Tower Semiconductor, a global leader in high-value analog foundry solutions, together with U.S.-based Xscape Photonics, an innovator in advanced photonic interconnects backed by industry giants like NVIDIA and Cisco, has announced the successful prototyping and availability of a validation kit for the industry’s first on-chip, optically pumped, multi-wavelength laser source.
This breakthrough is built on Tower’s proven, high-volume PH18 Silicon Photonics platform and supports both CWDM and DWDM wavelength grids. The technology is specifically designed to meet the needs of AI datacenter fabrics, where bandwidth density, scalability, and energy efficiency are critical.
The announcement comes at a time when demand for optical interconnects in AI datacenters is accelerating rapidly. According to LightCounting, sales of optical transceivers and LPO/CPO for AI clusters are projected to exceed $10 billion by 2026—double the 2024 figures—and are expected to reach $20 billion by 2030.
This breakthrough from Tower Semiconductor and Xscape Photonics enables a path toward high performance, high reliability, lower cost and a simplified supply chain by monolithically embedding programmable multi-color lasers on-chip, pumped optically by a single CW external laser. It also eliminates the need to source for multiple externally modulated lasers or require hybrid III-V integration. Xscape Photonics’ solution simplifies design, reduces latency and component count, and is especially impactful for GPU-to-GPU and GPU-to-HBM optical links in AI clusters. Leveraging Tower’s high-volume modular PH18 platform, the solution offers a seamless upgrade path for existing customers, fully compatible with established photonic components such as modulators and detectors.
“Our close collaboration with Tower has allowed us to bring to market a highly differentiated, manufacturable, and scalable solution,” said Vivek Raghunathan, CEO of Xscape Photonics. “By building on Tower’s proven and qualified high-volume PH18 platform, we’ve eliminated the need for costly hybrid laser integration and delivered the first monolithically integrated, multi-color laser source directly on-chip. This will transform how AI fabrics are architected going forward.”
Xscape Photonics is developing a multi-color laser platform, ChromX, based on its proprietary CombX technology, a programmable laser source device that allows end users—especially those already designing with Tower’s PH18 platform—to easily integrate high-performance laser sources, significantly reducing packaging complexity and component count. The laser source is compatible with existing silicon photonic modulators and detectors, opening a seamless path toward fully integrated optical interconnect for AI data center fabrics.
“We are excited to partner with Xscape Photonics in bringing this first-of-its-kind innovation to life,” said Ed Preisler, Vice President and GM of Tower Semiconductor’s RF Business Unit. “Tower’s multi-sourced and high-volume silicon photonics platform has once again demonstrated its ability to support advanced custom solutions for AI and datacenter customers at scale. This new solution exemplifies how our flexible, modular technology ecosystem enables rapid prototyping and high-volume production adoption for emerging AI and data-driven markets.”
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