Recently, global semiconductor manufacturing leader TSMC announced a partnership with the U.S. startup Avicena to jointly produce Micro LED-based optical interconnect products. This collaboration aims to replace traditional electrical connections with advanced optical communication technology, providing low-cost, high-efficiency data transmission solutions for the growing demands of graphics processors (GPUs).
"TSMC is focusing on non-typical optical technologies!" On May 26, IEEE Spectrum reported that TSMC is producing Micro LED light source receivers (PD) for the U.S. Micro LED startup Avicena.
Micro LED is a new technology that has emerged in the past decade, primarily used in televisions and smartwatches. Although it offers low energy consumption, high brightness, and long lifespan, each pixel requires an independent chip, leading to costs that can reach millions or even tens of millions of chips for a single panel.
Currently, display manufacturers are actively exploring the use of Micro LED for data center chip transmission light sources, aiming to replace traditional copper cables or more advanced laser transmission. Founded in 2019, Avicena is one of many players in this field and has received investments from semiconductor companies such as SK Hynix, Micron, Samsung, and Corning.
One of the favorable contenders in the Micro LED optical communication race is Rayli Light Intelligence, led by brothers He Zhihao (left) and He Zhiqiang.
To meet the high bandwidth data transmission needs of artificial intelligence (AI) servers, companies like Broadcom and NVIDIA have introduced Co-Packaged Optical (CPO) switch architectures, placing external laser modules and optical fibers next to chips as light sources for "long-distance transmission," replacing traditional optical transceiver modules and copper wires used in server cabinets.
However, short-distance transmission between chips in a cabinet still primarily relies on traditional copper wiring. Avicena believes Micro LED offers lower power consumption and greater bandwidth than copper, and has successfully persuaded TSMC to assist in this endeavor.
Lucas Tsai, Vice President of TSMC North America, pointed out that LEDs are widely used in consumer electronics and have much lower power consumption compared to lasers, making them very suitable for short-distance transmission.
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Source: Tech News
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