UMC Singapore Plant Starts 12-inch Silicon Photonics

According to United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC), the company has started manufacturing advanced photonic chips in Singapore to meet the growing demand for high-speed interconnect technologies driven by artificial intelligence (AI) data centers.

UMC Senior Vice President G.C. Hung said silicon photonics and co-packaged optics (CPO) will become key growth drivers for the company in the coming years. One major advancement is the transition of photonic chip production from traditional 8-inch wafers to more advanced 12-inch wafer manufacturing.

Hung noted that the adoption of advanced manufacturing equipment and processes can reduce optical losses while improving power efficiency and overall chip performance.

Singapore-based photonic chip developer Silith Technology will become the first major customer of UMC’s new photonics production line. Silith’s customers include optical module manufacturers Innolight and Coherent, both of which are important suppliers of AI infrastructure components for companies such as NVIDIA and Google.

As next-generation AI data centers continue to expand, high-speed interconnect technologies have become a critical area of competition. Silicon photonics combines optical technologies with silicon-based chips, using light signals instead of traditional electrical signals to transmit data. This approach enables higher transmission speeds, greater bandwidth, and lower power consumption.

Beyond its cooperation with Silith, UMC is also working with Belgium-based microelectronics research center IMEC to establish a photonic chip manufacturing platform. The platform is expected to open to additional customers starting in 2027.

UMC plans to provide advanced packaging services from 2027, connecting photonic chips to interposers to shorten electrical transmission paths between optical components and processors, thereby improving interconnect speed and efficiency.

By 2028, UMC aims to launch an open platform to help customers develop various optical chips and silicon photonics solutions. The company is also exploring the use of thin-film lithium niobate chiplets for data center applications. This material can support faster data transmission, improve energy efficiency, and reduce heat generation.

Singapore and Taiwan will serve as UMC’s main research and manufacturing bases for photonic chips and advanced packaging technologies. The company has already assigned more than 100 employees to related businesses and plans to further expand its Singapore team in the coming years.

UMC Chairman Hong Chia-Cheng said co-packaged optics technology will continue to evolve, while demand for photonic chips used in pluggable optical modules remains strong and will continue to play an important role in future data center networks.

Unlike TSMC, which focuses on leading-edge semiconductor processes, UMC primarily targets specialty and mature-node applications, including power management, microcontrollers, connectivity chips, and sensors. Its customers include Qualcomm, Intel, and Infineon.

Mature process technologies and supporting semiconductor components remain essential to the development of AI infrastructure. UMC previously announced that it would increase product prices starting in July due to rising material costs.