Thin Film Lithium Niobate for Photonic Quantum Computing

Photonics-based devices are advancing rapidly, enabling the next generation of quantum computing and communication. This talk highlights Thin-Film Lithium Niobate on Insulator (TFLN) as an ideal material system for these applications.

TFLN (Thin-Film Lithium Niobate on Insulator) is an ideal material for photonic communications and quantum computing due to its exceptional electro-optic properties, low optical loss, broad transparency window, and strong nonlinear response, all of which enable high-speed, low-power, and scalable photonic devices. Its compatibility with chip-scale integration and room-temperature operation further enhances its promise for real-world deployment in both classical and quantum systems. Additionally, TFLN benefits from a more mature and reliable supply chain, making it well-suited for industrial adoption and commercialization.

Dianat will present progress in fabricating and characterizing TFLN devices and discuss the development of an agile foundry for processing transition metal ferroelectric materials like TFLN, providing rapid prototyping and process-informed design. These materials show great promise in photonic communications and quantum computing, and this talk highlights work toward establishing a US-based commercial foundry dedicated to their production.

About the presenter
Pouya Dianat, Ph.D., is the chief revenue officer at Quantum Computing Inc. (QCi), bringing over 18 years of experience in the photonics industry, with a strong focus on the commercialization of photonic technologies. His expertise spans more than a decade in advancing photonic solutions, underpinned by eight years of graduate research in the field.

Prior to his current role, Dianat served as director of photonic integrated circuits (PICs) and foundry services at QCi, where he led the commercialization of the company’s thin-film lithium niobate technology beginning in July 2024. From 2018 to 2021, he was chief technology officer at Nanograss Solar LLC, a company specializing in high-speed photodetectors. Between 2021 and 2022, he served as an entrepreneur-in-residence at Drexel University while working as a scientist at Princeton Infrared Technologies, which developed advanced infrared camera systems.

From March 2022 to July 2023, Dianat was a senior photonics engineer at Optogration, a Luminar Company, where he led business development, commercialization efforts, and scale-up of photonic detector chips for automotive LIDAR applications. Most recently, from 2023 to 2024, he was the market expert and director of PIC and quantum technologies at OPTICA, a leading global optics and photonics society.