Luxtera, STMicroelectronics partner for silicon photonics

Semiconductor developer STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM) and Luxtera Inc. have announced a partnership in which STMicroelectronics will produce silicon CMOS photonics products using Luxtera’s technology at its 300-mm facility in Crolles, France. The deal provides a second source for products based on Luxtera’s IP using a more efficient process than the 200-mm fab at Freescale that Luxtera is using now.

“The powerful synergy of this partnership, derived from the complementary strengths of two technology and industry leaders, represents a tremendous breakthrough. This will bring silicon photonics into the mainstream of important technologies such as optical networking, ultra-fast computer processors, and other applications via the commercial volume availability of a best-in-class silicon photonics IP platform,” said Flavio Benetti, general manager of mixed process division at STMicroelectronics.

Luxtera has granted ST a license to use the company’s silicon photonics technology, which ST will likely use to develop new products. Just what those products might be, neither company is saying at the moment. While Luxtera is best known for 10-Gbps products (see “Luxtera ships one-millionth silicon CMOS photonics-enabled 10G channel”), it recently announced 4x28G technology (see “Luxtera single-chip 100-Gbps transceiver targets multiple applications”). Luxtera’s technology also will support operation at 1310-nm, 1490-nm, and 1550-nm wavelengths.

Meanwhile, while Luxtera will maintain production on the 200-mm fab, the addition of ST’s resources will provide Luxtera’s customers with a more robust supply chain.

“Luxtera has found a broad market opportunity for silicon photonics that requires an expanded supply chain and continued technology advancement. We can now offer our customers a high-volume, capable source of supply and an aggressive long-term photonic process technology roadmap. This will advance our base technology and enable the integration of optical transceivers with SoCs from advanced CMOS nodes to deliver photonic-enabled SoCs for large-scale systems. In turn, ST can now offer customers the world’s leading optical IP as the two companies expand the silicon photonics ecosystem,” said Greg Young, president and CEO of Luxtera.