IIT Madras and izmo Microsystems Launch SPECTRA Silicon Photonics Program in India

A new memorandum of understanding signed on Oct. 7, 2026, formalizes Phase II of the Centre for Programmable Photonic Integrated Circuits and Systems (CPPICS), a joint effort between izmo Microsystems Pvt. Ltd., the semiconductor subsidiary of Bengaluru-based izmo Limited (NSE: IZMO, BSE: 532341), and the Indian Institute of Technology Madras.

MeitY Funds Five-Year Push Toward Deployable Photonic Products

The second phase, titled Silicon Photonics Enabled Cutting-edge Technology Research and Applications (SPECTRA), has been sanctioned by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India, carrying a total outlay of USD 11.97 million over five years. Under the funding structure, MeitY contributes USD 11.68 million, while izmo Microsystems commits USD 287,000 in cash and in-kind support.

The program's mandate is to carry silicon photonics technologies from laboratory research to commercially deployable products, spanning photonic integrated circuit design, fabrication, characterization, advanced packaging, testing, and system integration.

A Packaging-Led Role for izmo Microsystems

Turning a fabricated photonic chip into a reliable, manufacturable optical system remains one of the discipline's hardest problems, and it is where izmo Microsystems is positioned within the collaboration. CPPICS Phase II expressly envisages a volume photonics packaging ecosystem built with the Bengaluru company, covering precision assembly, photonic packaging, testing and the reliability needed for commercial deployment.

The company's responsibilities advance along a defined path: from packaging architecture and co-packaged optics (CPO) interface definition to PIC-EIC co-integration, fiber alignment and attachment, production-grade packaging, process optimization, prototype assembly and reliability validation.

The five-year roadmap culminates in a certified co-packaged optics design rule and service capability, linking silicon photonics research and foundry fabrication to packaging, qualification and system-level deployment. Dinanath Soni, Director of izmo Microsystems Pvt. Ltd., said silicon photonics is becoming a critical technology for next-generation AI and data-center infrastructure as network speeds move from 400G and 800G towards 1.6T and beyond.

He noted that the challenge is no longer only designing the photonic chip; converting it into a reliable product demands precision packaging, fiber attachment, electronic-photonic integration, thermal management and high-speed testing. CPPICS Phase II, he said, pairs IIT Madras' silicon photonics research capabilities with izmo Microsystems' advanced packaging and manufacturing expertise, with the company's role being to move technologies from research prototypes toward production-ready modules and co-packaged optical systems.

Four Application Areas and a 1.6 Tbps Engine

The technical scope of Phase II targets commercially viable photonic technologies in four application areas: high-speed optical transceivers for data centers, microwave photonics for advanced wireless communications, quantum photonics, and photonic computing for AI workloads. Planned developments include a 1.6 Tbps silicon photonics transceiver engine operating at 1550 nm for high-performance computing and data-center routing.

The program also aims at microwave photonic engines operating beyond 50 GHz and integrated QRNG/QKD systems. On the design side, SPECTRA proposes a silicon photonics Process Design Kit incorporating more than 100 IP blocks for 200 mm wafer platforms, enabling the design and manufacture of increasingly complex photonic integrated circuits.

Optical Interconnects Scale with AI

The program arrives as optical connectivity becomes foundational infrastructure for AI and high-performance computing. As GPU and accelerator clusters expand, data-center networks must deliver substantially higher bandwidth while keeping power consumption, latency, and interconnect density in check, pressures accelerating the shift toward 800G and 1.6T optical interconnects, silicon photonics and co-packaged optics.

The research firm estimates the optical transceiver market at roughly USD 40 billion in 2026, with silicon-photonics-based transceivers surpassing half the market for the first time. LightCounting further projects the market for optical chips used in transceivers, active optical cables, and near- and co-packaged optics could grow from about USD 4 billion in 2025 to USD 15 billion by 2031.

Major networking and semiconductor companies have already begun introducing silicon-photonics-based co-packaged-optics platforms for large AI clusters, moving the transition into commercial infrastructure.

Phase I Delivered 95% of Milestones

SPECTRA builds on a first phase of CPPICS that achieved more than 95% of its planned milestones and produced research, IP and prototypes across programmable photonics, microwave photonics and quantum technologies.

Where Phase I centered on research outputs, Phase II shifts the emphasis toward technology translation, industrialization and commercialization, with applications spanning data centers, telecommunications, defence, quantum technologies and advanced computing.

Through the collaboration, izmo Microsystems intends to deepen its advanced photonic packaging capabilities and position itself in the emerging global market for silicon photonics, high-speed optical interconnects and co-packaged optics serving AI and high-performance computing infrastructure.