Aeva has announced the development of a high-power semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) aimed at AI data center optical interconnects, including support for Co-Packaged Optics (CPO) architectures, and also targeting frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) LiDAR applications. The company positions the SOA as an extension of its vertically integrated photonics platform beyond sensing, with a focus on optical amplification for next-generation infrastructure.
Aeva links the SOA to scaling AI workloads and the resulting constraints in data centers around power efficiency, thermal management, and the ability to transmit large amounts of data. It says these constraints are driving adoption of high-efficiency, high-temperature optical amplification for architectures including co-packaged optics, External Laser Small Form-Factor Pluggable (ELSFP), and high-bandwidth parallel optical channels.
For the device’s published performance targets, Aeva says the optical amplifier exceeds 28 dBm optical output power, with wall-plug efficiency greater than 20 percent at temperatures up to 50 degrees Celsius. Aeva claims the combination of power, efficiency, and thermal robustness can reduce system power dissipation and cost, and improve reliability in large-scale AI data center deployments and in advanced multi-beam FMCW LiDAR systems.
Aeva says the SOA is produced in modern semiconductor fabs, and that its manufacturing approach enables high yield, excellent reliability, long-term stability, and cost-effective scaling. “As AI infrastructure and autonomous systems continue to scale, the industry needs optical technologies that can deliver high performance without compromising efficiency, manufacturability, reliability, or cost,” said Pradeep Srinivasan, VP of Photonics at Aeva. “This new high-power SOA reflects Aeva’s deep expertise in photonics and semiconductor design and has the potential to enable a new class of scalable architectures across both AI data centers and FMCW LiDAR applications for automotive and Physical AI applications.”
Aeva says technical performance and reliability results are detailed in its paper on high-power semiconductor optical amplifiers, scheduled for presentation at the SPIE Photonics West Conference on January 19, with additional information available at SPIE Photonics West.
Source: Aeva
