The first single-chip, multi-wavelength laser source for massive AI datacenter networks is being shown by Scintil Photonics in France.
The most precise wavelength spacing in the world is found in LEAF Light, a DWDM (Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing) remote light source. This is an essential part of the co-packaged DWDM architecture that tackles the difficulties in expanding AI data centers.
DWDM co-packaged optics is becoming a common choice for optical networking in AI datacenters as copper cables reach their speed and reach limits for AI interconnects. DWDM will enable up to 2 Tbit/s in a single fiber, improve power efficiency, increase bandwidth density, and decrease latency as compared to the legacy CWDM (Coarse Wavelength Division Multiplexing) implementation.
The exclusive Scintil Heterogeneous Integrated Photonics (SHIP) process technology is used in the production of LEAF Light. This incorporates III-V and other materials into the typical silicon photonics process flows that are already offered by commercial foundries, such as STMicroelectronics and TSMC-X-Fab.
LEAF Light can scale to tens of millions of units annually to be added to the External Laser Small Form-Factor Pluggable (ELSFP) format because of its process compatibility with conventional silicon photonics fabs and wafer-scale manufacture.
A pluggable front panel form factor designed for multi-sourced co-packaged optical systems in datacenter racks is defined by ELSFP. In order to improve system dependability and enable effective hot-swap field replacement, this specifies the positioning of laser sources at the front panel, the coolest part of the system.
It can provide optical power to one or more optical engines via a multi-fibre blind-mate optical connector that is located at the back of the module.
Leadership Comments
“In close collaboration with customers, we have developed a single chip light source with 8 to 16 multiplexed lasers with 200 GHz or 100 GHz frequency spacing, respectively,” said Sylvie Menezo, founder and CTO of Scintil Photonics. “In addition, we have developed the control electronics and the optical packaging to fit into an ELSFP.”
“LEAF Light is the only single-chip solution that can meet all the system requirements at an acceptable size and cost for the emerging co-packaged DWDM architecture that requires the finest, high-precision multi-wavelength light source to efficiently transmit data,” said Matt Crowley, CEO at Scintil Photonics.
“Our aim is to closely align volumes of LEAF Light with the growth in the XPU accelerator market, expected to reach $600bn in 2030 with about 35 million AI accelerators. We are sampling a limited number of select customers later this year, with broader availability of our External Laser Small Form-Factor Pluggable (ELSFP) engineering samples in 2026.”
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