Optical Interconnects

Articles (5)

Extreme macro of a co-packaged optics switch package: copper micro-bumps on the substrate hand off through a silicon die to a fiber V-groove coupler at the photonic edge.
Emergingnews

Copper Kings Buy the Fiber Layer: Credo and Molex Lock Down Silicon Photonics in 48 Hours

Two acquisitions, two days apart, at adjacent layers of the same stack. Credo's $873M cash-and-stock deal for DustPhotonics and Molex's Teramount buy tell the market the copper-era interconnect champions have decided the AI factory's fiber layer isn't something they're willing to source.

AI InfrastructureOptical Interconnects
SCN Staff·
Semiconductor wafer substrate reflecting iridescent light -- the indium phosphide supply chain constraining AI optical interconnect production
AIanalysis

NVIDIA's $4 Billion Photonics Bet Is an Admission: The AI Buildout Has a Materials Problem

NVIDIA's $4B investment in Lumentum and Coherent signals indium phosphide scarcity and power equipment lead times are gating $2.52T AI spending forecast.

Supply Chain & Critical MaterialsExport Controls & Trade Policy
SCN Staff·
Samsung semiconductor fab manufacturing facility near Austin in Texas
Emergingnews

Samsung Bets Vertical Integration Can Close TSMC's Silicon Photonics Lead

Samsung launched a silicon photonics foundry platform at OFC 2026, targeting 2028 PIC mass production and 2029 CPO services, pitching vertical integration of HBM, logic, packaging, and photonics against TSMC's production lead

AI InfrastructureOptical Interconnects
SCN Staff·
Electro-optic polymers hit the foundry
Emergingnews

Electro-optic polymers hit the foundry: the materials battle for next-gen photonic interconnects

Lightwave Logic's deal with Tower Semiconductor puts polymer modulators into production silicon photonics. Meanwhile, III-V compounds are pushing 400G per lane. The fight to replace silicon's optical limitations is getting real.

Optical InterconnectsSemiconductor Manufacturing
SCN Staff·
NVIDIA's $4 billion photonics bet tells you where copper dies
Emergingnews

NVIDIA's $4 billion photonics bet tells you where copper dies

Investments in Coherent and Lumentum, OFC 2026 timing, and the conspicuous absence of NVLink CPO. NVIDIA knows optical interconnects are the next bottleneck, and it's moving to own the solution.

NVIDIAOptical Interconnects
SCN Staff·