Chip firm GlobalFoundries (GF) has signed a letter of intent (LOI) with the US Department of Commerce, with the expectation that the chipmaker will receive $300 million to support research and development into next-generation silicon photonics.
The agreement has also seen the US government take a one percent stake in the company, effective today (July 29).
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In a statement, GF said the funding would help accelerate silicon photonics development across wafer technologies, novel optical materials, and advanced packaging – including proven 3D hybrid bonding – enabling the company to deploy near-packaged optics (NPO) and co-packaged optics (CPO).
Unlike pluggable optics, where the transceivers are kept separate from the main chips, CPO integrates optical and electrical components, such as optical engines and switching ASICs, on a single packaged substrate.
