Tower ships 5 million coherent PICs
The milestone, achieved through Tower Semiconductor's manufacturing partnership with Marvell, reflects growing demand for coherent silicon photonics as AI data centers require faster, higher-capacity optical interconnects.
Tower Semiconductor has announced the shipment of more than five million coherent photonic integrated circuits (PICs) to global customers through its long-standing manufacturing partnership with Marvell Technology, marking a significant milestone for silicon photonics deployment in AI-driven optical networking.
The coherent PICs are integrated into optical transceivers that enable high-speed data transmission over fiber-optic networks.
As artificial intelligence workloads continue to expand across hyperscale data centers, demand for high-bandwidth, low-latency optical interconnects is accelerating, making coherent photonic technologies increasingly critical for next-generation infrastructure.
According to Tower Semiconductor, manufacturing coherent PICs presents greater technical complexity than conventional photonic devices because they require precise control of both the phase and polarization of light.
To address these challenges, the company has collaborated with Marvell on advanced silicon photonics manufacturing technologies, including heterogeneous material integration, three-dimensional electronic integration, and V-Groove optical packaging techniques designed to improve optical coupling and device performance.
Dr. Ed Preisler, General Manager of Tower Semiconductor's RF Business Unit, said the company's photonics manufacturing platforms continue to evolve alongside the increasing performance requirements of coherent optical transceivers.
He noted that the milestone reflects the strength of the company's long-term collaboration with Marvell in advancing high-volume photonic manufacturing.
Marvell also described the achievement as an important validation of the partnership's manufacturing capabilities and reaffirmed its commitment to developing next-generation coherent optical technologies for large-scale AI data center networks.
The announcement underscores the growing commercialization of silicon photonics as AI applications drive unprecedented demand for faster and more efficient data center interconnects.
With coherent optical technologies becoming essential for high-capacity networking, the milestone highlights continued momentum in the adoption of photonic integrated circuits across hyperscale infrastructure.
