IndustryAtlas

ENGLISH OVERVIEW

Co-Packaged Optics

Prepared by IndustryAtlasEditorial principles & corrections

Optical engines integrated with high-speed electronic chips

CPO integrates optical engines and chips such as switch ASICs on a shared package platform to shorten high-speed electrical paths. Near-packaged optics places engines nearby without that shared packaging. Benefits must be compared for specific products at the same system boundary.

Sources reviewed: 2026-10-01

What changes and what remains

The optical engine moves from the front-panel region toward the ASIC, with fibers carrying data outward. External pluggable lasers may still supply light; not every optical component is enclosed in one package.

  • Power, control and other PCB circuits remain. Thermal control, assembly yield, fiber attachment, testing, redundancy and repair must accompany bandwidth and power benefits.

Read the Quantum-X example at the correct scale

NVIDIA Quantum-X Photonics is an InfiniBand CPO example, while Spectrum-X Photonics is an Ethernet platform. The documented Q3450 system uses four Quantum-X chips for 144 ports at 800 Gb/s and 115.2 Tb/s aggregate capacity; that is not one optical-engine speed.

  • Public roles include TSMC COUPE optical/electrical integration, SPIL packaging and testing, laser suppliers Coherent and Lumentum, optical manufacturing at Fabrinet, and system assembly at Foxconn. Fiber, connector and optical-assembly roles also include Browave, Corning, Sumitomo Electric, SENKO and TFC.

A partner list is not a bill of materials

Platform participation does not prove exclusive supply or inclusion in every switch. ELS or ELSFP modules supply light and differ from OSFP data transceivers even when both are pluggable.

  • Companies can serve both CPO and pluggable ecosystems. Broadcom has its own CPO platforms; absence from one NVIDIA illustration does not establish nonparticipation in CPO.

Read CPO by deliverable

Read engines, electro-optical integration, fiber coupling, light-source options and system platforms separately. ELS is optional; demonstrations, products, collaborations and confirmed volume production are different stages.

Companies by industry role

Optical EnginesCPO integration & packagingFiber and Optical ConnectionsFiber coupling & alignmentExternal laser sourcesCPO platforms & systems

Connected industry roles

Links describe supply, classification, technology or services. They do not establish transactions between individual companies.

Optical Engines → Co-Packaged Optics

Optical-electrical conversion

CPO co-packages optical engines and electronic chips, with electrical-optical interfaces and thermal design.

OIF | 3.2T co-packaged optical engine implementation agreement

Sources reviewed: 2026-09-26

Co-Packaged Optics ↔ Network Switches

Optical-architecture option

Some switches use CPO to shorten high-speed electrical paths between the ASIC and optical engines.

Broadcom | CPO and high-speed electrical paths

Sources reviewed: 2026-09-26

Co-Packaged Optics ↔ Pluggable Optical Transceivers

Architecture comparison

Optical-engine placement, electrical paths and maintenance differ; neither architecture necessarily replaces the other in every use.

Broadcom | CPO and high-speed electrical paths

Sources reviewed: 2026-09-26

Fiber and Optical Connections → Co-Packaged Optics

Internal and external optical links

Fiber connects co-packaged optical engines to panels and networks; assembly and bend control matter.

Corning | CPO fiber connectivity and Broadcom collaboration

Sources reviewed: 2026-09-26

Glass Substrates for AI, HPC and Interconnects ↔ Co-Packaged Optics

Potential photonic integration

A public technology direction; not all CPO requires a glass core.

LPKF | Glass-core substrates and LIDE via formation

Sources reviewed: 2026-09-30

Optical communications & interconnects → Co-Packaged Optics

Co-packaged architecture

NVIDIA | Optical integration, coupling, packaging and ELS

Sources reviewed: 2026-10-01

External laser sources ↔ Co-Packaged Optics

External-source option

Some platforms use external sources; integrated-laser routes also exist.

Intel | Integrated lasers, PICs, EICs and wafer testing

Sources reviewed: 2026-10-01

CPO integration & packaging → Co-Packaged Optics

Co-packaging and testing

NVIDIA | 2026 platform manufacturing roles

Sources reviewed: 2026-10-01

Co-Packaged Optics ↔ CPO platforms & systems

CPO system architecture

NVIDIA | Optical integration, coupling, packaging and ELS

Sources reviewed: 2026-10-01

Company examples & product roles

Examples span platforms, photonic manufacturing, packaging and fiber assembly; see the directory for other light-source, connectivity and complete-system partners. Read NVIDIA cases separately from Broadcom and other platforms; listed names are not a shared or exclusive supplier list for all CPO products.

NVIDIA ↗

United States · Example role

CPO switch platforms and system design

Quantum-X Photonics serves InfiniBand; Spectrum-X Photonics serves Ethernet. Their platform specifications must be read separately.

Official product / role source

Broadcom ↗

United States · Example role

CPO systems and optical engines

Co-packaged optics platforms integrating switch ASICs and optical engines.

Official product / role source

TSMC ↗

Taiwan · Example role

COUPE optical-electrical integration and manufacturing

Integrates EICs and PICs for optical engines and NVIDIA CPO platforms; a manufacturing and integration role, not a complete-switch brand.

Official product / role source

Siliconware Precision Industries (SPIL) ↗

Taiwan · Example role

Optoelectronic packaging, assembly and testing

NVIDIA identifies SPIL's chip-level packaging, precision assembly and testing role; an interposer position label does not establish all interposer-manufacturing steps.

Official product / role source

Browave ↗

Taiwan · Example role

Fiber arrays and fiber assembly

Public CPO directions include FAUs, fiber harnesses, routing modules and ELS optics; optical assembly is not laser-die manufacturing.

Official product / role source

Sources

This English overview condenses the original guide. Product specifications and certifications should be checked against the linked manufacturer documentation.