OpenLight and Tower Semiconductor have successfully demonstrated a 400G/lane silicon photonics modulator, marking a significant advancement in high-speed optical connectivity for data centers and AI applications. Built on Tower’s PH18DA silicon photonics platform, this new modulator achieves a better than 3.5dB extinction ratio using PAM-4 modulation with a low 0.6V peak-to-peak drive voltage. This development enables a scalable transition from 100G and 200G/lane to 400G/lane, providing a cost-effective, high-performance alternative to traditional silicon-based modulators, which struggle to support 400G data rates.
The new platform supports DR8 and FR4 3.2Tb optical architectures, crucial for cloud, AI, and machine learning workloads. Unlike more complex integration approaches using Thin Film Lithium Niobate (TFLN) or polymers, OpenLight’s heterogeneous integration technology enables compact, power-efficient photonic integrated circuits (PICs) with built-in lasers, modulators, and optical amplifiers. With customer prototyping available immediately, this collaboration ensures a manufacturable, scalable solution for next-generation optical networking.
• 400G/lane silicon photonics modulator demonstrated on Tower’s PH18DA platform with low 0.6V drive voltage.
• Scalable solution from 100G to 200G to 400G/lane, supporting DR8 and FR4 architectures for 3.2Tb connectivity.
• Heterogeneous integration approach eliminates the need for costly TFLN, BTO, or polymer-based alternatives.
• Optimized for AI and cloud datacenters, enhancing speed, power efficiency, and manufacturability.
• Immediate availability for customer prototyping, accelerating market adoption.
“Our partnership with Tower represents a critical step in the integration of advanced silicon photonics into the datacom landscape,” said Dr. Adam Carter, CEO of OpenLight. “This 400G modulator is a drop-in replacement for existing 200G modulator PASIC designs, ensuring seamless scalability and proven reliability.”
