Yole Group unveils its latest photonic market and technology analyses, Silicon Photonics 2025 and Co-Packaged Optics for Data Centers 2025, which explore how AI-driven demand is reshaping connectivity, from transceivers to packaging innovation. Figure 1 maps the evolution of silicon photonics 1, 2. Silicon-based photonic integrated circuits (PICs) were introduced in 1985 3 and low-loss waveguides in a thick silicon on insulator (SOI) process demonstrated in 1991–92 4, 5. Various optical devices were next demonstrated 6, and soon, silicon. 5College of Science and Mathematics, University of Massachusetts Boston, 100 William T. 6Department of Physics, Engineering Physics & Astronomy, Queen's University, 64 Bader Lane, Kingston, K7L3N6, ON, Canada. Thereby it opens a route towards very advanced PICs with very high yield and low cost. The current generation has led to a proliferation of integrated photonic devices from thousands to millions-mainly in the form of communication transceivers for data centers.
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