NewPhotonics® and Tower Semiconductor Begin High-Volume Shipments of Laser-Integrated, Serviceable Optical Engine PICs for Scale-Out and Scale Up AI Interconnect

Companies commercialize scale manufacturability of 800G to 1.6T PICs in external pluggable and CPX MSA compliant NPO socket pluggable solutions built on PH18DA platform designed for high-density monolithic laser integration, SOAs, modulators and detectors

Tower Semiconductor (NASDAQ/TASE: TSEM), the leading foundry for high-value analog semiconductor solutions, and NewPhotonics®, a fabless semiconductor delivering innovative photonic IC chip solutions, today announced high-volume shipment of laser-integrated serviceable optical engines designed to meet the urgent and growing demand for high-bandwidth, energy-efficient optical interconnects in artificial intelligence infrastructure.
The PIC optical engine chips support OEM solutions ranging from FRO/LRO/LPO and Extra-Dense Packaged Optics (XPO) pluggable transceiver modules and Near-Packaged Optics (NPO) socket pluggable applications. Shipping volume production PICs today support data rates from 800G to 1.6T, with future volume manufacturing planned at 6.4T NPO solutions suitable for scale-out and scale-up architectures.
The collaboration leverages the high-volume PH18DA silicon photonics (SiPho) technology platform featuring heterogeneously integrated InP components enabling monolithic integration of lasers, semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs), modulators, and photodetectors on a single photonic integrated circuit. This highly integrated, optical-domain focused approach reduces complexity and manufacturing variability to supply better yield, reliability, and time-to-market with a leading-edge photonic device.

Volume shipment of NewPhotonics NPG102 PIC products for 800G and 1.6T feature 200G-per-lane designs and heterogeneously integrated lasers on a monolithic PIC enable customers to leverage optical signal processing in a unified architecture that delivers power efficiency, bandwidth density, and manufacturing consistency. The CPX-MSA compliant NPC505 chipsets for 6.4T will begin volume shipment in 1H27.

“The next phase of AI infrastructure demands optical connectivity that scales in both production and performance,” said Doron Tal, SVP and GM of NewPhotonics. “With Tower, we are translating laser-integrated photonics into a practical choice and volume availability. By combining our optical chip design with their manufacturing platform, we are first to bring higher-bandwidth, energy-efficient highly integrated systems to the OEM customer and data center market.”

“We are excited to see our vision of integrating lasers with high-performance photonic integrated circuits come to fruition through scale-ready solutions optimized for FRO/LRO and NPO architectures,” said Dr. Ed Preisler, Vice President and General Manager, RF Business Unit, Tower Semiconductor. “NewPhotonics is a valued partner and the first to bring heterogenous laser-integrated optical engines on the PH18DA platform into high-volume production, marking an important milestone in scaling optical connectivity for next-generation AI infrastructure.”

Both companies will participate in the upcoming ECOC 2026, September 21–23 at FYCMA in Malaga, Spain, with representatives available for meetings during the event.
To learn more about Tower Semiconductor’s advanced silicon photonics (SiPho) platform and RF & HPA technology offerings, visit booth #C1014. Additional information is also available on the Company’s website: here.
NewPhotonics will showcase the NPG102 and NPC505 PIC products in Pavilion 2 stand #2009. Additional information about the company as well as scheduling for ECOC meetings and demo sessions can be accessed at the company’s ECOC event page.