries
- Photonics, Quantum technology, AI/datacenter connectivity, Optical telecommunications/transceivers
- 01
Design support and PDKs (lnoi400, ltoi300)
- 02
Design Rule Check (DRC)
- 03
Microfabrication TFLT/TFLN (DLC etching, 4-inch)
- 04
Wafer-level testing and characterization (KGD)
- 05
Packaging of modulators
- 06
Process transfer to 6-inch/8-inch foundry partners
Materials & Processes
Thin-Film Lithium Niobate
Ferroelectric platform (LN-CORE) for fast R&D prototyping and quantum experiments, C-band components, modulation via the Pockels effect.
Thin-Film Lithium Tantalate
Platform (LT-PRO) with zero birefringence, high optical power and minimal bias drift, O- and C-band, path to 150/200-mm volume production.
Diamond-Like Carbon Etching
Proprietary etching process for industrializing precise structures on ferroelectric thin-film materials.
Silicon
Substrate and integration level for silicon optoelectronics (optoelectronics on a chip).
Locations
Lausanne
CHHeadquarters, R&D cleanroom and test facility
- Lot size
- MPW from 12+ chips; DPW 2–8 wafers
- Materials
- TFLN, TFLT
- R&D cleanroom (microfabrication, 4-inch)
- Automated wafer-level probing up to 200 mm
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TFLN/TFLT photonic wafer manufacturing (MPW run)Engineering | – | Die 1 cm × 0.5 cm | – | 12+ chips per MPW | Lithium niobate (TFLN), Lithium tantalate (TFLT) |
| TFLT/TFLN fabrication on 4-inch wafers (DPW run)Engineering | – | – | – | 2 wafers – 6–8 wafers (R&D cleanroom) | Lithium niobate, Lithium tantalate |
| Microfabrication of integrated photonics (TFLX, DLC etching)Engineering | minimum feature sizes 250 nm (waveguides), 800 nm | – | – | – | Lithium niobate, Lithium tantalate, Diamond-like carbon |
| Wafer-level testing / characterization (automated wafer-level probing, KGD)Testing | – | 200mm | – | – | Lithium niobate, Lithium tantalate |
| Packaged electro-optic modulators (custom)Assembly | – | – | – | – | Lithium niobate, Lithium tantalate |
2 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Automated wafer-level probing test system | – | 1 | Wafers up to 200mm | 2024 | Switzerland (test facility) |
| R&D cleanroom (microfabrication) | – | – | 4-inch wafers | – | Lausanne, Switzerland |
Additional services
Reference customers
Quality & Characterization
At the LXT test facility in Switzerland, wafers up to 200 mm are characterized by means of automated wafer-level probing; verified Known-Good Dies (KGD) are delivered.
| Evidence | Lausanne |
|---|---|
| Wafer-level probing (up to 200 mm) | |
| Known-Good Dies (KGD) | |
| ISO 9001 |
History
- 2017
Technology originated from PhD research at EPFL; start of TFLN/TFLT research
- 2018
TFLX platform resulting from the collaboration of LPQM (EPFL, Prof. Kippenberg) and IPQ (KIT, Prof. Koos)
- 2022
Founding of Luxtelligence SA as an EPFL spin-off in Lausanne; industrialization of the DLC etch technology
- 2023
First wafer delivered
- 2024
Launch of the first open-access PDK for thin-film lithium niobate (lnoi400)
- 2024
Opening of the LXT test facility in Switzerland with automated wafer-level probing (up to 200 mm)
- 2025
Live demonstration with Keysight and Anritsu at OFC San Francisco
- 2025
First commercial lithium tantalate chips (LT-PRO) and start of volume scaling on 6-inch and 8-inch lines
- 2026
Launch of the open-access PDK ltoi300 for LT-PRO