Collaboration
Galvanizing Taiwan’s Photonics Integration Industry via European Collaboration
ITRI, along with the Taiwan Optoelectronic Semiconductor Industry Association (TOSIA), held a signing ceremony for a cooperation agreement on photonics integration. Witnessed by representatives from ITRI, the Netherlands Office Taipei (NLOT), and the Ministry of Economic Affairs, this event helped establish connections among TOSIA, PhotonDelta, and the European Photonics Industry Consortium. It further facilitated the collaboration between leading cable manufacturer BizLink and Dutch photonic integrated circuits manufacturer Phix on heterogeneous integration and packaging technologies for next-generation photonic chips.
“As one of the most promising technologies, photonics integration is indispensable to high-tech industries such as AI, 5G communications, and autonomous driving. It also facilitates advancements in sensing and medical imaging applications,” said Shih-Chieh Chang, General Director of Electronic and Optoelectronic System Research Laboratories at ITRI.
In addition to emphasizing the potential of photonics integration, Dr. Chang highlighted that ITRI established the Lab for Integrated Opto-electronic Systems in 2018 to address the exponential growth in data scale and computational demands. The Lab provides rapid automated testing for 8-inch and 12-inch wafer-level photonic devices, including the design, process integration, packaging, and testing of photonic integrated circuits.
The cooperation agreement on integrated photonics strengthens the ties between key players in Europe and Taiwan.
NLOT’s Deputy Representative Matthijs van der Hoorn commented on the cooperation, noting that the Netherlands and Taiwan can remain fairly competitive in the global market of integrated photonics by utilizing the strengths of both sides. “The Netherlands has long been a leader in integrated photonics, with extensive experiences in developing optical instruments and equipment. On the other hand, Taiwan is renowned for its semiconductor industry, particularly its wafer foundry model,” he added.
BizLink’s General Manager Felix Teng indicated that photonics integration-based optical transmission will be an optimal solution for high-performance computing and an effective alternative to conventional copper-based transmission. “BizLink’s collaboration with Phix is expected to support our product development for next-generation high-speed networks and data transfer rates,” he said.
Photonics integration plays a key role in the AI revolution. Its advantages in high-density integration, mass production, cost-efficiency, low energy consumption, and ultra-fast data transmission make it ideal for applications in data centers, high-performance computing, and sensors. By leveraging global collaborations, ITRI will continue to expand these applications and carve out a niche in the global supply chain of this novel technology.