ST begins silicon photonics production for AI data centers

STMicroelectronics has ramped up production of its silicon photonics platform, targeting the burgeoning optical interconnect market driven by the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure. The company has announced that its PIC100 technology is now being manufactured on 300-mm lines to cater to hyperscale data centers and AI clusters that demand ever-increasing bandwidth and energy efficiency.

This strategic move underscores the growing need for faster optical links in AI data centers, where factors such as bandwidth, latency, and power efficiency are becoming critical bottlenecks. For professionals in data center infrastructure, photonics, and high-performance computing, this development showcases how leading semiconductor vendors are scaling up photonic integration to meet the evolving requirements of AI-driven networks.

ST’s PIC100 platform is specifically tailored for 800G and 1.6T optical transceivers utilized in large AI clusters and hyperscale data centers. These transceivers facilitate higher bandwidth and lower latency connections between compute nodes while aiding in reducing power consumption — a key consideration as AI workloads continue to expand.

“With the introduction of our new silicon photonics technology earlier this year, ST is now moving into high-volume production to serve leading hyperscalers. The combination of our technology platform and the extensive scale of our 300 mm manufacturing lines gives us a distinct competitive edge to support the AI infrastructure super-cycle,” stated Fabio Gualandris, President of Quality, Manufacturing & Technology at STMicroelectronics. “Looking ahead, we are strategically planning and executing capacity expansions to enable more than quadrupling of production by 2027. This rapid expansion is strongly supported by long-term capacity reservation commitments from our customers.”

Market research firm LightCounting reports that the data center pluggable optics market hit $15.5 billion in 2025 and is poised for robust growth in the years ahead.

“The data center pluggable optics market is experiencing significant growth, reaching $15.5 billion in 2025. We anticipate a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17% from 2025 to 2030, with the market surpassing $34 billion by the end of the forecast period. Additionally, co-packaged optics (CPO) is expected to emerge as a rapidly expanding segment, contributing over $9 billion in revenue by 2030. Over the same period, the share of transceivers incorporating silicon photonics modulators is projected to rise from 43% in 2025 to 76% by 2030,” explained Vladimir Kozlov, CEO and Chief Analyst at LightCounting. “ST’s leading silicon photonics platform, coupled with its ambitious capacity expansion strategy, demonstrates its ability to provide hyperscalers with secure, long-term supply, consistent quality, and manufacturing resilience.”

As part of its photonics roadmap, ST has outlined the integration of through-silicon via (TSV) technology into its PIC100 platform. This advancement aims to enhance optical connectivity density, optimize module integration, and improve system-level thermal performance.

The upcoming platform is designed to support future architectures like near-packaged optics and co-packaged optics, which seek to position optical interconnects closer to high-performance processors to reduce power consumption and latency. ST will unveil further technical details at the Optical Fiber Communication Conference 2026 in Los Angeles, including a demonstration of a PIC100-based 1.6T-DR8 silicon photonics transceiver developed in collaboration with Sicoya. The company will also participate in an industry event hosted by CEA-Leti focusing on optical interconnects for AI infrastructure.