Bengaluru-based izmo Microsystems, the advanced semiconductor subsidiary of izmo Limited, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) to execute Phase II of the Centre for Programmable Photonic Integrated Circuits and Systems (CPPICS).
Sanctioned by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) under the project name SPECTRA, the initiative carries an outlay of ₹99.94 crore. MeitY is funding ₹97.54 crore, with izmo Microsystems committing ₹2.40 crore in cash and in-kind resources over five years. The partnership directly targets a critical gap in India’s semiconductor value chain: taking lab-developed Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs) into commercial-grade fabrication, packaging, and high-volume manufacturing.
The transition to optical interconnects has become an urgent priority across semiconductor manufacturing. As data centers scale compute clusters to train heavy AI models, traditional copper wiring faces severe physical limits in latency, power consumption, and bandwidth density. Industry roadmaps are rapidly shifting toward 800G and 1.6T optical interconnects, silicon photonics, and co-packaged optics (CPO). Global sales of optical transceivers are projected to reach approximately $40 billion in 2026, with silicon-photonics-based transceivers expected to capture more than half of the market.
CPPICS Phase II targets commercialization across four primary segments: high-speed data center transceivers, microwave photonics for telecommunications, quantum systems, and optical AI processors. Key deliverables include a 1.6 Tbps silicon photonics transceiver engine operating at 1550 nm, microwave photonic engines exceeding 50 GHz, and a comprehensive Process Design Kit (PDK) featuring over 100 IP blocks for 200 mm wafer lines.
A major semiconductor bottleneck lies in backend assembly. While foundry fabrication prints photonic waveguides on silicon wafers, integrating these dies with electronics demands sub-micron optical alignment and robust thermal packaging. Under the program, izmo Microsystems will establish a volume photonics packaging ecosystem. Its scope spans packaging architecture, electronic-photonic co-integration, fiber attachment, prototype assembly, and reliability testing.
Dinanath Soni, Director at izmo Microsystems, noted that as network speeds advance to 1.6T, the central manufacturing challenge has expanded beyond chip design into precision assembly and thermal management. By marrying IIT Madras’s research IP with production-grade packaging, the initiative strengthens domestic backend manufacturing and positions India inside the rapidly expanding global silicon photonics supply chain.
