GlobalFoundries and Corning partner on optical connectivity for AI datacentres
The companies are combining Corning’s optical fibre and connectivity technologies with GlobalFoundries’ silicon photonics platform to develop scalable solutions for detachable, low-loss PIC-to-fibre connectivity and enable co-packaged optics
GlobalFoundries has announced a collaboration with Corning to develop detachable fibre connector solutions for GF’s silicon photonics platform. Corning’s GlassBridge solution, a glass-waveguide-based edge coupler compatible with the platform’s v-grooves, is designed with the goal of meeting the growing demands of AI datacentres for high-bandwidth and power-efficient optical connectivity. Other coupling mechanisms are also being developed, including a vertically-coupled detachable fibre-to-PIC solution – demonstrating the companies’ combined ability to produce multiple forms of co-packaged PIC-to-fibre connectivity, GF adds.
The collaboration leverages Corning’s innovation in glass, optical fibre, and connectivity technologies. This includes a portfolio of special glass compositions, glass wafer, IOX, and laser processing, and fibre array units (FAUs), leveraging fibres with ultra-precise core alignments minimising insertion loss for the most demanding datacentre and high-performance computing applications.
Built on GF’s silicon photonics platform that supports co-packaged optics solutions for scale-out and scale-up networks, the companies say this collaboration will pair Corning’s supply chain and leadership in optical interconnect technologies with GF’s high-volume manufacturing capabilities and leadership in silicon photonics.
“Our collaboration with Corning marks a significant step forward in delivering next-generation connectivity solutions for AI and machine learning,” said Kevin Soukup, senior vice president of GF’s silicon photonics product line. “Corning’s cutting-edge fibre technology, integrated with our silicon-proven platform, delivers the performance and flexibility required for enabling scalable, high-density optical packaging for AI datacentres.”
Claudio Mazzali, vice president of global research at Corning, commented: “Our collaboration with GlobalFoundries is helping to shape the future of AI infrastructure and accelerate the progress needed to meet the demands of an increasingly data-driven world. There’s something truly powerful in combining GlobalFoundries’ and Corning’s expertise in silicon process and optical connectivity – together, we’re enabling new possibilities for the AI-powered industries of tomorrow.”
