近日，美国国家标准与技术研究所Grant M. Brodnik团队研究了五氧化二钽非线性光子学单片三维集成。相关论文发表在2026年4月15日出版的《自然》杂志上。

光子学领域涵盖了多种材料平台，每种平台都针对特定功能进行了优化，但尚无一种平台能够满足所有当前及未来光子学应用的需求。尽管将不同集成光子学材料相结合（例如将非线性光学、低损耗无源器件和电光效应统一起来）可以提升整体性能，但材料与工艺的兼容性仍然是一大挑战。

研究组介绍了将五氧化二钽（Ta₂O₅，以下简称tantala）光子学直接通过全晶圆、单片式3D集成方式制备在图案化衬底上的技术，并在此以薄膜铌酸锂衬底为例进行展示。Tantala的独特性质——尤其是其可在室温下沉积、中等温度退火，以及为满足相位匹配而优化的厚膜中低残余应力——使其非常适合单片式3D集成，且不会损害衬底的性能或兼容性。

研究组展示了tantala中低损耗、高品质因子的微谐振腔和纳米光子学器件，在极化铌酸锂波导中实现稳健的准相位匹配，以及高效的3D层间路由。这些能力使他们能够实现丰富的非线性频率转换过程，包括：tantala微谐振腔和光子晶体谐振腔中用于超连续谱产生的χ^（3）四波混频、光学参量振荡和暗脉冲微梳产生；周期性极化铌酸锂中的χ^（2）二次谐波产生；以及上述过程的组合。

附：英文原文

Title: Monolithic 3D integration of tantalum pentoxide nonlinear photonics

Author: Brodnik, Grant M., Spektor, Grisha, Williams, Lindell M., Zang, Jizhao, Carollo, Alexa R., Dan, Atasi, Black, Jennifer A., Carlson, David R., Papp, Scott B.

Issue&Volume: 2026-04-15

Abstract: The photonics landscape encompasses a wide scope of material platforms, each optimized for specific functionalities, yet no platform meets the demands of all current and evolving photonic applications. Although combining integrated-photonics materials enhances overall capability, such as unifying nonlinear optics, low-loss passive devices and electro-optics, material and process compatibility remains a major challenge. Here we introduce full-wafer, monolithic 3D integration of tantalum pentoxide (Ta2O5, hereafter tantala1) photonics directly onto a patterned substrate, demonstrated here with thin-film lithium niobate2. Tantala’s unique properties, importantly room-temperature deposition, moderate-temperature annealing and low residual stress in thick films optimized for phase matching, make it well suited for monolithic 3D integration without compromising substrate performance or compatibility. We demonstrate low-loss, high-quality-factor microresonators and nanophotonics in tantala, robust quasi-phase-matching in poled lithium niobate waveguides3, and efficient 3D interlayer routing. These capabilities enable us to demonstrate a rich palette of nonlinear frequency conversion processes, including χ(3) four-wave mixing for supercontinuum generation, optical parametric oscillation and dark-pulse microcomb generation in tantala microresonators and photonic crystal resonators, χ(2) second-harmonic generation in periodically poled lithium niobate, and combinations thereof.

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-026-10379-w

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10379-w