Teradyne introduced its Photon 100 platform, a new opto-electric automated test system aimed at high-volume manufacturing for silicon photonics and co-packaged optics. Announced on March 17, 2026, the system combines optical and electrical instrumentation with Teradyne’s UltraFLEXplus platform to address testing requirements across wafer, optical engine, and co-packaged module stages.
The launch targets a growing bottleneck in AI infrastructure manufacturing. As hyperscalers and system vendors push for higher-speed, lower-power optical interconnects, production teams face rising complexity in scaling silicon photonics and co-packaged optics from development into volume deployment. Teradyne positions Photon 100 as an integrated test platform designed to raise throughput, simplify factory operations, and reduce the burden of stitching together multi-vendor test environments.
Teradyne said the platform supports single-sided and double-sided wafer test, optical engine test, and CPO insertions, while also allowing customers to tailor optical instrumentation and select preferred ecosystem partners for wafer-level and die-level probing. The company is framing Photon 100 as a manufacturing platform for the next phase of AI-driven optical interconnect adoption, where test automation and production scalability become increasingly important alongside device performance.
• Built on Teradyne’s UltraFLEXplus automated test platform
• Targets high-volume silicon photonics and co-packaged optics manufacturing
• Supports wafer, optical engine, and co-packaged module test insertions
• Covers single-sided and double-sided wafer test
• Integrates optical and electrical instrumentation in one platform
• Offers customizable optical instrumentation
• Supports open ecosystem options for wafer-level and die-level probe partners
• Aims to reduce operational complexity by avoiding multi-vendor integration work
“The Photon 100 delivers unmatched value to our customers by providing a comprehensive, scalable, and integrated solution that simplifies the complexities of high-volume silicon photonics and co-packaged optics testing,” said Geeta Athalye, vice president of Silicon Photonics Test at Teradyne.
🌐 Analysis: Teradyne’s move reflects a broader shift in the optical supply chain, where manufacturing test is becoming a strategic chokepoint as silicon photonics and co-packaged optics move closer to mainstream deployment in AI systems. The market focus is no longer only on better optical engines and DSPs, but also on whether vendors can validate devices efficiently at wafer and module level in production-scale environments.
🌐 Analysis: The announcement also aligns with a wider industry push at OFC 2026 around manufacturability, power efficiency, and deployment scale for AI interconnects. As competitors across optics, packaging, and semiconductor test expand their roadmaps, automated test platforms like Photon 100 could play a more visible role in enabling volume adoption of SiPh and CPO architectures.
