Researchers developed a “photonic Lego” approach for integrating different single-crystal materials onto silicon and silicon-nitride photonic chips. Freestanding nanomembranes can be stacked or stitched together using van der Waals forces, adding functions such as electro-optic modulation, magneto-optic isolation and broadband photodetection without conventional lattice-matching constraints. The platform could support more compact multifunctional photonic systems for communications, sensing, computing and quantum technologies.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-11000-w