# Why Chipmakers Are Building Silicon Photonics Foundries

An episode of [The Hardware Podcast with Fexingo: Chips, Devices, and Electronics Engineering Conversations](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1896799982), 25 Jun 2026, 12 min.

Audio: https://audio.fexingo.com/business/the-hardware-podcast/episode-0073.mp3

This episode explores the shift from research-lab silicon photonics to commercial foundry production. Lucas and Luna discuss how TSMC, Intel, and GlobalFoundries are integrating optical components alongside traditional CMOS, the role of the 300-millimeter wafer platform, and what this means for datacenter interconnect bandwidth. The conversation focuses on the practical engineering challenges—waveguide loss, laser integration, and thermal stability—and why the industry believes now is the moment to scale. Specific examples include the co-packaged optics roadmap at 800G and 1.6T Ethernet, and the emergence of multi-die optical interposers. No hype, just the physics and economics driving this manufacturing transition. #SiliconPhotonics #ChipManufacturing #TSMC #Intel #GlobalFoundries #OpticalInterconnects #Datacenter #CoPackagedOptics #PhotonicsFoundry #300mmWafer #CMOS #Waveguide #LaserIntegration #Technology #Hardware #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #Semiconductors Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo

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