STMicroelectronics Enters High-Volume Production
ST is also preparing for significant growth in manufacturing capacity
STMicroelectronics has begun high-volume production of its PIC100 silicon-photonics platform, a technology designed for optical interconnects used by hyperscale data centers and large AI computing clusters. The platform powers 800G and 1.6T optical transceivers, enabling significantly higher bandwidth, reduced latency, and improved energy efficiency as demand for AI infrastructure continues to accelerate.
According to Fabio Gualandris, President of Quality, Manufacturing & Technology at STMicroelectronics, the company is transitioning from the earlier announcement of its silicon-photonics technology in early 2025 into full-scale production for major hyperscale customers. He emphasized that the combination of ST’s advanced technology platform and its large-scale 300-mm wafer manufacturing capability provides a strong competitive advantage in supporting the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure.
ST is also preparing for significant growth in manufacturing capacity, with plans to more than quadruple production output by 2027. This expansion, the company noted, is supported by long-term capacity reservation agreements with customers.
Industry analysts expect strong growth in the optical networking market supporting data centers. Vladimir Kozlov, CEO and Chief Analyst at LightCounting, estimates that the data-center pluggable optics market reached $15.5 billion in 2025 and will grow at a 17% compound annual growth rate through 2030, exceeding $34 billion by the end of the decade.
A key emerging segment is co-packaged optics (CPO), which could generate more than $9 billion in revenue by 2030. During the same period, the proportion of optical transceivers using silicon-photonics modulators is expected to increase from 43% in 2025 to 76% by 2030. Kozlov noted that ST’s established silicon-photonics platform and its aggressive capacity expansion strategy position the company well to supply hyperscale operators with reliable, long-term production and consistent quality.
Next-Generation PIC100 TSV Platform
The rapid scaling of AI infrastructure is placing unprecedented demands on cloud networking, where optical interconnect performance is increasingly becoming a bottleneck. ST’s PIC100 platform, developed through years of silicon-photonics research, delivers advanced optical performance. Key features include low-loss silicon and silicon-nitride waveguides—with losses as low as 0.4 dB/cm and 0.5 dB/cm respectively—along with high-performance modulators, photodiodes, and a new edge-coupling technology.
Alongside current production, ST is also preparing the next stage of its silicon-photonics roadmap: the PIC100 TSV platform. This upcoming architecture integrates through-silicon via (TSV) technology to improve optical connectivity density, increase module-level integration, and enhance thermal efficiency at the system level.
The PIC100 TSV platform is intended to support future generations of Near-Packaged Optics (NPO) and Co-Packaged Optics (CPO). These technologies are central to hyperscalers’ long-term strategy of tighter optical-electronic integration to scale next-generation AI and cloud computing systems.
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