STMicroelectronics announced it has entered high-volume production of its silicon photonics PIC100 platform, a 300 mm manufacturing technology designed to support optical interconnects for hyperscale data centers and AI clusters. The company said its PIC100 platform is already being deployed by leading hyperscalers for 800G and 1.6T optical transceivers, enabling higher bandwidth, lower latency, and improved energy efficiency as AI workloads scale across large GPU clusters.
The PIC100 platform integrates advanced silicon photonics capabilities including low-loss silicon and silicon nitride waveguides, high-performance modulators and photodiodes, and edge-coupling technology. ST reports waveguide losses as low as 0.4 dB/cm for silicon and 0.5 dB/cm for silicon nitride. By leveraging its 300 mm semiconductor manufacturing lines, ST aims to deliver large-scale, high-volume production suitable for hyperscale deployments. The company plans to more than quadruple production capacity by 2027, supported by long-term capacity reservation agreements with hyperscale customers.
ST also outlined the next step in its silicon photonics roadmap with the planned introduction of a PIC100 TSV platform incorporating through-silicon via technology. The TSV architecture aims to increase optical connectivity density, enable tighter integration of optical and electronic components, and improve thermal efficiency. The company said the technology will support emerging architectures such as Near Packaged Optics (NPO) and co-packaged optics (CPO), which hyperscalers are evaluating for future AI infrastructure deployments.
• PIC100 silicon photonics platform now in high-volume production using 300 mm semiconductor manufacturing lines
• Technology targeted for 800G and 1.6T optical transceivers used in hyperscale AI clusters and data centers
• Silicon and silicon nitride waveguide losses as low as 0.4 dB/cm and 0.5 dB/cm respectively
• Capacity expansion plan aims to increase production more than fourfold by 2027
• Next-generation PIC100 TSV platform integrates through-silicon vias to enable higher optical density and improved thermal management
• TSV roadmap designed to support Near Packaged Optics (NPO) and co-packaged optics (CPO) architectures
“Following the announcement of its new silicon photonics technology in February 2025, ST is now entering high-volume production for leading hyperscalers. The combination of our technology platform and the superior scale of our 300 mm manufacturing lines gives us a unique competitive advantage to support the AI infrastructure super-cycle,” said Fabio Gualandris, President, Quality, Manufacturing & Technology at STMicroelectronics.
🌐 Analysis: STMicroelectronics’ move into large-scale silicon photonics manufacturing highlights the increasing role of semiconductor fabs in the optical interconnect supply chain as AI clusters scale toward Tbps-class connectivity. The shift toward NPO and CPO architectures is also accelerating across the industry, with hyperscalers and networking vendors evaluating deeper optical-electronic integration to address power, density, and bandwidth constraints in next-generation AI infrastructure.
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