Schulz Duggan(@Schulz_Research):$GFS $TSM $INTC Schulz Class #10: silicon photonics, or drawing light's paths into a chip Class #9 ended on one fact: silicon can't make laser light, but it's see-through to it. That turns out to be enough to build a business on. GlobalFoundries expects about $500M of silicon photonics revenue this year, up from over $200M in 2025. What it is A classic optical module is put together a bit like a camera: a laser, lenses, a modulator, more lenses, then the fiber, each a separate piece lined up by hand or machine. Silicon photonics prints most of that onto one chip. Thin strips of silicon called waveguides act as wires for light, split one beam into several lanes, and carry it through modulators on the same chip that write data onto each lane. The chips are made on the same 300mm wafers and tools used for computer chips. The laser still comes from indium phosphide, either as a separate part or bonded onto the silicon. Why it matters Chip factories are built to make the same part millions of times. GlobalFoundries said on Nov. 4 that it now expects to exit 2027 at an annualized silicon photonics revenue run rate of about $1B, a year earlier than it planned, and to roughly triple its silicon photonics capacity next year. It has more than 50 silicon photonics customers, including 7 of the top 10 optical transceiver makers. One laser can also feed several lanes, which is how the 800G chip in Class #8 got by with two lasers instead of eight. What it means for stocks GlobalFoundries gives the clearest read because it puts a number on it. NVIDIA's co-packaged optics switch, developed with TSMC, uses TSMC's COUPE platform, according to TrendForce. Intel went the bonded route: by June 2024 it had shipped over 8 million silicon photonics chips carrying over 32 million on-chip lasers. Move that chip out of the plug-in module and right up against the switch chip, and you get co-packaged optics. That's the next class. We looked at what GlobalFoundries' faster ramp means for each share earlier this week. What would you like the next class to explain?

2026.11.07 19:35

$GFS $TSM $INTC Schulz Class #10#: silicon photonics, or drawing light's paths into a chip Class #9# ended on one fact: silicon can't make laser light, but it's see-through to it. That turns out to be enough to build a business on. GlobalFoundries expects about $500M of silicon photonics revenue this year, up from over $200M in 2025. What it is A classic optical module is put together a bit like a camera: a laser, lenses, a modulator, more lenses, then the fiber, each a separate piece lined up by hand or machine. Silicon photonics prints most of that onto one chip. Thin strips of silicon called waveguides act as wires for light, split one beam into several lanes, and carry it through modulators on the same chip that write data onto each lane. The chips are made on the same 300mm wafers and tools used for computer chips. The laser still comes from indium phosphide, either as a separate part or bonded onto the silicon. Why it matters Chip factories are built to make the same part millions of times. GlobalFoundries said on Nov. 4 that it now expects to exit 2027 at an annualized silicon photonics revenue run rate of about $1B, a year earlier than it planned, and to roughly triple its silicon photonics capacity next year. It has more than 50 silicon photonics customers, including 7 of the top 10 optical transceiver makers. One laser can also feed several lanes, which is how the 800G chip in Class #8# got by with two lasers instead of eight. What it means for stocks GlobalFoundries gives the clearest read because it puts a number on it. NVIDIA's co-packaged optics switch, developed with TSMC, uses TSMC's COUPE platform, according to TrendForce. Intel went the bonded route: by June 2024 it had shipped over 8 million silicon photonics chips carrying over 32 million on-chip lasers. Move that chip out of the plug-in module and right up against the switch chip, and you get co-packaged optics. That's the next class. We looked at what GlobalFoundries' faster ramp means for each share earlier this week. What would you like the next class to explain?

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