Photonic integration in the AI era: navigating the next wave of optical interconnects

By Martin Vallo, PhD Senior Technology & Market Analyst, Photonics at Yole Group for LAYERS, powered by EVATEC.

In the rapidly evolving optical interconnects market, demand for scalable, high-speed, energy-efficient modules is surging, fueled by AI clusters and hyperscale cloud data centers. Although CPO promises ultra-low power and high density, many network operators and system vendors continue to favor pluggable modules for their proven cost-effectiveness, easy front-panel access, and multivendor interoperability.

PICs are specialized chips that integrate various optical components, like lasers, modulators, and detectors, onto a single substrate, enabling the manipulation of light within a compact footprint. Silicon is one of the most widely used materials for photonic integration, especially in data center and telecom applications. Silicon photonics (linked to a SOI material platform) leverages CMOS-compatible processes, enabling large-scale, cost-effective manufacturing.

It’s ideal for integration with other materials for functions like modulation and detection. Silicon photonics is often combined with InP material for hybrid or heterogeneously integrated light sources. Widely used hybrid integration will work for 100G/lane and should also work for 200G/lane, but beyond that, there are challenges that must be overcome.

To achieve 400 Gbps per lane and beyond, the industry is exploring deeper integration of exotic materials for modulators, detectors, and waveguides on SOI substrate. The heterogeneous integration of not only a III-V laser, but also exotic materials, adds complexity that lowers the yield and raises the cost of the PIC and delays the time to market. It is essential to design new PICs that meet the future bandwidth requirements and make them commercially viable.

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For nearly 10 years, Yole Group has partnered with Evatec in the development of LAYER magazine. In this latest issue, we were pleased to share our insights on piezoMEMS technology, RF filters, and photonic solutions. We invite you to enjoy LAYER, issue #9, along with Yole Group’s contributions.

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Source: www.evatecnet.com