ams OSRAM has demonstrated a new microLED array technology used for next-generation slow-and-wide AI optical interconnects, demonstrating ultra-low-power at high speed and advancing toward product development.
ams OSRAM has based this product on its EVIYOS highly-pixelated automotive forward lighting technology, and it is leveraging its experience for this new microLED interconnects market.
The new ams OSRAM microLED optical interconnect features:
- 25,600 individually addressable microLED devices
- Cut-off frequency if over GHz
- Energy consumption below 2 pJ/bit
- Massively parallel, short‑reach optical IO paths
ams OSRAM says that for optical interconnects, the fabrication process is similar to that used for automotive matrix emitters, with one key difference: while EVIYOSTM uses monolithic arrays, data‑center applications use singulated microLEDs. These emitters are diced from the wafer and mounted on a substrate, so each device couples to its own fiber‑optic channel in a multi-channel fiber optics cable. The substrate can then be assembled onto a target CMOS wafer for system integration.
Due to their extremely small footprint, microLED based transceivers can achieve very high bandwidth density. Individual emitters support per lane data rates of ≥3.0 Gbit/s at energy levels below 2 pJ/bit over a full 10 meter link, while meeting industry bit-error-rate specifications below 10⁻¹⁵.
