ST heads back into silicon photonics with mass production at Crolles

STMicroelectronics has made significant strides in the development of silicon photonics technology for the next generation of optical modules in data centers, aiming for speeds of 800Gb/s and 1.6Tb/s. The company's PIC100 silicon photonics (SiPHo) process, conducted on 300mm wafers at their facility in Crolles, France, allows for the integration of multiple complex components into a single chip. This technology is complemented by ST's proprietary BiCMOS technology, which offers ultra high-speed and low power processing capabilities.

Vincent Fraisse, the general manager for the RF and optical communications sub-group at STMicroelectronics, highlights the increasing demand for optical interconnect solutions driven by the AI boom in data centers. He emphasizes the importance of higher performance and energy efficiency in addressing the challenges faced by modern data centers, particularly in the context of AI servers with optically interconnected elements.

The company is now moving towards mass production of silicon photonic devices at their Crolles facility, with yields comparable to those of digital devices. Fraisse notes the advantages of their BiCMOS technology for electro integrated circuits (EIC) and the shift towards silicon photonics, which offers improved performance and power efficiency, potentially replacing short-range copper connections.

STMicroelectronics is positioning itself as a key player in the silicon photonics market, with ambitions to supply silicon photonics and BiCMOS wafers for data centers and AI clusters. Remi El-Ouazzane, President of Microcontrollers, Digital ICs, and RF products Group at STMicroelectronics, underscores the company's collaborative efforts with key partners to achieve this goal.

One of the key customers involved in the development of ST's silicon photonics technology is Amazon Web Services (AWS), which has a vested interest in advancing optical interconnect solutions for AI workloads. Nafea Bshara, Vice President and Distinguished Engineer at AWS, acknowledges the potential of ST's PIC100 technology in enabling high-speed interconnections for various workloads, including AI.

Looking ahead, STMicroelectronics sees opportunities in chip-to-chip interconnect applications, an area of interest for startups like Celestial AI and Lightmatter. The company aims to provide comprehensive tools within the PIC100 design platform to support the development of optical I/O solutions. With a focus on yield and reliability, ST is poised to make significant advancements in the silicon photonics space.