STMicroelectronics, a worldwide leader in semiconductors across diverse electronics sectors, has begun high-volume production of its advanced silicon photonics PIC100 platform. This platform, designed for hyperscale data centers and AI clusters, powers optical interconnects with its 800G and 1.6T PIC100 transceivers, delivering higher bandwidth, lower latency, and improved energy efficiency to support growing AI workloads.
“Following the announcement of its new silicon photonics technology in February 2025, ST is now entering high-volume production for leading hyperscalers. The combination of our technology platform and the superior scale of our 300 mm manufacturing lines gives us a unique competitive advantage to support the AI infrastructure super-cycle,” said Fabio Gualandris, President, Quality, Manufacturing & Technology, STMicroelectronics. “Looking ahead, we are planning and executing on capacity expansions to enable more than quadrupling of production by 2027. This fast expansion is fully underpinned by customers’ long-term capacity reservation commitments.”
“The data center pluggable optics market continues to expand strongly, reaching $15.5 billion in 2025. We expect the market to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17% from 2025 through 2030, surpassing $34 billion by the end of the forecast period. In addition, co-packaged optics (CPO) will emerge as a rapidly growing segment, contributing more than $9 billion in revenue by 2030. Over the same period, the share of transceivers incorporating silicon photonics modulators is projected to increase from 43% in 2025 to 76% by 2030,” said Dr. Vladimir Kozlov, CEO and Chief Analyst at LightCounting. “ST’s leading silicon photonics platform coupled with its aggressive capacity expansion plan illustrates its capabilities to provide hyperscalers with secure, long-term supply, predictable quality, and manufacturing resilience.”
Upcoming PIC100 TSV Platform Technology
AI infrastructure is experiencing unprecedented scaling, with cloud-optical interconnect performance becoming a critical bottleneck. Drawing on years of silicon photonics innovation, ST’s PIC100 platform provides state-of-the-art optical performance, including best-in-class silicon and silicon nitride waveguide losses (respectively as low as 0.4 and 0.5 dB/cm), advanced modulator and photodiode performance, as well as an innovative edge coupling technology.
In parallel with high-volume PIC100 production, ST is planning to introduce the next step in its silicon photonics technology roadmap: the PIC100 TSV, a new and unique platform that integrates through-silicon via (TSV) technology to further increase optical connectivity density, module integration, and system-level thermal efficiency. The PIC100 TSV platform is designed to support future generations of Near Packaged Optics (NPO) and co-packaged optics (CPO), aligning with hyperscalers’ long-term migration paths toward deeper optical–electronic integration for scale up.
ST at OFC 2026
ST will discuss business and technology roadmap updates at the upcoming Optical Fiber Communication Conference (March 15-19th), Los Angeles, USA:
– paper titled “An Innovative 300mm Back Side Integrated Silicon Photonics Platform for 200Gbits/lane Applications”
– First PIC100-based demo of a 1.6T-DR8 silicon photonics transceiver, engine by Sicoya and STMicroelectronics. See it on the Sicoya booth #507
– Participation to the CEA-Leti event: “Optical Interconnects: Driving Innovation in AI Factory and Beyond” (March 18, 6-8pm PT)
