UMC Starts Silicon Photonics Wafer Production in Singapore

SILITH Technology and United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE: UMC; TWSE: 2303) have achieved mass production of silicon photonics chips, enabling high-volume manufacturing for AI and hyperscale data centers. The companies are also developing next-generation 400G optical interconnect technologies. SiLith United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) #Siliconphotonics #integratedcircuits #AI #Opticalinterconnects #datacenters #LatestElectronicsNews https://lnkd.in/dbDz_QRt

AI may be creating the market silicon photonics has been waiting for—but optical performance alone will not win it. In my latest article for EE Times | Electronic Engineering Times, I examine how surging bandwidth demands inside AI data centers are pushing silicon photonics toward high-volume, 300-mm manufacturing—and making packaging, testing, and electrical integration just as important as the photonic devices themselves. Sylvie Gellida, general manager of STMicroelectronics’ Optical and RF Foundry Division, explains how ST is scaling its PIC100 platform and building a broader optical-interconnect ecosystem. Hanjo Rhee, CTO and managing director at Sicoya GmbH, discusses the company’s 1.6T demonstration and why die stacking and scalable packaging will be critical as optics move closer to switches and GPUs. Steeve Bourdon #SiliconPhotonics #Photonics #AIInfrastructure #AIDataCenters #OpticalInterconnects #AdvancedPackaging #Semiconductors

AI is reshaping data centers and shining a spotlight on a critical challenge: how to move massive amounts of data quickly and efficiently. As highlighted by EE Times, silicon photonics is rapidly becoming a cornerstone technology for next-gen AI infrastructure. The industry's next challenge is not only achieving higher optical performance, but scaling manufacturing and integration to meet the demands of hyperscale AI deployments. STMicroelectronics is proud to be contributing to this transformation with the PIC100 silicon photonics platform, leveraging 300 mm manufacturing, advanced packaging, and a broad portfolio of complementary technologies to help enable the future of AI networking. Exciting times ahead for photonics, semiconductors, and AI infrastructure! #AI #SiliconPhotonics #DataCenters #OpticalNetworking #Semiconductors #STMicroelectronics #AIfactories

Great news for Dublin, Pilot Photonics patented photonic chip technology generates ultra-pure wireless signals for AI data centres, satellite communications and next-generation mobile networks. #nextgen #ireland #chip #tech https://lnkd.in/dTKzD26u

AI Infrastructure Is Powering the Entire Optical Ecosystem 🚀 The rapid expansion of AI data centers is creating opportunities far beyond GPUs. As hyperscale AI infrastructure continues to scale, demand is accelerating across the entire optical connectivity ecosystem—from optical modules and DSPs to silicon photonics, networking chips, and high-density interconnect solutions 📈. Recent financial results from leading semiconductor and networking companies highlight a common trend: AI infrastructure investment remains strong, with data center businesses continuing to drive significant revenue growth. For optical networks, this means: 🔹 Faster migration from 400G to 800G, with 1.6T on the horizon. 🔹 Increasing demand for low-loss, high-density optical connectivity. 🔹 Greater adoption of advanced optical packaging and silicon photonics. 🔹 Continued investment in scalable, future-ready data center architectures ⚡. As AI clusters grow larger and network complexity increases, optical connectivity is no longer just a supporting technology—it has become a critical foundation of AI infrastructure. At ADTEK, we continue to develop high-density optical connectivity solutions, including MTP®/MPO assemblies, VSFF solutions, Micro Optical Connectivity Solutions, and intelligent fiber management technologies, helping customers build reliable, scalable networks for the AI era. The future of AI depends not only on faster chips—but also on faster, smarter, and more efficient optical interconnects. 🌐 📖 Source: ICC讯石光通信 (ICC News / Information & Communications Convergence). #AIInfrastructure #DataCenter #OpticalConnectivity #FiberOptics #800G #1600G #SiliconPhotonics #MTP #MMC #AI #ADTEK

AI redefines the optical transceiver market 📈 Yole Group announces the release of its latest photonics report, Optical Transceivers for Datacom & Telecom 2026, providing a comprehensive analysis of one of the fastest-growing segments of digital infrastructure. 🤖 The rise of artificial intelligence is fundamentally changing the role of optical connectivity. What was once considered a supporting technology has become a critical enabler of AI scaling. As AI models grow in scale and complexity, the amount of data exchanged between processors, servers, racks, and data centres is increasing dramatically, creating unprecedented demand for high-performance optical interconnects. “AI is no longer simply increasing demand for optical transceivers; it is redefining the entire photonics industry roadmap,” said Martin Vallo, PhD, Senior Technology & Market Analyst, Photonics and Lighting at Yole Group. You can learn more here: https://lnkd.in/ej5iaUZ9 #ProcurementPro #procurement #AI #transceivermarket #infrastructure #datacentres

At EETimes, Sicoya together with our colleagues at STMicroelectronics share a few thoughts about the challenges and directions for volume scaling of silicon photonics: https://lnkd.in/dmYbYGnm

Jason Zhang, Chief Technology Officer of SiLith, said: “AI is driving an unprecedented demand for optical bandwidth, making silicon photonics a foundational technology for future data centre infrastructure. At SILITH, we are building a scalable silicon photonics platform that spans pluggable optics, co-packaged optics (CPO), and future optical I/O architectures. Together with UMC, we are bringing together leading-edge silicon photonics innovation and high-volume 12-inch manufacturing to deliver the performance, scalability, and cost efficiency required for the next generation of AI networks.” #SILITH #UMC #SiliconPhotonics #PhotonicChips #Semiconductor #AIInfrastructure #OpticalNetworking #DataCenters #ChipInnovation #SemiconLeadersAsia https://lnkd.in/d3i8RMnq

𝐒𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭. SILITH Technology and UMC have announced the first mass-production delivery of photonic IC wafers from UMC’s Singapore fab, marking a key step toward scaling AI-ready optical interconnects. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞: - A 1.6T silicon photonics platform, now production-ready in just 18 months High yield and reliability, already qualified by a leading cloud infrastructure player - A clear roadmap from 200G/lane to 400G/lane, pushing bandwidth boundaries - As AI workloads scale, traditional electrical interconnects are hitting limits in power and performance. Silicon photonics is emerging as the critical enabler for faster, more efficient data movement inside hyperscale data centers. 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐭𝐬 12-𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧 2027 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐥 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐨𝐧 𝐓𝐅𝐋𝐍 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐫𝐚-𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐰𝐢𝐝𝐭𝐡, 𝐔𝐌𝐂 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭-𝐠𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞. United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) SiLith #SiliconPhotonics #AIInfrastructure #OpticalInterconnects #DataCenters #Semiconductors #Photonics #UMC #HighPerformanceComputing #CPO #OpticalIO #NextGenAI #AdvancedPackaging #TFLN 𝐃𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐃𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞: https://lnkd.in/gYAByuWh

Moore's Law and its successor—silicon area scaling—are hitting a wall. The future of computing is defined by the quality of connectivity between chips. In a timely article from Tom's Hardware, our CEO Nicholas Harris breaks down why optical interconnects have become the critical battleground in AI infrastructure: • Copper has hit physical bandwidth/reach limits • Optics path: Pluggables → NPO → CPO → Interposers (boosting speed & efficiency) • 2027-2028 are pivotal as NPO is proving ground and CPO ships at scale • Lasers are the next bottleneck—and 50% of the market opportunity Lightmatter is scaling its solutions through open standards, including in Open Compute Project Foundation, and through NVIDIA's NVLink Fusion ecosystem as an optical interconnect partner. #photonics #optics #artificialintelligence https://lnkd.in/gmiTmTX3