SILITH and UMC Achieve Mass Production Milestone for Silicon Photonics

Key Terms

silicon photonics technical

Silicon photonics is the technology that uses tiny structures etched into silicon chips to generate, control and detect light for moving data and sensing, essentially putting optical fiber functions onto a computer chip. For investors, it matters because it can dramatically increase data speed and energy efficiency in data centers, telecom networks and advanced sensors, potentially lowering costs and enabling new products much like replacing many metal wires with faster, low-power optical highways.

co-packaged optics (cpo) technical

Co-packaged optics (CPO) are a way of placing optical transmitters and receivers directly next to or on the same chip package as a high-speed switch or processor, rather than keeping them on separate circuit boards. By moving the light-based communications closer to the switching brain, CPO cuts power use, reduces delay and can greatly increase data capacity — changes that can lower operating costs, enable denser data centers, and shift competitive dynamics among hardware suppliers and cloud operators.

silicon-on-insulator (soi) technical

A semiconductor manufacturing technique where a thin layer of silicon for building transistors is placed on top of an insulating layer (usually silicon dioxide) above a silicon substrate. Like a sandwich with an insulating filling that keeps electrical signals from leaking into the bread, SOI reduces power loss, improves speed and thermal behavior, and can simplify circuit design; these effects influence chip performance, manufacturing yields, costs, and therefore the competitive and financial prospects of companies that design or produce chips using SOI.

mach-zehnder modulators (mzms) technical

An optical device that controls light by splitting a beam into two paths, changing the phase of one path, and recombining them so the output intensity or phase is altered—much like tuning two waves so they add up or cancel each other. Mach–Zehnder modulators are used to encode data onto laser light for high-speed fiber‑optic links, data centers, and sensing systems, making them important components for firms selling optical communications hardware and next‑generation networks.

thin-film lithium niobate (tfln) technical

A microscopic, wafer-thin layer of lithium niobate used to build optical chips that control and convert light signals—think of it as “silicon for light” that lets engineers route and modulate photons on a tiny scale. It matters to investors because devices made with thin‑film lithium niobate can be faster, smaller and more energy‑efficient than older optical components, so companies that adopt it may gain performance advantages, lower costs, and stronger growth potential in telecom, data centers, sensing and photonics markets.

optical i/o technical

Optical I/O is the use of light instead of electrical signals to send and receive data between chips, circuit boards, or computers. It matters to investors because it can dramatically increase data speed and reduce power use—like switching from crowded city roads to high-speed rail—helping companies scale networks, cut operating costs in data centers, and enable new high-performance products that can drive revenue and competitive advantage.

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Accelerating High-Volume Silicon Photonics Manufacturing for AI Infrastructure

• UMC delivers first mass-produced silicon photonics wafers from UMC’s Singapore 12-inch fab, marking a step change from development to high-volume manufacturing.
• The collaboration combines SILITH's silicon photonics innovation with UMC's high-volume 12-inch manufacturing platform.
• UMC’s silicon photonics process integration is a scalable, foundry-ready manufacturing platform—aimed at delivering predictable cost, yield, and ramp timelines for customers building next-generation AI data center optical interconnects

SINGAPORE & HSINCHU, Taiwan--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- SILITH Technology, a silicon photonics fabless company, and United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE: UMC; TWSE: 2303) (“UMC”), a leading global semiconductor foundry, today announced the first mass-production wafer delivery of photonic ICs from UMC’s Singapore fab, advancing the partnership between the two companies to scale next-generation silicon photonics manufacturing. The collaboration combines SILITH’s photonics design expertise with UMC’s 12-inch wafer manufacturing capacity and process capabilities to support high-volume production of SILITH's 1.6T silicon photonics platform, addressing the growing demand for high-speed AI optical interconnects in AI and hyperscale data center networks.

Combining SILITH's proprietary silicon photonics architecture with UMC's advanced process integration expertise and proven silicon-on-insulator (SOI) manufacturing capabilities, the joint team brought the silicon photonics platform from development to production readiness in 18 months. The platform has demonstrated production-level performance with high yield and reliability, and has since been qualified by a leading cloud infrastructure customer for volume deployment. Together, the two companies have established a scalable manufacturing platform to support the next generation of AI infrastructure.

Jason Zhang, Chief Technology Officer of SILITH, said: “AI is driving an unprecedented demand for optical bandwidth, making silicon photonics a foundational technology for future data center infrastructure. At SILITH, we are building a scalable silicon photonics platform that spans pluggable optics, co-packaged optics (CPO), and future optical I/O architectures. Together with UMC, we are bringing together leading-edge silicon photonics innovation and high-volume 12-inch manufacturing to deliver the performance, scalability, and cost efficiency required for the next generation of AI networks.”

GC Hung, Senior Vice President of UMC, said: “We're proud to partner with SILITH, a leading silicon photonics company with a proven track record of serving leading cloud infrastructure and optical networking customers, to achieve this important milestone. It reflects UMC’s ability to support customers at scale with the deep integration expertise required for complex interdisciplinary technologies such as silicon photonics. Beyond its strong 12-inch wafer manufacturing capabilities, Singapore also serves as a key technology development hub for UMC, enabling the rapid production ramp with SILITH. Looking ahead, UMC will continue to strengthen its manufacturing capabilities to support customers’ growing demand and accelerate next-generation photonics applications.”

In addition to the successful commercialization of the first silicon photonics product for a customer, UMC is making its own 12-inch silicon photonics platform available for customer product development in 2027.

Building on the successful commercialization of SILITH's 200G/lane silicon photonics products, UMC and SILITH are extending its silicon photonics roadmap to support next-generation 400G/lane optical interconnects. As a key milestone, the two companies are collaborating on a 400G/lane pure-silicon photonics platform, leveraging high-speed silicon Mach-Zehnder Modulators (MZMs) to enable 400G/lane transmission while preserving the manufacturability, scalability, and cost advantages of a CMOS-compatible silicon platform.

Looking beyond 400G/lane silicon-based modulator solution, UMC is also collaborating with ecosystem partners to develop thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN)-based solutions for future ultra-high-bandwidth optical interconnects. Combined with UMC's advanced packaging technologies, these complementary silicon photonics and TFLN platforms will enable optical-engine modules supporting CPO, optical I/O, and other highly integrated architectures for next-generation AI infrastructure.

About SILITH Technology

SILITH Technology is a Singapore-headquartered silicon photonics company developing next-generation photonic integrated circuit (PIC) solutions for AI infrastructure and high-speed optical networking. Founded in 2021, the company is dedicated to the development and commercialization of scalable silicon photonics technologies that enable next-generation optical interconnects.

Leveraging a comprehensive silicon photonics product portfolio, SILITH has achieved commercial-scale deployment, with cumulative shipments of more than 8 million 100G/lane and 200G/lane PICs. The company is also advancing one of the industry's leading 400G/lane PAM4 pure-silicon photonics platforms, demonstrating the scalability of CMOS-compatible silicon photonics for future optical interconnects.

SILITH's high-performance, high-reliability PIC solutions, together with its flexible customization capabilities, have earned the trust of leading customers across the global optical communications ecosystem. For more information, visit www.silith.com

About UMC

UMC (NYSE: UMC, TWSE: 2303) is a leading global semiconductor foundry company. The company provides high-quality IC fabrication services, focusing on logic and various specialty technologies to serve all major sectors of the electronics industry. UMC’s comprehensive IC processing technologies and manufacturing solutions include Logic/Mixed-Signal, embedded High-Voltage, embedded Non-Volatile-Memory, RFSOI, BCD etc. Most of UMC's 12-in and 8-in fabs with its core R&D are located in Taiwan, with additional ones throughout Asia. UMC has a total of 12 fabs in production with combined capacity of more than 400,000 wafers per month (12-in equivalent), and all of them are certified with IATF 16949 automotive quality standard. UMC is headquartered in Hsinchu, Taiwan, plus local offices in United States, Europe, China, Japan, Korea & Singapore, with a worldwide total of 20,000 employees. For more information, please visit: http://www.umc.com.

Note from UMC Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

Some of the statements in the foregoing announcement are forward-looking within the meaning of the U.S. Federal Securities laws, including statements about introduction of new services and technologies, future outsourcing, competition, wafer capacity, business relationships and market conditions. Investors are cautioned that actual events and results could differ materially from these statements as a result of a variety of factors, including conditions in the overall semiconductor market and economy; acceptance and demand for products from UMC; and technological and development risks. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in UMC’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. UMC does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable law.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260713846186/en/

Media contacts
UMC Corporate Communications
Michelle Yun
886-2-2658-9168 x16951
michelle_yun@umc.com

Silith Technology Pte.Ltd
Ray Hsu
65-8127 6689
Ray_Hsu@silith.com

Source: United Microelectronics Corporation