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13 Jan 2026
Taiwanese pair look to develop new technology for next-generation high-performance computing and AI deployments.
Two photonics technology developers in Taiwan are collaborating on a novel approach to optical interconnects that combines green microLEDs with metasurface optics.
PlayNitride and Brillink have just established the joint effort, which aims to deliver an array-based interconnect with a longer reach, lower power consumption, and superior bandwidth density for high-performance computing (HPC) and AI data center systems than is currently available.
PlayNitride, which has been typically worked on microLEDs for large-scale TVs and augmented reality (AR) display applications in smart glasses, will contribute its high-efficiency green emitters to the project.
Brillink is set to combine those microLEDs with an “ultra-sensitive” GeSi APD array using its proprietary meta-optics and 2D Array Vertical Coupling (2D-AVC) platform, which are claimed to further advance array alignment accuracy, improving manufacturability and reliability.
“Not only [is] the required emitter power to [complete] the link drastically reduced with the GeSi APD, the scalability into higher per-channel data rates can further reduce the channel count, resulting in higher bandwidth density, simplified module architecture, and lower overall system cost,” claim the two companies.
Epistar and Artilux connections
PlayNitride suggests that the green-light interconnects will overcome the fundamental loss and dispersion challenges associated with blue light, enabling a new level of energy-efficient, high-reach interconnects tailored for next-generation AI and HPC workloads.
Founded in 2014, the company previously established a collaboration with major LED epiwafer supplier Epistar, building a 6-inch diameter chip-on-wafer production line dedicated to microLEDs.
A key feature of microLEDs is that the wafer substrate on which the light-emitting semiconductor material stack is first grown is then removed in a later processing step, leaving only the epitaxial film.
That approach results in tiny, ultra-thin chips that are compatible with mass transfer production, and can be tailored to meet the pixel sizes required for various types of displays.
Brillink indicates that its partner’s green microLEDs pair perfectly with its detector and coupling technologies, with the collaboration set to target short-reach link applications of less than 50 meters while offering a power consumption of less than 1 picoJoule per bit.
Brillink has a close connection with another Taiwanese firm in the form of Artilux, with both companies managed by CEO Erik Chen.
Like Brillink, Artilux specializes in high-sensitivity GeSi detectors and meta-optics, and has previously collaborated with the likes of OmniVIsion, Jabil, ams Osram, and Lumentum.
It is also working to develop ultra-low power photonic interconnects with partner AIchip, and on silicon-based metalens technology for ultra-thin optical systems fabricated using a full-size CMOS wafer manufacturing process.
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