Thirty Taiwanese firms, led by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控), yesterday launched a silicon photonics industry alliance, aiming to accelerate the medium’s development and address the energy efficiency of artificial intelligence (AI) devices like data centers.
As the world is ushering in a new AI era with tremendous demand for computing power and algorithms, energy consumption is emerging as a critical issue, TSMC vice president of integrated interconnect and packaging business C.K. Hsu (徐國晉) told a media briefing in Taipei.
To solve this issue, it is essential to introduce silicon photonics and copackaged optics (CPO) technology to manufacture chips used in data centers and AI devices, Hsu said.
Photo: Grace Hung, Taipei Times
The Silicon Photonics Industry Alliance aims to shape a global standard for the technology, which still lacks consensus on design, manufacturing and testing, through collaboration with companies in the supply chains, Hsu said.
As Taiwan has built a solid foundation in chip manufacturing, it has a good chance to become an important base for the global AI industry if silicon photonics technology takes root here, he said.
TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, expects the world’s silicon photonics market to expand at an annual compound growth rate of 40 percent to US$64 million by 2028, Hsu said during his keynote speech.
Together with CPO technology, the market would be worth about US$500 million in 2028, the chipmaker forecast.
The growth would be driven by rising demand for high data rate optical transceiver modules used in AI servers, Hsu said.
Taiwan has been developing silicon photonics technology over the past few years, but high costs have curbed the growth of shipments, ASE chief operating officer Tien Wu (吳田玉) said.
Because of surging demand for AI devices, silicon photonics technology development has picked up in recent years, paving the way for quicker commercialization of the technology, Wu said.
The alliance also includes Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), MediaTek Inc (聯發科), Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) and AUO Corp (友達), as well as the Industrial Technology Research Institute.
Separately, the Interuniversity Microelectronics Center (IMEC), one of the world’s leading independent nanoelectronics research-and-development (R&D) hubs, yesterday said it has built longstanding partnerships with Taiwanese chipmakers such as TSMC, United Microelectronics Corp (聯電) and Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp (世界先進) to facilitate advanced technologies, CEO Luc Van den Hove said in Taipei.
The Belgian research institute also collaborates with Taiwan’s top universities, such as National Taiwan University and National Tsing Hua University, on R&D.
The institute focuses on developing cutting-edge technologies and driving the roadmaps of most advanced process technologies that are three or four generations ahead of manufacturing, or six to 10 years ahead of manufacturing, he said.
IMEC specializes in lithography technology and has built close partnerships with ASML Holding NV, he said.
“Taiwan is a very important region for us,” he said.
IMEC has been collaborating with TSMC for 20 years on developing advanced technologies, he said.
Commenting on TSMC’s decision to build a new plant in Dresden, Germany, he said it is a “very wise strategy” as it is important for TSMC to reach out to some of its customers.
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