Wednesday, May 28, 2025
scia Systems GmbHPhotonic Integrated Circuits (PICs) represent a transformative technology that will revolutionize a wide range of industries, including telecommunications, computing, healthcare, and sensing. As the demand for faster, more efficient, and scalable technologies continues to grow, PICs are emerging as a key enabler of next-generation systems. Despite their numerous advantages, PICs face several difficulties. Developing suitable manufacturing processes for the mass production of PICs remains challenging. Ion beam surface processing with nanometer and sub-nanometer precision is a powerful technology for current and future PICs in the process chain. It enables the processing of a wide range of materials typical of PICs, including thin films with different optical properties, for various applications without exception. This work demonstrates the application of ion beam technology for trimming the thickness of Silicon Nitride (Si3N4) and Lithium Niobate (LiNbO3) thin films.