March 30, 2012, Seoul — STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM), a global semiconductor company in various electronic device applications, and Luxtera Inc., the world's leading silicon photonics company, announced that Luxtera's cutting-edge IP and technology from its silicon photonics division will be applied to specific processes to be developed at ST's 300mm facility in Croll, France. With production at ST's Croll plant, the two companies will be able to supply the market with the world's most advanced, low-cost, high-volume solutions for silicon photonics components and systems.
Silicon photonics technology is considered a core technology for future ultra-high-speed computing and communication, such as optical networking, CPU interconnects, and data storage devices, with multi-terabit connectivity. This technology enables the manufacturing of high-speed optical communication equipment using proven, inexpensive silicon manufacturing techniques instead of expensive compound semiconductor materials containing gallium or indium.
Flavio Benetti, Head of ST’s Mixed Process Group, stated, “The strong synergies of the partnership with Luxtera will bring about groundbreaking innovation by complementing the strengths of both companies as technology and industry leaders. Through the commercial mass production of the best silicon photonics IP platform, silicon photonics will become a core element of critical technologies, including optical networking, ultra-high-speed computer processors, and other applications.”

Through this collaboration, ST has been granted the right to use Luxtera's silicon photonics technology, enabling it to apply this technology to new ST photonics processes and next-generation processes. By providing a secure, scalable, and cost-competitive supply chain, ST will enable Luxtera to meet market requirements in terms of quantity and quality. Through this partnership, the two companies will elevate silicon photonics into a cost-competitive core technology, ushering in a new era of silicon photonics.

Greg Young, CEO of Luxtera, stated, “Luxtera has identified a significant market opportunity for silicon photonics that requires an expanded supply chain and continuous technological advancement. We are now able to provide our customers with a broad and efficient supply chain and an aggressive, long-term roadmap for photonics process technology. This will allow us to improve our foundational technologies and integrate system-on-chips from advanced CMOS nodes with optical transceivers to realize photonics-based system-on-chips for large-scale systems.”

The new advanced 300mm silicon photonics platform developed by ST offers the following key advantages.
- Performance: Scalability of low-cost transceivers for 100 Gigabytes, 400 Gigabytes, and higher data transfer rates
- Integration: Highest integration interconnect along with lowest power consumption
- Interoperability: Supports 1310 nm, 1490 nm, and 1550 nm wavelengths

The optimized silicon photonics process is scheduled to be developed at ST's Kroll Technology Center in France, where ST's major CMOS R&D programs, including high-value-added derivative high-performance analog BiCMOS technology, are conducted.