News: LEDs
14 April 2026
CEA-Leti, CEA-List and PSMC collaborate to integrate RISC-V and micro-LED silicon photonics into 3D stacking and interposer
To deliver solutions for next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) systems, a strategic collaboration has been announced that will leverage the RISC-V design expertise of smart digital system specialist CEA-List and the silicon photonics expertise of micro/nanotechnology R&D center CEA-Leti of Grenoble, France to introduce high-bandwidth communication and high-efficiency computing technologies into the established 3D stacking and interposer platforms of Taiwanese foundry Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (PSMC).
The semiconductor industry faces mounting challenges, including the physical limits of traditional copper interconnects, increasingly stringent power budgets, and the urgent need for flexible, scalable computing architectures. By integrating short-reach, high-bandwidth optical links for energy-efficient data movement and customizable RISC-V processor architectures, the collaboration directly addresses these constraints and aims to establish a new paradigm in high-performance data transport and computing architecture.
“RISC-V is transforming processor design by combining openness, flexibility and cost efficiency. Its customizable architecture allows industrial players to develop solutions tailored to their needs,” says Olivier Thomas, deputy head of the Digital IC Design Division at CEA-List. “Our joint effort will give customers a customizable compute platform that meets the performance and power targets,” he adds.
“In the collaboration, micro-LED is a critical enabling technology that will boost optical communication throughput using low-power GaN LED solutions,” says CEA-Leti’s CEO Sébastien Dauvé.
“This collaboration enriches PSMC’s 3D stacking and interposer technology envelope with high-efficiency RISC-V computing IP and high-bandwidth silicon photonics chiplet communication,” says PSMC’s chief technology officer Dr. Shou-Zen Chang. “By leveraging the expertise of CEA-Leti and CEA-List alongside PSMC’s technologies, we will provide foundry services to customers for next-generation AI applications.”
CEA-Leti launches multi-lateral program to accelerate AI with micro-LED data links
