ams OSRAM is expanding the application of its microLED technology for automotive headlamps to optical interconnect solutions for AI data centers. Based on EVIYOS technology, which has secured mass production experience in automotive lighting, the company targets data transmission bottlenecks and power efficiency issues within AI servers.

ams OSRAM announced on the 10th that it is expanding its automotive microLED technology portfolio into the field of next-generation AI data center optical interconnects. The key is a 'Slow-and-Wide' structure that utilizes multiple microLED-based parallel optical channels, rather than the existing high-speed single-channel-centered 'Fast-and-Narrow' method.

This structure secures the full bandwidth by configuring hundreds to thousands of optical channels in parallel. The company believes that this approach can reduce power consumption and heat generation, while enhancing system reliability through multi-channel-based redundancy. It is also explained that system design complexity can be reduced through low switching frequency and a simplified serialization and deserialization structure.

ams OSRAM stated that in internal research, its microLED-based optical transmitter achieved a maximum transmission speed of 3.0 Gbits/s per lane based on a 10m link and an energy efficiency of less than 2 pJ/bit. This positions it as an alternative to address the power consumption, heat generation, and electromagnetic interference issues of copper-based interconnects in a situation where the volume of data movement between AI servers and accelerators is rapidly increasing.

The foundation of this technology expansion is the automotive EVIYOS adaptive headlamp platform. EVIYOS is a solution that integrates 25,600 individually controlled microLED pixels and a CMOS driver into a single package, and it has secured experience in precision lighting control and mass production applications in the automotive sector. ams OSRAM is transferring this large-scale microLED integration and control capability to the realm of digital photonics for data centers.

In the AI data center market, competition in optical-based data transmission technologies, such as silicon photonics and CPO, is already intensifying. This is because, as GPU and NPU performance improves, the efficiency of data transfer between chips, boards, and racks determines overall system performance and power costs. ams OSRAM's microLED approach is differentiated from the competition in high-speed single-channel systems by offering a parallel optical channel-based alternative.

ams OSRAM is currently collaborating with data center ecosystem partners in the fields of high-speed driver integration, advanced packaging, optical connectors, and fiber optic integration. As the company possesses both microLED and photodiode technologies, it appears poised to pursue the development of integrated transmit-receive optical data transmission systems in the future. As AI infrastructure continues to expand, the commercialization of low-power optical interconnect technology is also expected to accelerate.