Oxford Instruments (OXIG), a leading provider of advanced plasma processing solutions for the compound semiconductor industry, announces the key role it is playing to support the industry’s first fully automated 6-inch indium phosphide (InP) wafer fabrication capability for photonic devices, led by Coherent Corp., a global leader in compound semiconductors and high-performance optical networking solutions.
Oxford Instruments’ cutting-edge plasma processing equipment is central to Coherent’s groundbreaking achievement of ramping up 6-inch InP fabs in Sherman, Texas, and Järfälla, Sweden. These fabs will play a pivotal role in driving advancements in AI datacentre, telecommunications, and sensing applications. Coherent’s transition to 6-inch wafers is set to deliver significant benefits, including a substantial increase in capacity, lower die cost and more than four times the number of devices per wafer.
Oxford Instruments has supplied fully automated, high-throughput 6-inch InP processing equipment, enabling Coherent to achieve these remarkable productivity gains. This advanced equipment is designed to support the transition from 800G to 1.6T products, a key requirement to meet the growing demands of AI interconnects and optical communications.
“We have been the leading supplier of InP plasma etch equipment to the datacom market, and Coherent, for many years. Our technology, with the quality, throughput and reliability that we have developed alongside excellent service, is ideally positioned to support the current device demand inflection we are seeing with the release of generative AI applications. We are delighted to be partnering with Coherent during this exciting period of market expansion and look forward to continuing to develop and release innovative and valuable plasma processing solutions.” Matt Kelly, Managing Director, Oxford Instruments Plasma Technology.
"Coherent’s move to 6-inch InP wafer fabrication marks a transformative milestone for the industry. Oxford Instruments’ expertise in plasma processing has been essential in enabling our Sherman and Järfälla fabs to reach world-class performance,” said Dr. Beck Mason, Executive Vice President – Semiconductor Devices at Coherent. “Together, we are advancing InP technology to support faster networks, greater efficiency, and the new applications that will define the future of connectivity."
The joint efforts of Oxford Instruments and Coherent have culminated in a manufacturing platform that sets the stage for the next generation of InP optoelectronic devices. These devices are critical enablers for applications ranging from AI datacentres and datacom transceivers to advanced sensing in consumer electronics and automotive technologies.