PRESENTATION

Sputtered Thin-Film Aluminum Nitride on Insulator for Integrated Photonics: a Scalable Approach and Application Potential

Thin-film aluminum nitride (AlN) on insulator is an emerging material for integrated photonics, offering a wide bandgap with extensive transparency from the UV to mid-infrared spectrum. Its non-centrosymmetric crystal structure enables optical nonlinearities, Pockels electro-optic effects, and piezoelectricity, supporting advanced functional integration such as frequency comb generation, fast modulation, and MEMS acousto-optics for low-power, high-speed solutions. Despite its CMOS compatibility and strong potential in telecommunications, sensing, and quantum technologies, challenges remain in minimizing optical losses and optimizing fabrication processes. This talk will highlight recent advances in AlN-based integrated photonics and introduce a scalable sputtering deposition technique to enhance integration and broaden application potential.

Thang Duy Dao

Silicon Austria Labs (SAL)

Thang Duy Dao began his research career at the Institute of Physics in Vietnam in 2008, focusing on the Hubbard model for strongly correlated electron systems, laser physics, and spectroscopy. In 2012, he joined National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) in Japan, where he pursued research in nanoplasmonics, leading to a PhD from Nara Institute of Science and Technology (NAIST). After completing his PhD, he continued at NIMS as a postdoctoral researcher, working on plasmonic metasurfaces with support from a JSPS fellowship. He is currently a staff scientist at Silicon Austria Labs GmbH (SAL) in Austria, advancing research in nanophotonics, metaoptics, and MEMS sensors.