OpenLight announced the first volume production orders for photonic integrated circuits (PICs built on its PH18DA indium phosphide (InP)-on-silicon photonic platform developed with Tower Semiconductor. The orders, placed by NewPhotonics, cover laser-integrated PICs supporting 800G and 1.6T optical connectivity designed for AI and hyperscale data center networks.
The milestone marks a transition for OpenLight from advanced development to commercial manufacturing of heterogeneous III-V-on-silicon photonic devices. The PH18DA process integrates active optical components, including lasers, directly onto silicon photonic chips, enabling a monolithic PIC architecture. According to the company, this integration reduces optical losses, shrinks module footprints, and lowers packaging and assembly costs while improving power efficiency and signal integrity for large-scale data center deployments.
NewPhotonics designed the production devices using OpenLight’s Process Design Kit (PDK), enabling 200G-per-lane optical engines suitable for next-generation pluggable and near-packaged optics. The PICs support DSP-based modules as well as Linear Pluggable Optics (LPO) in OSFP form factors, targeting high-density interconnects required for scale-up and scale-out AI clusters.
• OpenLight received its first volume production orders on the PH18DA InP-on-silicon photonic platform developed with Tower Semiconductor.
• The designs support 800G and 1.6T optical connectivity for hyperscale AI data center networks.
• NewPhotonics developed the PICs using OpenLight’s PDK and integrated heterogeneously bonded lasers on the same chip.
• The architecture supports 200G-per-lane optical engines for DSP-based and LPO OSFP pluggable optics as well as near-packaged optics (NPO).
• Monolithic PIC integration reduces optical losses, packaging complexity, footprint, and power consumption compared with discrete silicon photonics implementations.
• OpenLight, NewPhotonics, and Tower Semiconductor will demonstrate related technologies at OFC 2026 in Los Angeles.
“Reaching our first customer orders in volume production with PH18DA is a defining milestone for OpenLight and a clear validation of our heterogeneous III-V on silicon platform,” said Dr. Adam Carter, CEO of OpenLight.
🌐 Analysis: The use of heterogeneously integrated indium phosphide lasers directly on silicon photonics has emerged as a key approach to reduce packaging complexity and improve optical efficiency in high-speed transceivers. As hyperscale AI clusters drive demand for 800G and 1.6T optical links with 200G electrical lanes, platforms capable of integrating lasers, modulators, and other photonic components on a single chip are becoming increasingly relevant for next-generation pluggable optics, co-packaged optics, and near-packaged optics architectures.
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