Moving data efficiently is becoming one of the defining challenges of next-generation AI systems. As AI clusters continue to scale, optical interconnects are emerging as critical technology for enabling higher bandwidth at significantly lower power consumption. ams OSRAM is addressing this challenge with the unveiling of its breakthrough Thin-Film VCSEL technology for AI scale-up, alongside a connectorized multi-core fiber solution developed with ecosystem partner BizLink. The announcement, made at ECOC 2026 in Malaga, highlights the company's expanding Digital Photonics strategy and the maturation of an ecosystem for highly parallel, ultra-low-power optical interconnects.
The company is introducing next-generation 850nm Thin-Film microVCSEL arrays with addressability, enabling highly parallel "wide-and-slow" optical architectures. This approach distributes data across a large number of lower-speed optical lanes instead of pushing increasing amounts of data through a limited number of highly complex channels. The result is reduced system complexity, lower latency, lower power consumption, and scalable bandwidth growth. The platform has demonstrated error-free 32 Gb/s NRZ operation with an energy efficiency of approximately 0.25 pJ/bit, and reliability testing has shown no failures after more than 2,000 hours under elevated junction temperatures and current overstress conditions.
The technology builds on ams OSRAM's proven Digital Photonics platform, which enabled the commercialization of EVIYOS™, an advanced digital lighting solution for adaptive headlamps. Combining highly addressable micro-emitter arrays, CMOS integration, wafer-level manufacturing, and advanced packaging, the same core principles are now being extended into AI infrastructure. This evolution underscores the company's ability to leverage its manufacturing scale and reliability across millions of devices into new markets. For more details on the company's optical interconnect developments, see its dedicated technology page.
At ECOC 2026, ams OSRAM and BizLink are demonstrating a connectorized multi-core fiber solution that combines ams OSRAM's 2D addressable 850 nm microVCSEL array with BizLink's fiber-array integration and optical connectivity expertise. The demonstrator, shown in a private setting for selected customers and industry partners, validates a fundamentally different optical interconnect architecture optimized for ultra-low power and low latency. "AI infrastructure requires a fundamentally different approach to moving data and wide-and-slow optical architectures deliver a step-change in power efficiency, latency and scalability," said Ashkan Seyedi, Vice President and General Manager of Optical Interconnects at ams OSRAM. Hendrik Coldenstrodt, CTO of the Computing and Transportation Business Group at BizLink Group, added that the demonstrator "validates a fundamentally different optical interconnect architecture" and showcases the potential of highly parallel optical interconnects for future AI infrastructure.
The implications for the AI industry are significant. As AI training and inference clusters grow, power consumption and latency become critical bottlenecks. ams OSRAM's wide-and-slow architecture offers a path toward more sustainable and cost-efficient data movement, potentially enabling faster and more energy-efficient AI systems. The company is also advancing fully integrated 3D photonics stacks that combine microVCSEL arrays, micro-photodiode arrays, and mixed-signal CMOS electronics for future ultra-high-bandwidth optical interconnects. This development could accelerate the adoption of optical interconnects in data centers and high-performance computing, reducing the energy footprint of AI infrastructure.
ams OSRAM, headquartered in Premstaetten/Graz, Austria, with co-headquarters in Munich, Germany, employs around 19,000 people worldwide and achieved EUR 3.3 billion in revenues in 2025. The company holds over 12,000 patents granted and applied for. Find out more about us on https://ams-osram.com. ECOC attendees can visit booth #1281 and attend presentations at the Global Photonics Economic Forum (GPEF 2026). The original release is available on www.newmediawire.com.
