Breaking Through The PIC Testing Bottleneck

It’s common knowledge that large-scale generative AI networks require significant high-performance computing infrastructure AND the ability to move vast amounts of data.

To meet these bandwidth demands, manufacturers of ASIC switches, data center interconnects (DCIs) and optical transceivers are turning to photonic integrated circuits (PICs).

PICs combine multiple electro-optical functions into a single die. This offers lower latency, reduced power consumption, and scalability – all crucial factors in a world with an insatiable appetite for bandwidth.

This also doesn’t just happen on a single fiber. New PICs can contain dozens and even hundreds of optical channels in order to reach multi-terabit speeds and are assembled into extremely dense packages.

Unsurprisingly, manufacturing these devices is incredibly complex and requires testing at each stage of the production process. For PICs, this involves testing at wafer level, die and optical sub-assembly, and packaged module level.

The cost of all this testing adds up quickly and is typically one of the major expenses in the entire production process.
To keep the cost-of-test as low as possible, the focus has turned to building the most cost-effective test systems that are

A) Capable of performing a range of tests, and
B) Scalable for high-volume manufacturing (HVM).

Photonics test engineers may struggle to find commercial high-volume test solutions from traditional test and measurement vendors that meet these criteria. Thankfully, our partner Quantifi Photonics has developed a photonics test platform specifically designed to address the new challenges of PIC testing.

By creating a suite of innovative photonics test instruments on a widely adopted, industry-standard platform – PXI – Quantify Photonics has paved the way for truly scalable and flexible solutions for high-volume PIC manufacturing.

Read more about Quantify Photonics or visit CN Rood at the PIC Summit Europe 2025.

About PIC Summit Europe 2025

Join the leaders of the photonic chip industry at PIC Summit Europe 2025 in Eindhoven, 4-5 November.
Discover the latest breakthroughs in integrated photonics, connect with key stakeholders, and explore how to scale technology, business, and collaboration in a rapidly evolving world.