A variability-aware simulation and design workflow for wafer-scale, heterogeneously integrated lithium niobate modulators

We present a variability-aware simulation framework for heterogeneously integrated lithium niobate traveling-wave modulators. The framework incorporates fabrication-variation data obtained from the TRANSVERSE pilot line at Ghent University-imec and enables efficient optimization of geometric parameters to ensure stable device performance across wafer-scale manufacturing. The proposed multi-parameter optimization method enables the efficient identification of modulator designs that simultaneously achieve target performance metrics (Vπ, optical insertion loss, and 3 dB electro-optic bandwidth) while maintaining robustness against fabrication-induced variations. Using this methodology on two representative modulator architectures, we theoretically demonstrate that reliable wafer-scale integration of lithium niobate modulators on silicon photonics via micro-transfer printing is feasible and can be systematically engineered.