Tower Semiconductor has caught a wave of demand for chips supporting the AI boom, the company president Marco Racanelli told EE Times. The Israeli chip foundry is leading rivals with production of silicon photonics and silicon germanium that speed data transfers and save power, analysts say.

The new tech gives Tower, ranked seventh in the foundry business, a competitive advantage over bigger competitors like number one TSMC and Intel, which are also entering the photonics business. In China, some believe silicon photonics can help the nation skirt a U.S.-led ban on exports of EUV tools that have blunted China’s progress making advanced chips.

“For AI, we are seeing very large demand both in silicon photonics and silicon germanium,” Racanelli said. “We build the amplifiers, the transimpedance amplifiers and drivers in silicon germanium that go into those modules. In silicon photonics, we build all the optical components.”

Tower president Marco Racanelli (Source: Tower Semiconductor)

The company is counting on laser tech from partner OpenLight to extend its photonics portfolio. Tower and chip designer/IP provider OpenLight are creating an ecosystem to make silicon photonics chips.

11/21/2024 |  Elektrik - Elektronik Mühendisliği