Curated News
By: NewsRamp Editorial Staff
September 21, 2026
ams OSRAM Unveils Thin-Film VCSEL Breakthrough for AI Scale-Up
TLDR
- ams OSRAM's 0.25 pJ/bit VCSEL arrays with BizLink multi-core fiber give AI scale-up a power efficiency edge over rivals.
- ams OSRAM's wide-and-slow architecture distributes data across parallel 850nm microVCSEL lanes for error-free 32 Gb/s at low power.
- ams OSRAM's efficient optical interconnects can reduce AI data center energy use, supporting more sustainable and accessible computing infrastructure.
- ams OSRAM adapted its EVIYOS adaptive headlamp photonics into microVCSEL arrays now moving data for AI clusters.
Impact - Why it Matters
This development addresses the critical bottleneck of data movement in AI clusters, where power efficiency and bandwidth are paramount. As AI models grow, the ability to move data quickly and efficiently becomes as important as processing power. ams OSRAM's wide-and-slow optical architecture offers a path to lower power consumption, reduced latency, and scalable bandwidth, which could significantly reduce the operational costs and environmental footprint of AI data centers. The collaboration with BizLink and other ecosystem partners accelerates the adoption of these solutions, potentially speeding up AI innovation across industries. For businesses relying on AI, this means more efficient and powerful AI systems, enabling new applications and services. Ultimately, this breakthrough could make AI infrastructure more sustainable and cost-effective, benefiting the entire tech ecosystem.
Summary
ams OSRAM has unveiled a breakthrough Thin-Film VCSEL platform designed for AI scale-up networks, marking a significant expansion of its Digital Photonics Interconnects strategy. The company is showcasing a connectorized multi-core fiber solution developed with ecosystem partner BizLink at ECOC 2026 in Malaga. The new 850nm Thin-Film microVCSEL arrays feature dense 25 µm pitch with addressability, enabling highly parallel "wide-and-slow" optical architectures. These arrays achieve error-free 32 Gb/s NRZ operation with approximately 0.25 pJ/bit energy efficiency and have passed more than 2,000 hours of reliability testing under elevated junction temperatures and current overstress conditions. The platform integrates top-emission Thin-Film VCSELs, silicon TSV integration, and compatibility with standard multimode fiber infrastructure.
Building on its leadership in intelligent light emitters and optical sensors, ams OSRAM is expanding its ecosystem with multiple partners across testing, fiber infrastructure, connector technologies, packaging, and system integration. The company's optical interconnect technology builds upon the same core platform that enabled EVIYOS™, its advanced digital lighting solution for adaptive headlamps. This evolution from adaptive headlamps to AI data movement demonstrates the scalability and manufacturability of ams OSRAM's Digital Photonics platform. The wide-and-slow architecture distributes data across numerous lower-speed optical lanes, reducing system complexity while enabling lower latency, lower power consumption, and scalable bandwidth growth.
At ECOC 2026, ams OSRAM and BizLink will demonstrate a connectorized multi-core fiber solution combining ams OSRAM's 2D addressable 850 nm microVCSEL array technology with BizLink's fiber-array integration and optical connectivity expertise. The demonstrator validates a fundamentally different optical interconnect architecture optimized for ultra-low power and low latency operation. Ashkan Seyedi, Vice President and General Manager of Optical Interconnects at ams OSRAM, emphasized the need for a fundamentally different approach to moving data in AI infrastructure. Hendrik Coldenstrodt, CTO of the Computing and Transportation Business Group at BizLink Group, highlighted the potential of highly parallel optical interconnects for future AI infrastructure. Additional information can be found on the company's dedicated technology page.
Source Statement
This curated news summary relied on content distributed by NewMediaWire. Read the original source here, ams OSRAM Unveils Thin-Film VCSEL Breakthrough for AI Scale-Up
