# Why Chipmakers Are Building On-Chip Optical Modems

An episode of [The Hardware Podcast with Fexingo: Chips, Devices, and Electronics Engineering Conversations](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1896799982), 23 Jun 2026, 11 min.

Audio: https://audio.fexingo.com/business/the-hardware-podcast/episode-0069.mp3

Lucas and Luna explore the race to put high-speed optical modems directly on silicon chips, moving data with light instead of electricity. They examine the bottleneck at the chip's edge, where electrical I/O can't keep up with internal compute speeds. The conversation focuses on a specific breakthrough: Intel's integrated hybrid silicon laser, announced in 2024, which combines an indium phosphide laser with a silicon photonics waveguide on the same die. They discuss how this shrinks transceiver costs from thousands of dollars to chip-scale, and why it matters for AI clusters, hyperscale data centers, and the future of bandwidth. Key numbers: current electrical SerDes at 112 Gbps per lane, optical links approaching 200 Gbps per lane, and the power savings of 3-5 pJ/bit for photonics versus 10-15 pJ/bit for electrical. The hosts also touch on the challenges of thermal stability and manufacturing yield. #SiliconPhotonics #OpticalInterconnects #HybridSiliconLaser #ChipDesign #DataCenter #AIClusters #BandwidthBottleneck #Intel #IndiumPhosphide #IntegratedPhotonics #OpticalModem #SerDes #ElectronicsEngineering #Technology #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #HardwarePodcast #Chips Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo

Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them.