SILITH Technology and United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) have reached a key milestone in silicon photonics manufacturing, announcing the first mass-production wafer delivery of silicon photonic ICs from UMC’s Singapore fab.
The achievement marks a significant step forward in their partnership to scale next-generation silicon photonics for AI and hyperscale data center applications.
By combining SILITH’s photonics design expertise with UMC’s 12-inch wafer manufacturing and process integration capabilities, the two companies are targeting high-volume production of SILITH’s 1.6T silicon photonics platform designed to meet rising demand for high-speed optical interconnects.
Notably, the platform moved from development to production readiness in just 18 months. Built on UMC’s silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology and advanced process integration, it has demonstrated strong yield, reliability, and production-level performance. The solution has already been qualified by a leading cloud infrastructure provider for volume deployment.
The collaboration also lays the groundwork for broader ecosystem expansion. Following the initial commercialization, UMC plans to open its 12-inch silicon photonics platform to customers for product development starting in 2027.
Looking ahead, both companies are advancing their roadmap to support next-generation optical speeds. Building on SILITH’s existing 200G per lane solutions, the partnership is now focused on developing a 400G per lane pure-silicon photonics platform.
This effort leverages high-speed silicon Mach-Zehnder modulators (MZMs) to enable higher data rates while maintaining the scalability and cost advantages of CMOS-compatible manufacturing.
Beyond silicon-based approaches, UMC is also working with ecosystem partners on thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) technologies to enable ultra-high-bandwidth optical interconnects. Combined with its advanced packaging capabilities, these platforms are expected to support emerging architectures such as co-packaged optics (CPO) and optical I/O, key building blocks for future AI infrastructure.
Together, the collaboration positions SILITH and UMC at the forefront of scalable, high-performance photonics manufacturing as demand for AI-driven data infrastructure continues to accelerate.
Leadership Comments
Jason Zhang, Chief Technology Officer of SILITH, said: “AI is driving an unprecedented demand for optical bandwidth, making silicon photonics a foundational technology for future data center infrastructure. At SILITH, we are building a scalable silicon photonics platform that spans pluggable optics, co-packaged optics (CPO), and future optical I/O architectures. Together with UMC, we are bringing together leading-edge silicon photonics innovation and high-volume 12-inch manufacturing to deliver the performance, scalability, and cost efficiency required for the next generation of AI networks.”
GC Hung, Senior Vice President of UMC, said: “We’re proud to partner with SILITH, a leading silicon photonics company with a proven track record of serving leading cloud infrastructure and optical networking customers, to achieve this important milestone. It reflects UMC’s ability to support customers at scale with the deep integration expertise required for complex interdisciplinary technologies such as silicon photonics. Beyond its strong 12-inch wafer manufacturing capabilities, Singapore also serves as a key technology development hub for UMC, enabling the rapid production ramp with SILITH. Looking ahead, UMC will continue to strengthen its manufacturing capabilities to support customers’ growing demand and accelerate next-generation photonics applications.”
