STMicroelectronics to enable higher-performance optical interconnect in datacenters and AI clusters

STMicroelectronics is unveiling its next generation of proprietary technologies for higher-performing optical interconnect in datacenters and AI clusters. With the exponential growth of AI computing needs, challenges arise in performance and energy efficiency across computing, memory, power supply, and the interconnections linking them. ST is helping hyperscalers, and the leading optical module provider, overcome those challenges with new silicon photonics and next-gen BiCMOS technologies, scheduled to ramp up from the second half of 2025 for 800Gb/s and 1.6Tb/s optical modules.

At the heart of interconnections in a datacenter are thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of optical transceivers. These devices convert optical into electrical signals and vice versa to allow data flow between graphics processing unit (GPU) computing resources, switches and storage. Inside these transceivers, ST’s new, proprietary silicon photonics (SiPho) technology will bring customers the ability to integrate multiple complex components into one single chip, while ST’s next-gen, proprietary BiCMOS technology brings ultra-high-speed and low-power optical connectivity, which are key to sustain the AI growth.




“AI demand is accelerating the adoption of high-speed communication technology within the datacenter ecosystem. This is the right time for ST to introduce new power efficient silicon photonics technology and complementing it with a new generation of BiCMOS for our customers to design the next wave of optical interconnect products, which will enable 800Gbps/1.6Tbps solutions for the hyperscalers,” said Remi El-Ouazzane, President, Microcontrollers, Digital ICs and RF products Group at STMicroelectronics.

ST’s SiPho technology combined with the ST BiCMOS technology are a unique 300mm silicon platform to serve the optical market. Both technologies are being industrialized and will be manufactured in ST’s Crolles (France/Europe) 300mm fab.




Additional technical information is available on Silicon Photonics.