Coherent used OFC 2026 to highlight its expanding Indium Phosphide portfolio for next-generation data center and transport optics. The company said its InP roadmap spanned lasers, modulators, photodiodes, and integrated subsystems aimed at scale-out, scale-up, and scale-across network architectures as AI infrastructure pushed optical interconnects toward higher lane speeds, tighter power budgets, and broader deployment models.
The company highlighted several product building blocks in that portfolio, including a 400mW high-power continuous-wave laser for co-packaged optics and silicon photonics pluggables, 200G EML devices for 1.6T transceivers, differential EMLs targeting 400G-per-lane operation for future 3.2T-class pluggables, and high-speed 200G and 400G photodiodes. Coherent also pointed to its nano-Integrated Tunable Laser Assemblies, 800G and 1.6T IQ modulators, and other optical sub-assemblies for longer-reach and transport applications.
A notable part of the announcement centered on manufacturing scale. Coherent said it is ramping 6-inch InP production across facilities in Järfälla, Sweden; Sherman, Texas; and Zürich, Switzerland. That manufacturing expansion reinforced the company’s message that InP remains a core material platform for high-performance optical engines, especially as AI clusters drive demand for optical components that can support both short-reach pluggables and more integrated co-packaged designs.
- Technology focus: Indium Phosphide (InP)
- Portfolio includes: lasers, modulators, photodiodes, and integrated subsystems
- CPO element: 400mW high-power CW laser
- Pluggable focus: 200G EML for 1.6T transceivers
- Future lane rates: differential EMLs targeting 400G per lane for 3.2T and beyond
- Detector portfolio: 200G and 400G photodiodes
- Transport components: nITLA, 800G IQ modulators, 1.6T IQ modulators
- Manufacturing ramp: 6-inch InP production across Sweden, the U.S., and Switzerland
Beck Mason, Executive VP – Semiconductor Devices at Coherent, said: “InP technology is central to high-performance optical connectivity. Our expanding InP platform, from high-power lasers and advanced modulators to photodiodes and integrated subsystems, demonstrates our commitment to delivering the performance, scalability, and manufacturing depth required for AI-driven networks. We are significantly ramping 6’’ InP production across our fabs in Järfälla (Sweden), Sherman (U.S.), and Zürich (Switzerland), reinforcing supply continuity and scalability for customers deploying next-generation optical systems.”
🌐 Analysis: Coherent’s announcement underscored how InP remains strategically important even as silicon photonics gains share in AI interconnects. InP continues to supply critical functions including lasers, EMLs, photodiodes, and coherent transport components, which keeps it relevant across both pluggable optics and co-packaged architectur
