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Foxconn Research Institute, in collaboration with National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, has developed a 34.132 Tbps ultra-high-capacity silicon photonics transmission technology designed to address growing data bandwidth demands driven by artificial intelligence (AI). The research was published in the peer-reviewed journal Optics Express.
As AI workloads continue to expand, data centers face increasing pressure to move massive amounts of data between computing systems. The new silicon photonics technology aims to improve data transmission capacity while reducing power consumption and heat generation.
Unlike conventional electronic interconnects that rely on electrical signals transmitted through copper, silicon photonics uses laser light to transmit data, enabling significantly higher bandwidth and improved energy efficiency.
The research team combined three key technologies to achieve the breakthrough:
- Ultra-wideband quantum dot comb laser that generates 23 optical wavelengths from a single laser source.
- PAM4 signal modulation, enabling each optical channel to transmit up to 212 Gbps.
- Multi-core optical fiber, allowing seven optical cores within a single fiber without increasing external fiber count.
Together, these technologies demonstrated a transmission capacity of 34.132 Tbps, providing a scalable solution for next-generation AI data center networks.
The researchers also incorporated a high-frequency GSSG electrode configuration to improve signal integrity by reducing electromagnetic interference at high operating frequencies. Using a single laser source also lowers heat generation and power consumption, reducing cooling requirements in data centers.
The project was led by Hao-Chung Kuo, Yu-Heng Hung, and Yun-Han Chang of Foxconn Research Institute in collaboration with Distinguished Professor Chih-Wei Tsou of National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University. The research also received support from Taiwan's National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), and National Chung Hsing University.
Foxconn Research Institute said the technology lays the foundation for future co-packaged optics (CPO), enabling higher-speed chip-to-chip communication while improving energy efficiency for AI infrastructure and cloud computing applications.
