Technology

Industry's first TSMC COUPE-based optical connectivity solution for next-gen AI chips displayed — Alchip and Ayar Labs show future silicon photonics device

Source

Tom's Hardware

Published

Dec 1, 2025

TL;DR

AI Generated

Alchip and Ayar Labs showcased a TSMC COUPE-based optical connectivity solution at TSMC's European OIP forum, designed for next-gen AI accelerators. This solution integrates Ayar's silicon-photonics TeraPHY IC with Alchip's electrical interface die and detachable fiber connector, offering up to 100 Tb/s of bandwidth per accelerator. The system targets hardware developers seeking optical connectivity without the need to build their own optical subsystem. The three-chiplet co-packaged optical I/O subsystem includes a protocol-converter chiplet, EIC, and TeraPHY PIC, enabling high-speed optical modulation and detection. This production-ready solution allows smaller chip designers to incorporate optical connectivity affordably and efficiently.

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