UMC starts mass production of silicon photonics wafers in Singapore

Taipei, July 14 (CNA) United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC), the second largest contract chipmaker in Taiwan, said on Tuesday that it has started mass production of silicon photonics wafers at its 12-inch wafer fab in Singapore.

In a statement, UMC said the first batch of silicon photonics wafers in commercial production was achieved in collaboration with Singapore-based silicon photonics fabless firm Silith Technology, which took delivery of the batch of products.

UMC said the cooperation integrated Silith's photonics design expertise with UMC's 12-inch wafer production capacity and process capabilities to support high-volume production of the Singaporean partner's 1.6 terabits per second (1.6T) silicon photonics platform.

The chipmaker said the partnership aims to meet fast-growing demand for high-speed AI optical interconnects in AI and hyperscale data center networks.

According to UMC, by employing the company's advanced process integration expertise and Silith's proprietary silicon photonics architecture, both sides spent about 18 months to bring the silicon photonics platform from development to production readiness.

UMC Senior Vice President G.C. Hung (洪圭鈞) said in the statement that the company is proud of working with Silith.

"Beyond its strong 12-inch wafer manufacturing capabilities, Singapore also serves as a key technology development hub for UMC, enabling the rapid production ramp with Silith," Hung said.

"Looking ahead, UMC will continue to strengthen its manufacturing capabilities to support the growing demand of customers and accelerate next-generation photonics applications," he said.

After building on the successful commercialization of Silith's 200G/lane silicon photonics products, UMC said, the two companies are extending its silicon photonics roadmap to support next-generation 400G/lane optical interconnects.