Taiwan eyes silicon photonics as next big tech leap

• By Liao Chia-ning and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writer

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Taiwan, which accounts for more than half of the global outsourced semiconductor assembly and testing market, is well-positioned to develop copackaged optics (CPO) and manufacture precision silicon photonics chips, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.

Silicon photonics are emerging as a mainstream optical communications technology and is seen as key to overcoming bottlenecks in AI computing power.

The technology is a key project under the government’s New 10 Major AI Infrastructure Projects, with industry, government, academia and research institutions working to overcome critical technological hurdles and build a self-reliant silicon photonics supply chain, the ministry said.

A silicon wafer is displayed during Semicon Taiwan in Taipei on Sept. 11 last year.

Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA

Nvidia Corp in March invested US$4 billion in silicon photonics technology, the ministry added.

The technology was a major topic at Semicon Taiwan, which concluded on Friday last week.

Silicon photonics replaces traditional copper wire transmission of electronic signals between chips with optical signals.

As light generates almost no heat during transmission, the technology can reduce power consumption by 30 to 50 percent, allowing devices to stream high-definition content and generate artificial intelligence content more quickly, the ministry said.

Taiwan has key advantages in the transition, including a comprehensive semiconductor ecosystem and more than 90 percent of global advanced semiconductor manufacturing capacity for 7 nanometer chips or below, the ministry said.

Taiwan accounts for more than half of the global semiconductor assembly and testing market, which gives it a key role in developing CPO, a technology aimed at overcoming the 1.6-terabit-per-second bandwidth limit of traditional electronic transmission.

The government launched a silicon photonics research and development (R&D) initiative under its A+ Enterprise Innovation R&D Program earlier this year to support the development of key technologies.

The ministry and the SEMI have helped more than 30 leading companies, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控), MediaTek Inc (聯發科) and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), establish the Silicon Photonics Industry Alliance in 2024, it said.

The alliance aims to overcome key technological hurdles, particularly in CPO, and ensure that Taiwan retains control of the silicon photonics supply chain, it said.