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OpenLight demonstrates 400G per lane modulators on Tower Semiconductor photonics platform
Monday, February 9, 2026 at 04:10 PM
OpenLight has successfully demonstrated 400G per lane modulators utilizing Tower Semiconductor's silicon photonics platform, marking a significant milestone for high-speed AI data center interconnects.
Context
OpenLight, a silicon photonics startup, recently demonstrated 400G per lane modulators leveraging Tower Semiconductor’s PH18DA platform. This technical breakthrough doubles the throughput of current 200G standards, offering a path to significantly higher data transfer speeds. By integrating active components like lasers directly onto the silicon, OpenLight reduces the complexity and power overhead typically associated with external optical modules, which is a major bottleneck in scaling modern AI data centers.
This achievement is a pivotal move toward the commercialization of 1.6T and 3.2T optical transceivers required for next-generation generative AI workloads. For Tower Semiconductor, the partnership reinforces its position as a dominant foundry for advanced photonics, proving its ability to support high-volume manufacturing for mission-critical AI infrastructure. As the industry moves toward production, this technology is expected to provide a competitive edge in power efficiency and cost-per-bit for global cloud service providers over the next two years.
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