News: Optoelectronics
19 February 2026
Photon Bridge demos >30mW laser output per color at wafer scale on silicon photonics
Photonic integration firm Photon Bridge of Eindhoven, The Netherlands has announced wafer-scale validation of its heterogeneous photonics platform for multi-wavelength light engines. The firm demonstrated single-channel output power exceeding 30mW at the silicon chip edge facets in continuous-wave operation at room temperature. The demonstrated power levels meet per-channel requirements for next-generation 1.6T and 3.2T co-packaged optical engines, enabling reduced fiber count and improved rack-level energy efficiency.
While traditional non-muxed ELS solutions deliver one color per fiber with high-power 250mW lasers, Photon Bridge’s platform achieves comparable aggregate per fiber output by combining multiple wavelengths on a single fiber. By integrating lasers and multiplexing on a single silicon photonics interposer, the platform reduces fiber count, simplifies assembly and improves thermal efficiency.
The milestone validates a fully integrated architecture in which lasers and wavelength filters reside on a single silicon photonic integrated circuit (PIC), eliminating discrete micro-optics and simplifying assembly. Leveraging established commercial III–V and 200mm silicon photonics foundries, the platform enables scalable and cost-effective deployment in next-generation AI-driven CPO systems.
Unlike conventional III–V-on-silicon approaches that depend on tight manufacturing tolerances and complex test flows, Photon Bridge’s platform is designed for volume production. A simplified silicon photonics process and OSAT-compatible assembly reduce III–V laser integration time by up to 80x. Initial wafer-scale testing demonstrated robust III–V–silicon interface connectivity, with more than 92% of interconnections meeting performance specifications.
“Delivering more than 30mW from a single integrated channel at wafer scale validates both the power handling and manufacturability of our platform,” says CEO Paul Marchal. “The architecture scales to 8, 16 or 32 wavelengths per fiber and can extend across multiple fibers to achieve significantly higher aggregate output power, without driving individual lasers to extreme power densities,” he adds. “With scalability demonstrated, we are now focused on industrialization and customer qualification for high-volume deployment.”
The platform is designed to scale to quantum dot laser technology, offering the potential for isolator-free operation and further simplifying system-level design for high-density optical engines.
Photon Bridge is exhibiting in booth 757 at the Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exposition (OFC 2026) in Los Angeles, CA, USA (17–19 March).
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