Turn to 4-inch wafers! Dutch Photonics Integrated Circuit Enterprise Announces Production Expansion and Price Reduction

Recently, SMART Photonics, a Dutch photonic integrated circuit manufacturer, announced a major decision to transfer its entire production capacity from 3-inch wafers to 4-inch silicon substrates, thereby expanding the production scale of photonic chips and significantly reducing chip prices.

According to the company, SMART Photonics is one of the first photonic integrated circuit foundries to provide 4-inch indium phosphide wafer production.

The above transformation not only increases production scale, but also brings significant advantages: generally speaking, 4-inch wafers contain almost twice the number of chips as 3-inch wafers, which means that production efficiency can be greatly improved. The company stated that this scale effect will translate into lower chip prices, thereby better meeting market demand.

"This shift is not just about the number of wafers. A larger wafer substrate will enable us to better meet the market demand for optical chips," said Guy Backner, Chief Operating Officer of SMART Photonics
He further added that by reducing costs and improving production efficiency, the company is expected to play a greater leading role in the integrated optoelectronic ecosystem.

This transformation has received support from the industry and financial venture capital institutions. Last July, partners such as PhotonDelta, chip equipment giant ASML, and chip manufacturer NXP Semiconductors provided $111 million in financing. In addition, the EU's InterReg Northwest Europe project OIP4NWE has also provided important support for this change.

SMART Photonics has demonstrated its innovative capabilities and forward-looking layout in the field of photonic integrated circuits by shifting production capacity from 3-inch to 4-inch wafers. This transformation not only enhances the company's competitiveness, but also lays a solid foundation for the development of the entire Dutch optoelectronic ecosystem. In the future, the company will fully utilize its financing to expand its manufacturing capabilities and accelerate the development of its PIC technology platform and process design suite.

Source: OFweek Laser Network