Tower Semiconductor and Anello Photonics Announce Strategic Partnership for a New Silicon Optical Waveguide Process Technology

Tower Semiconductor, the foundry of high value analog semiconductor solutions, and Anello Photonics, the developer of the Silicon Photonic Optical Gyroscope (SiPhOGTM), today announced a strategic partnership for a new low-loss Silicon Optical Waveguide technology and manufacturing process. The foundry version of the process will enable adoption in a wide range of markets such as including automotive LiDAR, bio-sensing, quantum computing, artificial intelligence, microwave photonics and optical communications requiring complex integration of high-performance optical devices. The new low-loss Silicon Nitride waveguide process approaches 0.005dB/cm propagation loss at 1550nm wavelengths with less than 1mm bend radius. This novel process delivers one to two orders of magnitude lower loss than other commercial foundry processes at a compact bend radius for both 1550nm and 1310nm wavelengths. The combination of low loss along with small bend radius enables fabrication of a new class of high performing devices, including long (>10m) delays lines and tiny on-chip resonators with high quality factors (high-Q) surpassing 100 million. A range of optical applications such as automotive LiDAR, bio-sensing, quantum computing, artificial intelligence, microwave photonics and optical communications could all benefit from the breakthrough capabilities delivered by this new low-loss process.