Tower Semiconductor, Salience Labs Begin Pre-Production of Optical Circuit Switches for AI Data Centers
Tower Semiconductor and Salience Labs will co-manufacture Photonic Integrated Circuit-based optical circuit switches using Tower’s PH18DA platform with integrated III-V lasers and TPS45PH nitride waveguides, moving the technology into pre-production for AI data centers. Industry forecasts expect AI back-end network switch spending to exceed $100 billion by 2030.
1. Partnership Details
Tower Semiconductor has entered a collaboration with Salience Labs to manufacture Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC) based Optical Circuit Switches (OCS) designed for next-generation AI data centers. The partnership advances from development into a pre-production phase, marking a key milestone toward mass deployment of optical switching solutions.
2. Technical Platforms
The joint effort leverages Tower’s high-volume silicon photonics platforms, including the PH18DA process with integrated III-V lasers and the TPS45PH process featuring low-loss nitride waveguides. These platforms aim to deliver ultra-low latency, high-bandwidth, and lower energy-per-bit connectivity compared with traditional electronic packet switching.
3. Market Outlook
AI workloads are driving rapid growth in data-center scale and network complexity, increasing demand for advanced optical interconnects. Industry forecasts project AI back-end network switch spending will exceed $100 billion by 2030, highlighting the significant market opportunity for Tower Semiconductor’s OCS solutions.