09 Mar Silicon photonics platform enters mass production
Semiconductor manufacturer STMicroelectronics (ST) has announced the beginning of mass production of its PIC100 silicon photonics platform. The platform is designed for use in optical interconnects in data centers and AI clusters operated by hyperscalers. “The combination of our technology platform and the superior scalability of our 300-mm manufacturing lines gives us a unique competitive advantage to support the AI infrastructure supercycle,” said Fabio Gualandris, President for Quality, Manufacturing and Technology at ST.
According to ST, the PIC100 platform delivers state-of-the-art optical performance, including ultra-low losses in silicon and silicon nitride waveguides (0.4 and 0.5 dB/cm respectively), advanced modulator and photodiode performance, and an innovative edge-coupling technology.
800G and 1.6T PIC100 transceivers enable higher bandwidth, lower latency, and improved energy efficiency in response to the rise in AI workloads. Image: ST
Dr. Vladimir Kozlov, CEO and Chief Analyst at LightCounting, said: “The market for pluggable optics in data centers continues to grow strongly and reached $15.5 billion in 2025. We expect the market to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 17% from 2025 to 2030, exceeding $34 billion by the end of the forecast period. In addition, co-packaged optics (CPO) will emerge as a rapidly growing segment and contribute more than $9 billion in revenue by 2030. Over the same period, the share of transceivers using silicon photonics modulators is expected to increase from 43% in 2025 to 76% in 2030.”
Gualandris added: “Looking ahead, we are planning and implementing capacity expansions to increase production more than fourfold by 2027. This rapid expansion is fully secured by long-term customer capacity reservation commitments.”
In parallel with the mass production of PIC100, ST also plans to introduce the next step in its silicon photonics technology roadmap: PIC100 TSV, a new platform integrating Through-Silicon-Via (TSV) technology to further increase optical interconnect density, module integration, and system-level thermal efficiency. The PIC100-TSV platform is designed to support future generations of Near-Packaged Optics (NPO) and Co-Packaged Optics (CPO) and aligns with hyperscalers’ long-term migration paths toward deeper opto-electronic integration for scaling.
Further information about silicon photonics at ST
Source and image: www.st.com