Photon Bridge, the Dutch photonics specialist, has announced wafer-scale validation of its heterogeneous photonics platform for multi-wavelength light engines.
The company demonstrated single-channel output power exceeding 30 mW at the silicon chip edge facets in continuous-wave operation at room temperature.
The demonstrated power levels meet per-channel requirements for next-generation 1.6T and 3.2T co-packaged optical engines, enabling reduced fibre count and improved rack-level energy efficiency.
While traditional non-muxed ELS solutions deliver one colour per fibre with high power 250mW lasers, Photon Bridge’s platform achieves comparable aggregate per fibre output by combining multiple wavelengths on a single fibre.
By integrating lasers and multiplexing on a single silicon photonics interposer, the platform reduces fibre count, simplifies assembly and improves thermal efficiency.
Photon Bridge validates photonics architecture
Photon Bridge multi-wavelength light engines enable cost-effective next-generation CPO architectures.
The milestone validates a fully integrated architecture in which lasers and wavelength filters reside on a single silicon photonic integrated circuit (PIC), eliminating discrete micro-optics and simplifying assembly. Leveraging established commercial III–V and 200 mm silicon photonics foundries, the platform enables scalable and cost-effective deployment in next-generation AI-driven CPO systems.
Unlike conventional III–V-on-silicon approaches that depend on tight manufacturing tolerances and complex test flows, Photon Bridge’s platform is designed for volume production. A simplified silicon photonics process and OSAT-compatible assembly reduce III–V laser integration time by up to 80×. Initial wafer-scale testing demonstrated robust III–V–silicon interface connectivity, with more than 92% of interconnections meeting performance specifications.
“Delivering more than 30 mW from a single integrated channel at wafer scale validates both the power handling and manufacturability of our platform,” said Paul Marchal. “The architecture scales to 8, 16, or 32 wavelengths per fibre and can extend across multiple fibres to achieve significantly higher aggregate output power, without driving individual lasers to extreme power densities. With scalability demonstrated, we are now focused on industrialisation and customer qualification for high-volume deployment.”
The platform is designed to scale to quantum dot laser technology, offering the potential for isolator-free operation and further simplifying system-level design for high-density optical engines.