InPHRED is expanding into data center optical interconnects, applying its nanoporous semiconductor platform to two device roadmaps: GaN micro-Resonant Cavity LEDs (μRC-LEDs) for ultra-short-reach optical I/O and 1310 nm InP VCSELs aimed at single-mode intra-data-center links for AI infrastructure. The company is positioning the two tracks to address both chip-adjacent optical I/O and longer rack-scale connections where electrical reach, thermal limits, and bandwidth density are increasingly tight.
The effort targets two common design variables in optical I/O architectures: how close the optical engine sits to the ASIC and how far the optical link needs to run. InPHRED points to architectures including mid-board optics (MBO), near-packaged optics (NPO), and co-packaged optics (CPO) as approaches intended to shorten electrical traces between ASICs and optical engines to improve signal integrity and reduce power. On the reach side, it describes deployments spanning copper and active electrical links at the shortest distances, multimode fiber for short reach, and single-mode fiber for longer intra-data-center connections.
On the ultra-short-reach side, InPHRED’s μRC-LED roadmap targets chip-to-chip and on-board optical I/O, with the goal of replacing copper using dense optical engines placed close to advanced compute packages. On the longer-reach side, the company’s 1310 nm InP VCSEL roadmap is aimed at single-mode optical engines that could be used in MBO or NPO configurations for rack-scale and adjacent-rack links, emphasizing high-temperature reliability, direct-drive operation, and lower system complexity.
“As AI systems scale, the challenge is not only how far data must travel optically, but also how far high-speed electrical signals must travel before they become light,” said Professor Jung Han, chief scientist and co-founder of InPHRED. “We believe InPHRED is well positioned to address both problems: micro-RC-LEDs for ultra-short-reach optical I/O close to advanced compute packages, and InP VCSELs for efficient single-mode optical engines that can support longer intra-data-center connectivity.”
InPHRED is targeting initial demonstration milestones in Q1 2027 on both technology paths. For μRC-LED optical I/O, the company is targeting a 200-lane array architecture with 0.3 numerical aperture on sapphire, with proof targets including coupling loss below 3 dB and energy efficiency of 4 pJ/bit. For 1310 nm interconnects, InPHRED is targeting a 32-channel, 50 Gbps-per-lane 2D InP VCSEL optical engine, with proof targets including a 100 °C operating case temperature and a stated path toward 120–150 °C, plus fiber-coupling loss below 2 dB per channel.
For data center engineers, the practical takeaway is that InPHRED isn’t pitching a single “one optics” answer: it’s betting that ultra-short-reach optical I/O near the package and longer-reach single-mode links will coexist, and it’s trying to build device options for both ends of that reach and placement spectrum.
Source: InPHRED
