TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — TSMC is pushing to replace traditional electrical connections with light-based technology in data centers, promising faster artificial intelligence performance with lower energy use, CTEE reported Wednesday.
TSMC’s Compact Universal Photonic Engine, or COUPE, is a platform that combines silicon photonics and co-packaged optics to reduce signal loss and improve communication between chips and machines, according to Ansys. Building on these capabilities, industry analysts expect TSMC to prioritize 1.6-terabit optical modules and early co-packaged optics tests this year.
A 1.6T optical module is a high-speed data transmitter that converts electrical signals into light, sends them through fiber cables, and converts them back to electricity at the destination. Compared with traditional copper connections, optical modules are faster, carry more data, and use less power, making them essential for AI and high-performance computing, CMoney explained.
These optical modules connect to servers via external fiber cables, with electrical signals traveling a short distance, generating heat and small data losses. Co-packaged optics (CPO) solves this by placing optical components next to computing chips, shortening electrical paths and keeping only the fiber connections external, according to Sinotrade.
TSMC is also expected to expand capacity for the advanced hybrid bonding process that powers these technologies. Hybrid bonding connects chips directly instead of using traditional tiny bumps, enabling faster communication and reducing energy loss, TechNews reported.
COUPE uses 3D hybrid bonding as a core technology to enable CPOs, according to 3D InCites. Nvidia and Broadcom are already adopting the system, while photonics computing company Lightmatter has reportedly sent final blueprints for several AI chips to TSMC for manufacturing, showing growing interest in the technology.
This expanding silicon photonics ecosystem could create new opportunities for Taiwanese suppliers. Photonics test equipment maker Chroma Ate and fiber array bonding specialist GMT Global are among them.
Although COUPE relies mostly on light, short copper links are still needed, and their surfaces must be extremely smooth since even tiny impurities can cause failures. Chroma’s 3D measurement tools detect these issues, overcoming the limitations of traditional X-ray inspections.
With optical components built into chip packages, precise fiber alignment, connectors, and testing are critical, as small errors can reduce yields. Equipment makers say GMT’s tools calibrate wavelengths and ensure smooth signals, while All Ring Tech provides automated fiber-coupling equipment, with revenue expected to grow significantly this year.
Analysts note that Nvidia plans to start commercial use of silicon photonics this year with its Rubin Ultra chips. This shift from copper to light-based connections near the processing cores shows that silicon photonics is moving quickly from experimental stages to real-world applications.
Nvidia’s Spectrum-X and Broadcom’s Tomahawk 6-Davisson chips already use COUPE, showing it is one of the most production-ready photonic systems today. Industry experts note that TSMC’s push into silicon photonics is not just a single-step manufacturing race but an extension of system-level packaging.
