The Pulse
Tower and NewPhotonics Ship 1.6T Photonics for AI Networks
Tower Semiconductor and NewPhotonics have begun high-volume shipments of laser-integrated photonic chips supporting 800G and 1.6T optical interconnects. The companies are targeting pluggable and near-packaged optics for scale-out and scale-
AI.info Team ·
“The next phase of AI infrastructure demands optical connectivity that scales in both production and performance.”
Doron Tal, SVP and GM, NewPhotonics
Tower Semiconductor and NewPhotonics have begun high-volume shipments of laser-integrated photonic integrated circuits designed for AI networking systems, according to a September 17 filing by Tower.
The companies say production parts now support optical data rates from 800G to 1.6T. The chips target external pluggable transceivers, extra-dense packaged optics and near-packaged optics, giving equipment makers several routes to connect processors, switches and memory across large AI systems.
200G-per-lane chips move into production
NewPhotonics’ NPG102 products support the 800G and 1.6T configurations, with 200G-per-lane designs and lasers integrated onto a single photonic chip. The companies describe the approach as a way to combine optical signal processing, laser sources, semiconductor optical amplifiers, modulators and photodetectors within one manufacturing flow.
Tower is producing the devices on its PH18DA silicon photonics platform. The process uses heterogeneously integrated indium phosphide components, allowing laser elements and other optical functions to sit alongside silicon photonics circuitry on a monolithic photonic integrated circuit.
Tower says the integration is intended to reduce manufacturing complexity and variation while improving yield, reliability and time to market. The filing does not disclose shipment volumes, customer names or revenue tied specifically to the NewPhotonics products.
6.4T NPO products are scheduled for 2027
The companies plan to begin volume shipments of NewPhotonics’ CPX-MSA-compliant NPC505 chipsets in the first half of 2027. Those products are designed for 6.4T near-packaged optics applications aimed at both scale-out and scale-up AI architectures.
Near-packaged optics places optical connectivity closer to switching or computing hardware than conventional pluggable modules. That design can shorten electrical paths and support higher bandwidth, although deployment depends on system packaging, serviceability and standards decisions made by equipment manufacturers.
Tower’s announcement presents the 6.4T schedule as a manufacturing plan rather than a current shipment milestone. Production shipments today remain focused on the 800G and 1.6T NPG102 products.
Tower’s photonics commitments extend beyond one partner
The NewPhotonics announcement follows a series of photonics moves by Tower. In May, the company said it had signed silicon photonics contracts representing $1.3 billion in 2027 revenue and received $290 million in customer prepayments for capacity reservations. Tower also said it had more than 50 active silicon photonics customers across multiple applications.
In June, Tower announced that it and Marvell had shipped more than five million coherent photonic integrated circuits to Marvell customers. Those products serve data-center interconnect applications and require control of the phase and polarization of light, in addition to signal amplitude.
The company has been expanding its photonics capacity across a manufacturing network that includes facilities in Israel, the United States, Japan and Italy. Tower’s May announcement said capacity expansion was intended to support demand for both current pluggable optical transceivers and newer near-packaged and co-packaged optics designs.
AI connectivity shifts from demonstration to supply
NewPhotonics’ Tal said the partnership is intended to make laser-integrated photonics available as a production option for original equipment makers and data-center operators. Tower’s Ed Preisler, vice president and general manager of its RF business unit, called NewPhotonics the first partner to bring heterogeneously integrated laser optical engines on the PH18DA platform into high-volume production.
The announcement matters less as a new laboratory result than as a manufacturing milestone. AI systems increasingly require optical links that carry more data between compute and switching components, and the companies are positioning 1.6T products as an available production building block rather than a prototype. The immediate commercial evidence is the start of shipments; the larger test will be whether customers adopt the parts in deployed transceiver and near-packaged optics systems.
Tower and NewPhotonics are scheduled to show the products at ECOC 2026 in Málaga, Spain, from September 21 to 23. NewPhotonics plans to display the NPG102 and NPC505 product families at the event.