SHIP™ leverages Tower’s high-volume silicon photonics platform and combines it with heterogeneous integration of monolithic laser sources, capable of meeting the most demanding DWDM technical requirements for AI.
DWDM lasers are an essential component of Co-Packaged Optics (CPO) based next generation of AI infrastructure that aims to deliver ever-growing bandwidth density, ultra-low tail latency, and lower energy per bit, while improving GPU utilization and hyperscaler ROI needed in the agentic AI era.
"The scale-up networking opportunity is about to increase significantly as these server interconnects move to multirack CPO. Scale-up networking will consume an increasing portion of AI Networking's $200B 2030 market as the market moves towards optical architectures, reducing the constraints on beachhead and copper bandwidth limitations per GPU/XPU," said Alan Weckel, Founder and Technology Analyst at 650 Group, LLC. "Manufacturing and foundry to vendor alignment is the key to unlocking the CPO market to ensure the reliability and volumes that Hyperscalers need to hit their AI goals."
Scintil's SHIP™ technology has been validated on Tower's silicon photonics platform. LEAF Light™ is the industry's first DWDM-optimized, intelligent integrated laser source fabricated with SHIP™. Tower Semiconductor's multi-site silicon photonics manufacturing footprint provides resilient capacity and supply continuity aligned with hyperscale deployment needs. This positions the partnership for high-volume hyperscale deployment with the capacity flexibility and supply continuity required at scale. The collaboration supports customer evaluations for DWDM CPO programs, establishing a defined path from qualification to volume manufacturing.
"Next-generation AI infrastructure demands optical interconnects that deliver more bandwidth per fiber at lower power per bit," said Matt Crowley, Chief Executive Officer of Scintil Photonics. "DWDM co-packaged optics meets that bar. LEAF Light™ brings the DWDM laser source technology; Tower's SiPho platform brings the manufacturing scale. With SHIP™ now validated on Tower's production lines, customers have a path from evaluation to millions of units per month."
"We deeply value our long-term partnership with Scintil, and are excited to bring this revolutionary monolithic DWDM laser technology to market to enable next generations of scale-up architectures,” said Dr. Ed Preisler, VP and GM of RF Business Unit at Tower Semiconductor. “Scintil’s technology complements our PH18M platform already in mass production for optical transceivers at our facilities worldwide.”
As AI data center growth accelerates, hyperscalers need networking solutions that reduce power, improve utilization, and scale with the next generation of models. DWDM CPO, with higher bandwidth density, lower energy per bit, and ultra-low tail latency, are where the industry is heading. LEAF Light™ is the first production-ready DWDM laser source that uses heterogeneous integration to monolithically integrate active lasers and established silicon photonics on a single chip.
About Tower Semiconductor
Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (NASDAQ/TASE: TSEM), the leading foundry of high-value analog semiconductor solutions, provides technology, development, and process platforms for its customers in growing markets such as consumer, industrial, automotive, mobile, infrastructure, medical and aerospace and defense. Tower Semiconductor focuses on creating a positive and sustainable impact on the world through long-term partnerships and its advanced and innovative analog technology offering, comprised of a broad range of customizable process platforms such as SiPho, SiGe, BiCMOS, mixed-signal/CMOS, RF CMOS, CMOS image sensor, non-imaging sensors, displays, integrated power management (BCD and 700V), and MEMS. Tower Semiconductor also provides world-class design enablement for a quick and accurate design cycle as well as process transfer services including development, transfer, and optimization, to IDMs and fabless companies. To provide multi-fab sourcing and extended capacity for its customers, Tower Semiconductor currently owns one operating facility in Israel (200mm), two in the U.S. (200mm), and two in Japan (200mm and 300mm) which it owns through its 51% holdings in TPSCo and shares a 300mm facility in Agrate, Italy with STMicroelectronics.
For more information, please visit: www.towersemi.com.
