OpenLight and Tower Semiconductor demonstrate 400G/lane modulators built on silicon photonic wafers for data centers and AI optical connectivity

OpenLight and Tower Semiconductor announced the successful demonstration of a 400G/lane modulator on Tower's silicon photonics platform. This integration aims to meet the increasing demand for high-speed data transfer in cloud computing and Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications, utilizing OpenLight's existing technologies.

The modulator achieved a better than 3.5dB extinction ratio using PAM-4 modulation at a drive voltage of 0.6 volts peak-to-peak. It is built on Tower's PH18DA platform, which is also capable of supporting customers at 100G and 200G/lane.

Operating at 400G per lane across all four CWDM wavelengths, the solution offers scalability needed for next-generation 3.2Tb solutions in optical communication. Currently available silicon modulator solutions do not support 400G, underscoring the need for this development.

Disaster Recovery (DR). Adam Carter, CEO of OpenLight, noted, “Our partnership with Tower represents a critical step in the integration of advanced silicon photonics into the datacom landscape. The success of this demonstration sets the stage for groundbreaking advancements in high-speed networking.” He emphasized that the design minimizes time to market by being a drop-in replacement for existing 200G modulator designs, ensuring reliability and proven performance.

Russell Ellwanger, CEO of Tower Semiconductor, highlighted the collaboration's role in providing customers with a cost-effective and scalable approach to 400G/lane solutions. This effort aims to pave the way for next-generation optical communication technology.

OpenLight will showcase its technology at the OFC Conference in April 2025, alongside Tower Semiconductor, which will also feature its technology offerings at the event.