Tower Semiconductor and Scintil Photonics introduced what they describe as the first heterogeneously integrated DWDM laser sources designed for AI infrastructure, combining monolithic laser integration with high-volume silicon photonics manufacturing. The companies said the devices are now available and validated on Tower’s production silicon photonics platform, positioning them for hyperscale deployment.
The solution uses Scintil’s SHIP (Scintil Heterogeneous Integrated Photonics) technology to monolithically integrate active laser sources with Tower’s PH18M silicon photonics platform. The resulting product, branded LEAF Light, targets Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) applications in Co-Packaged Optics (CPO) architectures for scale-up AI networking. DWDM laser sources support higher bandwidth density, lower energy per bit, and ultra-low tail latency, key metrics for GPU/XPU interconnects as hyperscalers move toward multi-rack optical scale-up fabrics.
Tower said its multi-site silicon photonics manufacturing footprint enables resilient capacity and supply continuity aligned with hyperscale volume requirements. The companies are supporting customer evaluations for DWDM CPO programs, outlining a path from qualification to volume production at scales reaching millions of units per month. The announcement comes ahead of OFC 2026 in Los Angeles, where both companies plan to showcase their silicon photonics platforms and roadmaps.
- First announced availability of heterogeneously integrated DWDM laser sources for AI infrastructure
- Monolithic integration of active lasers with silicon photonics using SHIP technology
- Fabricated on Tower’s PH18M silicon photonics platform
- Targets DWDM-based CPO for AI scale-up networking
- Designed for higher bandwidth density, lower energy per bit, and ultra-low tail latency
- Positioned for hyperscale deployment with multi-site manufacturing support
- Customer evaluations underway for DWDM CPO programs
“Next-generation AI infrastructure demands optical interconnects that deliver more bandwidth per fiber at lower power per bit,” said Matt Crowley, CEO of Scintil Photonics. “With SHIP now validated on Tower’s production lines, customers have a path from evaluation to millions of units per month.”
🌐 Analysis: The move underscores growing industry focus on integrating laser sources directly onto silicon photonics platforms to support DWDM-based CPO in AI scale-up fabrics. Tower expands its role beyond passive SiPho integration, while Scintil advances heterogeneous laser integration at production scale, aligning with broader hyperscaler interest in optical scale-up architectures as copper interconnect limits approach at higher bandwidth densities.
