StarIC and GlobalFoundries announce strategic partnership

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StarIC, a provider of analogue/mixed-signal semiconductor IP and custom ASIC solutions, has announced a strategic collaboration with GlobalFoundries (GF) that’s aimed at advancing silicon photonics innovation.

Credit: Globalfoundries

This partnership brings a breakthrough library of high-speed silicon photonics foundational blocks, specifically tailored for the GF Fotonix 45SPCLO process. The library includes silicon proven Micro Ring Modulator (MRM) drivers, and Trans Impedance Amplifiers (TIAs) targeting NRZ and PAM4 data rates exceeding 100GS/s.

The library adds to the expanding portfolio of IPs StarIC is actively developing for silicon photonics applications.

GF Fotonix is a monolithic platform, the first in the industry to combine its differentiated 300mm photonics features and 300GHz-class RF-CMOS on a silicon wafer, delivering performance at scale.

A next generation process, Fotonix is a disruptive silicon photonics platform which has active design wins with major customers and has seen adoption by major players in AI, Quantum computing, and optical interconnect for data centres.

"StarIC’s platform solutions bridge the electronic and photonic realms," said CEO, Imran Ahmed. "This partnership underscores the company’s commitment to advancing silicon photonics and empowering the next generation of applications. Our investment in the success of the GF Fotonix platform runs deep. It’s not just about IPs; it’s about providing solutions and building an ecosystem for companies who are building revolutionary technology."

"StarIC is a strategic partner for GF on our Fotonix platform,” added Ziv Hammer, Senior Vice President of Design Platforms and Services at GF. “The MRM driver and TIA IP blocks will help our customers accelerate their time to market with ultra-fast, ultra-efficient silicon photonics solutions.”