OpenLight Announces Sample Availability of its First 1.6Tb DR8 DFB-based Photonic Integrated Circuit

Technology alleviates system complexity and cost pressures and is capable of handling 1.6Tb data rates at 200G per lane, making it ideal for datacenter networking and AI applications

SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 26, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- OpenLight, the world leader in custom PASIC chip design and manufacturing, today announced the sample availability of its first heterogeneously integrated silicon photonics-based 1.6Tb DR8 PICs (Photonic Integrated Circuit) on Tower Semiconductor PH18DA process utilizing OpenLight's 1310nm Distributed Feedback (DFB) lasers and InP-based 224G electro-absorption modulators (EAMs).

This PIC benefits customers by lowering power consumption and cost by enabling a higher level of integration compared to traditional technologies. The availability of a reference design reduces development to production cycles and offers additional operational CAPEX and OPEX savings over the conventional manufacturing processes and equipment used for transceiver modules that are essential to datacenter and AI applications.

The market is currently facing supply-constraints, with significant time-to-market and cost pressures. OpenLight's 1.6Tb DR8 PICs eliminate the need for externally coupled CW laser sources and simplifies packaging requirements. Achieving 90% coupling efficiency between active elements and the silicon waveguide in combination with the low drive swing of an InP EAM modulator enables a lower power consumption solution. The 1.6Tb PIC, which includes four DFB lasers, eight 224G modulators, and eight Semiconductor Optical Amplifiers (SOAs), consumes less than 2.7W at 80°C.  The active components within PH18DA, including those used in the 1.6Tb DR8 PIC, have independently been qualified to the Telcordia GR-468 as was recently announced. Furthermore, the PIC has been designed so that it can also be used at 800G speeds and this platform and architecture will be also able to support 3.2Tb data rates at 400G per lane in the future.

"We've seen a strong desire from our customers for DFB-based solutions for easier control and minimizing transceiver bill of material cost," said Kevin Granucci, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at OpenLight. "After significant effort in developing our own DFB laser component, we are proud to have successfully integrated it into this 1.6Tb DR8 PIC. We now have 1.6Tb PIC samples available for customer evaluation, an important milestone in delivering OpenLight's innovative, high-performance solutions for datacenter and AI applications."

Samples are available now, with bare die available immediately and an evaluation board including a integrated flip-chip 1.6Tb DR8 PIC and modulator driver by the end of March 2025. Beta samples for module, transceiver qualification are expected to be available in calendar Q3 of 2025.

For more detailed information on this and OpenLight, please visit OpenLight at the OFC conference on 1-3 April 2025, Booth #4231.

About OpenLight
OpenLight is the world leader in custom PASIC design. OpenLight's PASIC technology integrates all the components of silicon photonics devices, both active and passive components, into one chip. Our executive and engineering teams deliver the world's first open silicon photonics platform with integrated lasers amplifiers and modulators to improve the performance, power efficiency, and reliability of designs for telecom, datacom, LiDAR, healthcare, HPC, AI, and optical computing applications. With over 350 patents, OpenLight is bringing optical solutions to places it has never been before and enabling technologies and innovation that weren't previously possible. The company is headquartered in Santa Barbara, CA with offices in Silicon Valley. Read more at www.openlightphotonics.com.

SOURCE OpenLight