NLM Photonics Announces Organic Electro-Optic Material With Record-Breaking Performance

Selerion-BHX Will Enable Fabs to Produce Photonics With Higher Bandwidth, Smaller Footprints and Lower Voltage Requirements

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON / ACCESS Newswire / June 4, 2025 / NLM Photonics, a leader in hybrid organic electro-optic (OEO) technology, announces the next material in the Selerion™ family of hybrid OEO materials: Selerion-BHX. This latest addition to the Selerion family is a cross-linkable thermoset OEO material with exceptional electro-optic (EO) performance. Selerion-BHX is suited to photonics applications where size, efficiency, and bandwidth are paramount, including optical I/O, co-packaged optics (CPO), satellite communications, and space-based applications. Recent research published in Chemistry of Materials confirms record-breaking EO performance and modulation efficiency in photonic integrated circuits (PICs) for this new material.

Selerion-BHX exhibits an EO coefficient (r₃₃) of 1000 pm/V and was designed for area-constrained applications requiring bandwidths beyond 100 GHz. The paper "Ultrahigh Performance Cross-linkable Organic Electro-Optic Material for Hybrid Modulators," co-authored with researchers from University of Washington, Polariton Technologies, KU Leuven, and ETH Zurich, documents the in-device performance characteristics of Selerion-BHX, known as BAHX in scientific literature. For this research, Polariton built plasmonic modulators incorporating Selerion-BHX to achieve the best modulation efficiency (V_πL) ever recorded in a slot waveguide modulator: 0.038 V∙mm at 1550 nm. The result is smaller device footprints and improved energy efficiency at high bandwidths. The study also verified the long-term thermal stability of Selerion-BHX over 2,000 hours of testing at 85°C.

"We achieved significant performance gains on plasmonic platforms using Selerion-BHX," says co-author Dr. Delwin Elder, Sr. Director of Materials at NLM Photonics. "This paper demonstrates the transformative potential of organic electro-optics - and we anticipate additional future performance gains as we bring forward more OEO materials in our development pipeline."

Validated Performance for Higher Bandwidth and Lower Power

Selerion-BHX was designed specifically to achieve significant energy savings beyond 100 GHz for data rates at 400 Gb/s per lane and higher. The record-breaking modulation efficiency achieved using Selerion-BHX will create critical headroom in the power envelope for space and satellite applications and provide greater bandwidth density for optical I/O and CPO applications.

Like NLM's workhorse Selerion-HTX, Selerion-BHX is a thermoset synthetic organic material that can tolerate high temperatures. Both are integrated in slot-waveguide EO modulators in PICs during the final stages of manufacturing, making them compatible with existing process flows.

"Built on decades of research, NLM Photonics' expertise in modeling and tuning synthetic organic materials allows us to tailor performance characteristics for a given photonics application," says Brad Booth, CEO of NLM Photonics. "We push the boundaries of hybrid OEO performance, and our purpose-built Selerion-BHX is an ideal material for applications with energy or bandwidth density limitations. We anticipate future additions to the Selerion family keyed to specific applications and markets."

Selerion-BHX was developed by NLM Photonics in collaboration with the University of Washington. This patent-pending material is exclusively licensed to NLM Photonics via CoMotion, UW's collaborative innovation hub.

Visit nlmphotonics.com to learn more or contact the company to discuss partnership.

About NLM Photonics

NLM Photonics develops cutting-edge organic electro-optic modulation technology transforming data centers, AI, communications, and quantum computing. Our patented hybrid technology enables higher bandwidth and lower power consumption while requiring minimal process disruption, helping solve critical challenges in efficiency and sustainability. Built on over two decades of research and development, NLM's material science breakthroughs will enable the next generation of high-performance computing. Follow us at nlmphotonics.com and on LinkedIn @nlm-photonics. 

SOURCE: NLM Photonics