InPHRED Expands into Data Center Optical Interconnects with VCSEL and Micro-RC-LED Solutions

InPHRED announced in a press release its expansion into the data center optical interconnect market, extending its nanoporous semiconductor platform to support high speed connectivity for AI infrastructure. The company is developing two optical technologies focused on different reach classes within data centers.

The first technology, a gallium nitride micro-Resonant Cavity LED (micro-RC-LED), targets ultra short reach chip to chip and on board optical input and output. It is designed to replace copper interconnects with compact optical engines positioned close to advanced compute packages. InPHRED plans to demonstrate a 200-lane array architecture with a numerical aperture of 0.3, targeting coupling loss below 3 dB and energy efficiency of 4 pJ per bit.

The second technology, a 1310 nm indium phosphide VCSEL, is aimed at single mode optical engines for mid-board or near-packaged optics. It will serve rack scale and adjacent rack connections. The company targets a 32-channel, 50 Gbps per lane optical engine with coupling loss below 2 dB per channel and operation at 100 degrees Celsius, with a path toward 120 to 150 degrees.

InPHRED expects to reach initial demonstration milestones for both technologies in the first quarter of 2027, positioning the company across ultra short and longer reach optical connectivity segments within data centers.