At the Optica Photonic-Enabled Cloud Computing (PECC) Summit, Matt Sysak, CTO of Lumentum, outlined the company’s technology roadmap for enabling the next wave of AI and machine learning network scaling. Sysak described a “virtuous cycle” driving ever-larger AI models that demand more compute, higher bandwidth, and better power efficiency — fueling continuous innovation in optical connectivity.
Sysak highlighted that AI data centers are now scaling to hundreds of thousands of GPUs and consuming gigawatts of power, citing examples such as Microsoft’s plan to repower the Three Mile Island nuclear facility and Meta’s Richland Parish Data Center in Louisiana. Lumentum, he said, focuses on the core technologies that make such scaling possible — indium phosphide (InP), silicon photonics, MEMS, and ultra-high-power lasers.
Key technology highlights include:
• High-speed InP components:
– Used across front-end and back-end AI networks for NIC-to-switch and switch-to-switch connectivity
– Transitioning from 200G to 400G per lane, paving the way for 3.2T optical modules
– At OFC 2025, Lumentum demonstrated 448G InP EML and 450G InP DFB-MZI transmitters with Keysight and NTT Innovative Devices
– Builds on Lumentum’s long heritage in high-volume InP manufacturing
• Optical circuit switching (OCS):
– 300×300 MEMS-based passive switch enabling more than 65% network power savings in GPU-scale data centers
– Supports spine switch replacement and network failover redundancy in front-end and scale-out networks
– Delivers less than 2 dB insertion loss with excellent return loss and isolation across all ports
– Cited by Cignal AI as a key enabler of energy-efficient AI interconnects
• Ultra-high-power lasers for CPO:
– Designed to support co-packaged optics (CPO) with over 40% lower power than pluggables
– Output power greater than 400 mW with more than 20% power conversion efficiency
– Narrow linewidth and low relative intensity noise, optimized for ring-based modulators
– Demonstrated compatibility with NVIDIA’s Spectrum-X CPO switch platform
Sysak said these innovations position Lumentum at the center of the optical ecosystem powering AI infrastructure.
“We see a virtuous cycle where larger models drive more hardware and innovation — and power efficiency and cost become equally critical,” he said. “Our indium phosphide devices, circuit switches, and ultra-high-power lasers are the technologies that make that cycle sustainable.”
Lumentum’s AI optical platform spans from high-speed transmitters and coherent devices to next-generation optical switching and laser sources, supporting cloud operators, system OEMs, and hyperscale data centers pursuing higher performance per watt across both front-end and scale-out architectures.
www.lumentum.com
